Fun Kids' Birthday Parties

Your guide to throw age-appropriate home-made fun kids’ birthday parties​

Play Dough: The Best Party Bag

Play dough is a great party bag gift to show your appreciation for the children who came to share their time with your kid. Play dough is a smooth and squishy material that children will be thrilled to take home as a party favor.

Here, I share with you the recipe to make it yourself and how it can be presented. As an example, I used the theme under the sea, but you could make it with any party theme of your liking.

Two colors of play dough inside a clear jar with one or two cookie cutters are a fun going-home present.

Play dough party bag

What is Play Dough

Play dough is a soft and squishy clay like substance made out primarily of flour, salt, cooking oil, water, and cream of tartar. Children can mold, flatten, squish, pinch, break, and roll play dough. It can be made in different colors. Simply add food coloring or tea bags to the preparation. You can also vary it’s perfume by putting a few drops of essential oils (peppermint, lavender), coffee, rose petals, cloves, spices or even herbs.

Presenting play dough as a party bag:

Presenting play dough party bag

Materials you will need:

  • 1 Clear jar
  • Blue Play Dough
  • Sand Play Dough (or a play dough of a different color)
  • Cookie cutters( I used a fish and a starfish)
  • Wool string

The exact quantity of each type of play dough needs to be adjusted such that the jar is completely filled up and they’re all in equal amounts

Play dough party bag ingredients

How to make it?

  1. Inside the jar, put the two different kinds of play dough.
  2. Use the string to attach the cookie cutters with a knot.

Important information

Children should not put play dough inside their mouth. Adult supervision is required at all times. Indeed raw flour is not edible.

Cooking your homemade play dough reduces the risk of children contracting illnesses from contaminated flour. It may be a little sticky just after cooking, but it should stay soft and pliable for at least a week. Add as much or as little food coloring as you’d like to hit the right level of color.

Recipe for Cooked Play Dough

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (120 g) of plain flour
  • 1 cup (250 ml) water
  • 1/2 cup (150 g) of salt
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of cream of tartar
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of food colouring1

How to make it

  1. Combine flour, water, salt, vegetable oil, cream of tartar and food coloring in a heavy-based pan over medium heat.
  2. Stir as the mixture thickens and, when it comes together as a dough, remove from the heat.
  3. When cool enough to handle, knead the mixture for a minute or two, and it’s ready.
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