Since I've had children, long, lazy Sunday afternoons have lost their lustre. Rather than spending time reading a book or sewing, I frequently face the 'how am I going to entertain the children?' panic.
There are plenty of 'old favourite' activities around here - books, dressing up, 'concerts' and dancing, but sometimes a slight twist to an old favourite can make it seem like an exciting new adventure.
We love play- dough and cookie dough play-dough is a real hit around here. The aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa and mint add another dimension to the imaginative experience and you can scent it by using basic pantry ingredients. You might be thinking why not just make real cookie dough and bake biscuits? We do that too , but it is possible to have too many home baked goodies in the house!
Everyone has a favorite recipe for play-dough - so start by making a batch. If you don't have one try this -
Mix 2 cups of plain flour, 4 tablespoons of cream of tartar, 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, 1 cup of salt and 2 cups of water in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir for 5 minutes or until it congeals into a play-doughy consistency. (Hey - you get an upper arm work-out, too!)
While it's cooling, head to your pantry cupboard and find some cocoa (not drinking chocolate!), cinnamon, vanilla extract and any peppermint essence
When the dough is cool, divide it into 3 balls. Into one, kneed 3 tablespoons of cocoa, into another 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and two teaspoons of vanilla and into the last ball two teaspoons of peppermint essence. Lizzy insisted that peppermint had to be green, so I also added a little green food colouring.
Sometimes the additions to the play dough make it a little dry, so you might want to need a little more oil after you've added your' flavourings'
You're done... grab some cookie cutters and start 'cooking'!
There are plenty of 'old favourite' activities around here - books, dressing up, 'concerts' and dancing, but sometimes a slight twist to an old favourite can make it seem like an exciting new adventure.
We love play- dough and cookie dough play-dough is a real hit around here. The aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa and mint add another dimension to the imaginative experience and you can scent it by using basic pantry ingredients. You might be thinking why not just make real cookie dough and bake biscuits? We do that too , but it is possible to have too many home baked goodies in the house!
Everyone has a favorite recipe for play-dough - so start by making a batch. If you don't have one try this -
Mix 2 cups of plain flour, 4 tablespoons of cream of tartar, 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, 1 cup of salt and 2 cups of water in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir for 5 minutes or until it congeals into a play-doughy consistency. (Hey - you get an upper arm work-out, too!)
While it's cooling, head to your pantry cupboard and find some cocoa (not drinking chocolate!), cinnamon, vanilla extract and any peppermint essence
When the dough is cool, divide it into 3 balls. Into one, kneed 3 tablespoons of cocoa, into another 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and two teaspoons of vanilla and into the last ball two teaspoons of peppermint essence. Lizzy insisted that peppermint had to be green, so I also added a little green food colouring.
Sometimes the additions to the play dough make it a little dry, so you might want to need a little more oil after you've added your' flavourings'
You're done... grab some cookie cutters and start 'cooking'!
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