Christmas Playdough: Scented Candy Cane Play Dough Recipe

Homemade Christmas Candy Cane Play Dough is one of our favorite Christmas activities to make during the winter months for kids of all ages, but it is especially fun with preschool kids. The homemade Christmas play dough has a sweet peppermint scent and kids loves twisting the red and white colors together to form pretty shapes including a candy cane. Making Christmas candy cane playdough is a holiday sensory activity at home or in the classroom.

Homemade Christmas Playdough Recipe

This is the easiest recipe to make candy cane play dough. It’s one of our favorite sensory play ideas and it’s also a great way to enhance our kids’ fine motor skills, and it only needs a few easy ingredients that you probably already have at home.

Related: Best play dough recipe

We turned our Christmas playdough recipe into cute homemade candy cane ornaments for our Christmas tree this year. Since we made it, our house smells so nice.

Related: DIY Ornaments for Kids & Easy Toddler-Safe Cloud Dough Recipe is Sensory Fun.

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Candy Cane Playdough Recipe

Making this candy cane playdough recipe is a really fun candy cane craft and a part of our Christmas crafts family traditions.

Ingredients Needed To Make Candy Cane Play Dough Recipe

Christmas Playdough REcipe Tutorial Video

Directions to Make Candy Cane Play Dough

Step 1

Mix together the flour, salt, 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar, and oil in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2

Pour in the water and stir the flour mixture until a dough forms. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes to smooth it out.

Step 3

Separate the dough in half and create two balls of dough. Make a small indention on the top of each ball and add food coloring inside.

Step 4

Knead each ball to incorporate the food coloring throughout — a great idea is wearing gloves to avoid stains on your hands!

Once the food coloring is spread throughout, you’ll have one ball of red play dough and one ball of white playdough.

Step 5

Now it’s time to add your Peppermint Essential Oil! We love the way this smells — just like Candy Canes!

Make a small indention in the top of each ball and add 5-7 drops of oil. Knead the play dough to disperse the oil throughout the dough.

Even better, the smell is invigorating and can support mental alertness.

Step 6

Let your kids have fun twisting the two colors around each other, mixing them together for a marbled effect, or cutting out shapes with cookie cutters. The play possibilities are endless!

Related: Christmas activities for kids of all ages

How to Make Homemade Candy Cane Ornaments

1. The best part is, once you’re done twisting and making candy canes you can leave them out to dry.
2. Once they dry they’ll be hard and you’ll be able to hang them on your Christmas tree.
3. Plus, your Christmas tree will smell great! Who doesn’t love the fresh smell of peppermint? It is one of the main smells of Christmas after all!

Some Of our most favorite Christmas Playdoh fun

Want more Christmas playdough after you try making this candy cane playdough? Then check out some of these playdoh Christmas kits! These are our favorite ones:

More Homemade Playdough Fun from Kids Activities Blog

How did your homemade Christmas playdough recipe turn out? Did the candy cane playdough make the best smelling homemade ornaments?