One thing I do semi-regularly is check what readers are searching for on Inspiration Made Simple. It’s a great way for me to see what you’re interested in, and what type of projects you may be interested in. Recently there has been a flurry of people searching for a Gingerbread House Playdough Mat. I’m not sure why that became associated with my site, but it did… and I thought it was a fabulous idea! So now, when someone searches for that – they’ll find this post!
What is a Gingerbread House Playdough Mat? It’s exactly what it sounds like! A fun mat that little ones can use with playdough. It’s a great boredom buster to keep the kids entertained throughout the holiday season. Playdough is a childhood favorite, right?
I’ve made the Gingerbread House Playdough Mat into a printable that you can download and print onto 8.5 x 11 paper. Children can then decorate the Gingerbread House using their imagination and a bit of help from playdough. But wait? You don’t have any playdough on hand? That’s OK! You can make some!
Homemade Playdough Recipe
This is the playdough recipe my mom made for me as a child and that I used while making playdough for my kids!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
- Food coloring, optional
Instructions:
In a large pot, stir together the flour, salt, and cream of tartar.
Add in the water and oil.
If you’re only making a batch of one color, you can add in the food coloring now.
Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously. Continue to stir until the dough begins to form into a ball.
Remove the pot from heat and place onto wax paper.
Allow the dough to cool a bit and then knead until it is smooth.
If you plan on making multiple colors, now is the time to divide the dough into balls. Place in separate bowls, or into ziplock bags if you don’t want to stain your hands!
Add 5-6 drops of food coloring, kneading the dough until the color is all mixed in. Add more food coloring for a brighter color.
Store in an airtight container.
Printable Play Mat
Now that you have playdough, save the mat to your computer (link below) and open the file in Adobe Reader. Print the Gingerbread House Playdough Mat onto paper or cardstock. Laminate it, or if you don’t have a laminator or are out of laminate sheets like I am, place it into a sheet protector.
Hand the playdough mat to the kids and let them decorate the house! It’s fun to see how creative they get. I even had fun playing with this printable mat!
When the kids are done playing, store the mat with the playdough for future use!
Download the Printable Play Mat in pdf format.
Personal use only. Do not alter.
Would you like to see more playdough mats in the future? Leave me a comment with a design idea that you’d like to see.
Looking for other holiday activities for kids? You may like these:
- Christmas Scavenger Hunt
- Roll-a-Reindeer Preschool Game
- Christmas Kids Craft – Santa’s Beard
- Christmas Activity Dice
Homemade Playdough
Materials
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup salt
- 4 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Food coloring optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, stir together the flour, salt, and cream of tartar.
- Add in the water and oil.
- If you're only making a batch of one color, you can add in the food coloring now.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously. Continue to stir until the dough begins to form into a ball.
- Remove the pot from heat and place onto wax paper.
- Allow the dough to cool a bit and then knead until it is smooth.
- If you plan on making multiple colors, now is the time to divide the dough into balls. Place in separate bowls, or into ziplock bags if you don't want to stain your hands!
- Add 5-6 drops of food coloring, kneading the dough until the color is all mixed in. Add more food coloring for a brighter color.
- Store in an airtight container.
