If you are like me, you are always looking for ideas on how to keep your toddler occupied while doing something that's 1. limited in mess 2. educational. My son (who is 2) loves to "help" while we are cooking, so I went down the Pinterest rabbit hole and found this DIY Gingerbread Playdough recipe! My mind started spinning on the cute things we could do with this! Being a former elementary school teacher I love a good DIY and a craft especially when it comes to cuties things for my kid. I decided that for goodie bags this Christmas for his class, we are going to make our own Make a Gingerbread Friend kits! Ambious right?!😜
(Disclaimer--All links are affiliate links. This means that if you purchase something after click on a link that I provide, I will make a small commission on the sale at NO EXTRA COST to you :) Also, I am not a doctor or anything so use your own judgement and anything I write applies to me and my family.
I do not claim to be a fancy pants mom that has it all together, I'm actually rather lazy haha!. But, I do have that "extra" gene in me that sometimes makes me do things that are a little over the top. I like to say that I am an extra, lazy mom (I'm a little extra and a little lazy!). So, this is in no way complicated or hard, but looks like its super extra and impressive..but most importantly fun for your kids.
Side note: I will let you in on a little secret of mine to looking like you've got it all figured out as a mom (which I most definently dont!). Cookie Cutters! O M G. The easiest thing ever. I use these things for everything...sandwich--star sandwich, tortilla--Mickey Mouse tortilla, play dough time--- cookie cutters. They are seriously the best purchase I've made when it comes to helping me out! Here's the ones I have 101 Pieces and Mickey Mouse cookie cutters.
So, I went to Walmart and found some cheap boxes (pack of 6 for like $2), cheap gingerbread cookie cutters (pack of 4 for $3), and some ribbon ($2 and will last me FOREVER) and bought the supplies for the play dough. To my surprise, I had everything but the cream of tartar! WIN! I raided my stash of random supplies that I had left over from other crafts (googly eyes, pipe cleaners, buttons) and just went for it!
My son and I spent an afternoon after school making playdough and building the kits! We had a lot of fun and of course he had to try it out for us! I think they turned out really cute!
You can find step by step instructions on how to make the Gingerbread playdough by clicking here.
I even made these cute tags that you can print out to place in your kits. I think with every DIY especially when it involves food or items that kids might be allergic to, you need to make sure that you state what the ingredients are. For these tags, I not only put that information, but also that this is not eatable. While the playdough smells amazing, and the ingredients are not harmful (so long as you are not allergic to any of them) you should not ingest this. Also, there is a place for you to write out who the kit is from..cute right?!
Even though we are making these for his class (only 9 kids), these would be great and affordable presents to give to other kids in your family or to your friends who have kids too! I would even have loved to do this with my students when I was teaching! You can tie it into a writing assignment, like a how to make a gingerbread friend. The options are really endless! The recipe states that it makes 2 cups of play dough. That's a lot of play dough for one kid! It happened to be just enough for the 9 kids in his class because I rolled the play dough into small balls (not a cup each..probably like a half of a cup) to place into the kits.
I hope you all enjoyed our quick and easy Christmas DIY! If you make these with your kids, be sure to tag me in your photo or Instagram Stories! (@daniellengrundy). We also made this fun activity on my Instagram Stories and I’ll dock it in my highlights if you want to check it out! I'd love to connect with you on all social media platforms! You can follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, & the Like.to.Know.it app
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