Looking for a unique gift idea? This easy DIY Playdough Kit for kids is a fun homemade gift idea that’s perfect for birthdays or Christmas gifts.
You’ll love how easy this idea is. It only requires a few items and kids absolutely love it.
Sensory play has always been my go-to as a parent when I needed to engage a child in quiet time play for a while.
If you aren’t familiar with sensory play you might be wondering….
What is a Sensory Kit?
Sensory play encourages imaginative play. It’s sparks curiosity and activates the senses.
A sensory kit has a main sensory filler that children can touch, scoop, or mold. Ideas for sensory fillers include playdough, kinetic sand, dry beans, rice, etc.
Then other items are added to engage children in play such as animal figurines, rocks, sticks, toy gemstones, shells, scoops, pipe cleaners, pom poms and more.
Benefits of Sensory Play
Sensory play has a lot of benefits for young children according to Good Start Learning, including
- Building nerve connections in the brain
- Encouraging language development, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination
- Building ‘scientific thinking’ and problem solving
There’s so many great reasons to do sensory activities! And of course, sensory play is so much fun and a great way to engage children in play for an afternoon.
Themed play dough kits are awesome for rainy days when you need something to spark imaginations. These sensory kits are a great go-to gift idea for kids of all ages.
Themes for Playdough Kits
Most Playdough Kits have a theme. There’s so many awesome themes to choose from. Here’s a few fun ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
- Winter
- Fall
- Summer
- Spring
- Farm
- Insects
- Pirates
- Mermaids
- Fairy Gardens
- Unicorn play dough kit
- Woodland Creatures
- Safari
- Cupcakes
- Ice Cream
- Apples
- Horses
- Ocean
- Construction site play dough kit
- Dinosaur play dough kit
Once you decide on your theme, you are ready to start gathering supplies! You will want to collect supplies that go along with your theme and fit nicely within your play dough kit container.
Supplies to make a DIY Playdough Kit
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You will need some of the following items to make this DIY Playdough Kit:
- A compartmented box – a plastic container that can store all of the kit’s items and make it nicely giftable! I found ours at Hobby Lobby.
- Figurines – we used these cute toy Mermaids, but you could choose construction vehicles if that’s your theme!
- Playdough or Kinetic Sand – you could create your own play dough if you wish, but for the sake of time we like to purchase this gluten free playdough that is allergy friendly.
- Mini Cookie Cutters
- Pom poms
- Pipe Cleaners
- Shells (or other natural objects like rocks, small sticks, acorns, etc.)
- A mini wooden rolling pin
- Other odds and ends to complete the kit – you might choose gem stones, more toy figures, fake flowers, buttons, and other little bits. A wooden scoop or play dough tools are also a great addition.
- Ribbon to tie to the box for gifting purposes!
Note that you won’t need ALL of these items, but choose items wisely based on the child’s age and interests. I like to add elements of nature whenever possible. Definitely try to add items that add to the play such as scoops, mini rolling pins, or cookie cutters.
I find a lot of fun sensory play items at craft stores like Hobby Lobby and the local dollar store (Dollar Tree).
Always be thinking about choking hazards if the child is young or has a younger sibling.
Once you have your supplies it’s time to set up your DIY playdough kit.
How to make a DIY Playdough Kit
Alright! Let’s get starting making our DIY Playdough Kit.
Today, I’m making a mermaid play dough kit for my niece’s birthday!
First, take your sensory box and prep it for adding items.
Decide whether you want to add just 1 or 2 colors of dough or whether you want to gift the dough separately. It always looks pretty if you wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and add it to the container kit. Playdough can always be stored in a plastic bag or another air-tight container after it is opened.
Now it’s time to add your fun accessories. I like to separate these out into little compartments within the set. If you don’t have compartments in your box, you can always place these items in some nice clear bags.
We added a mini heart-shaped cookie cutter set, a mini wooden rolling pin, small rocks, a sea shell, pom poms, mermaid figurines, ocean creatures, acrylic butterflies, small fake flowers, pipe cleaners, and some good play dough by Chuckle and Roar.
Once you have all of your items in the box, close your sensory box and add a beautiful ribbon to the top so that it’s ready to gift to your little friends!
And that’s it! A super easy homemade gift idea for kids! The great thing about this idea is that you can create several at the same time for the holiday season while you have the craft supplies available.
It’s easy to alter different play dough kits to engage little boys and girls. All it takes is a fun addition of a favorite character or swapping out figurines to make a fun gift that suits each child.
We used store-bought playdough, but keep in mine that you can create homemade playdough with just a few simple ingredients. Check out our homemade play dough recipe along with a free printable playdough mat set here.
Such a fast and unique gift idea that is sure to be enjoyed for many fun afternoons of independent play!
More Sensory Ideas for Kids
Looking for more sensory kit inspiration? Here’s some more ideas!
If you don’t have time to put together your own sensory kit, be sure to check out these pre-make sensory kits from Etsy. So many cute ones to choose from!
Also, be sure to check out all of these Sensory Bins for kids. So much inspiration here for building a sensory kit.
Looking for something a little different? Here’s some free printable Playdough mats for Kids. These would also make a wonderful gift paired with some playdough!
Want to save this idea for later? Pin the image below to your DIY Gifts for Kids board on Pinterest!
