Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Instead of Candy in Your Valentines...Why Not Make Playdoh?

I confess I'm not always super excited about the bags of candy the boys bring home from school after every little holiday.  Oh, I don't begrudge them the candy, I do want them to live a little, but I sometimes wish there wasn't so much, particularly of the lollipop variety.  We still have Dum Dums sitting around from Halloween - I should throw them out!

A cute alternative, particularly with a small group of kids like a preschool class, might be to make your own playdoh.  It's simple to do, your kids can help, and it's inexpensive.

You'll need:
2 cups flour
2 cups water
1 cup salt
2 tbsp. oil
4 tsp. cream of tartar
Red food coloring

1.  Combine flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large saucepan.
2.  Gradually stir in water mixed with oil and food coloring (I used about 1/4 tsp. red)
3.  Cook over low heat stirring constantly until a ball forms.  When it feels like your arm is going to fall off, you are almost there!  It can be a little hard to stir at the end.
4.  Remove from heat.  This is the part where the kids will enjoy helping - have them knead the dough for 5 minutes.  It's smooth and warm - so much fun!
5.  Package in cute containers.  This recipe makes enough for 10 small servings.

 You can find these cute hippo tupperwares at Dollar Tree - 2 for $1.00.  Still too costly?  Try ziploc baggies, and add the child's name to each bag.  Then allow your child to decorate them with heart stickers. 
A fun way to send a Valentine, that will last a lot longer than a lollipop!  Do you have any fun ideas for Valentine's Day this month?

This post linked with Mommy Club Linkup at Milk and Cuddles

40 comments:

Chris said...

Great idea for adults too Lisa. I used to love playdoh as a kid.

Waited and waited with fishing tackle but my fishin' buddy didn't show. I did say at the river bank didn't I? ;-)

Jill said...

Great idea. I miss making playdoh. The kneading of the warm dough always made me so relaxed. Those are adorbale containers!

Anonymous said...

This is really wonderful idea! I love the idea of having the bags decorated!

Eat To Live said...

Play Dough is a much better idea than candy. I used to make it when my daughter was young.

Kasey @ Walking Redeemed said...

That's an awesome idea! We haven't made play-doh here in forever! Gonna pop in at the Dollar Tree today and see about cute containers!

Liz Mays said...

That really is a great way to send a Valentine! Love it!

Sagittarian said...

Hi Lisa, great idea! I love it! Thanks for sharing!:)

Anonymous said...

Looks yummy, and I'll bet they could also be done using a flour that is Gluten free too! Yes, throw those dum dums out, girl!! LOL

Sally said...

You come up with the cutest ideas. Lisa! I've never made that, but Hunter loves it when I let her have plain dough; keeps her intertained for a long time. :)

Have a great day!

Kim said...

I've noticed a similar trend with our school, Deaglan comes home with a little bag of candy (brought in by one of the parents) whenever it's one of the kids' birthdays. I'm actually quite surprised that it is allowed. And there is non-stop fighting about when he can eat this junk!

Mary said...

That is such a cute idea! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I know what you mean about the candy. Hailey and candy just don't mix. She only gets it on special occasions.

Have a great day friend! I hope everyone is feeling better.

Jill said...

What a great idea! I may give this a whirl for some of my "little" friends. Much better than candy!

Texan said...

I would not be happy about the candy thing either if I had a little one. There are so many chemicals, dyes, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils well like you say its not quality food.

Your idea is fantastic! Would be nice if the school would suggest in a hand out to all the parents to try to think out side the box like this and lets cut down on the candy. Good for you!

Out on the prairie said...

i am not sure if my mom even measured to make this when we were bored.

Valerie Boersma said...

Great idea! I used to make playdoh for Amy all the time, and she loved it. A much, much better alternative to those Dum Dums!

Helene said...

You don't know how much I love this idea!! I found a playdough recipe online and made it a few weeks ago with the kids and I could NOT believe how easy it was. They still love playing with it.

I think I'll do this for V-day for Landon and Garrett's preschool friends.

And I'm so pinning this post!!!

Jo said...

Aww, my mama used to use to make that same recipe for me! Love it.

Hannah said...

Oh my goodness! I used to make this for my eldest. I lost the recipe and couldn't find it online. Thanks for posting this!

Jane said...

This is such a great idea,I will be passing this along to my grand daughter,for Noah,he would have fun with this. Blessings Jane

Anonymous said...

Brilliant idea!

Ginny Hartzler said...

A great idea, I know quite a few moms who have made Play-doh!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi, Sorry I haven't been around this week. We have bee traveling and taking more photos... Hope you are having a great week.

I remember playdoh with my kids and grands.. They loved all of the colors... Much better for you than candy too!!!!! ha
Hugs,
Betsy

jp@A Green Ridge said...

I am going to jot down this recipe so when the grils come over, we can make some!...:)JP

Nancy said...

Seems we were on the same wavelength today... my salt tips had a recipe for this dough. :)

Tracy said...

What a great idea...and while my son is in 7th grade and won't be doing much with valentines it is a great thought to do for my students....thanks so much!

andy said...

i cant beleive you posted this today of all days we had to make a ton of it lastnight for Wills class and we took it in today and it was red !Great idea

LOVE MELISSA:) said...

What a great idea! This would be great for Hayley's school! Thanks!

Michelle said...

I also dislike the lollipop stuff. Gross! I do like this play dough idea.

Michaele said...

So much better than plastic junk. I'm off to the dollar store. I am sure I can find something to put into those cute cups : )

Michaele said...

p.s. I love the smell and taste of homemade playdough. Yes - of course I tasted it.

camp and cottage living said...

Lisa
That's a great idea!
I'm going to see the g'kids next week, so we'll have to wip up a batch.
My only Valentine project is to make a love letter for my husband out of candy letters. I did this when we were dating almost 40 yrs ago. So I think he'll get a kick out of it!

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Gosh, what a cool idea!
love
tweedles

Barbara said...

What a great idea! Now if only they sold cream of tartar in France!

Jen said...

You have just been bookmarked! I love this idea! And cream of tartar? Never bought the stuff, but I will now ;)
Seriously cute idea.

Lindsay said...

I absolutely love this idea!! I'm not too crazy about the loads of candy either. haha!! Must try this!

Angela said...

That's a really neat idea! And look at you, you've already made it and ready for Valentine's Day!

Myya said...

I'm not giving out candy this year either. I got cute little heart shaped notepads & pencils and then from Vistaprint I got personalized valentines with Amira's picture on them for only the cost of shipping. So excited for Amira to give them out!!! :)

Sandy said...

Somehow I am not surprised that you have come up with something other than candy for valentine's day...lol Great idea though!

Anne Payne said...

This is such a cute idea! I will have to do this for my grandson :)
♥ the baggies with the names!

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

We've never made our own playdoh, but I did send in store bought playdoh as Lexie's valentines. I'll have to try my own someday!