An Easy, Cheap, and Fun Way To Chill Out

Post written by Sherri

playdough Earlier this week, for the first time, I made play-dough for my son, who’s now 2. He loved it! I think it was about 10 minutes into it that he finally stopped saying “wow!”

I thought it would be fun for him to squish it, pound it, roll it and pat it while I made dinner. I was right, he was completely enthralled.

I remember when I was young, my mom would always make this for my sisters and me. We loved it as well. We could spend hours making snails, faces, worms, turtles and anything else our imaginations would take us to. It’s been years since I’ve played with play-dough.

After dinner I sat down and had a go. And in the words of my son … “WOW!”

I had forgotten how truly awesome it is. It’s almost therapeutic. I was totally relaxed, calm and completely lost in what I was doing. It was amazing and totally unexpected. I also felt a real connection with my son and my husband while we sat there sculpting our masterpieces and just being silly.

Whether you have kids or not I urge you to whip up a batch of play-dough and play with it for even 10 minutes. It’ll be hard to put it down I’m sure of it!

My Mom’s Play-Dough Recipe

1/2 Cup Salt
1 TBSP Oil
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Water
Food Coloring

Mix all ingredients, knead and play. Store in the fridge in a plastic resealable bag.

This is just another example of money not buying happiness and how the simplest things can bring such joy.

7 Responses to “An Easy, Cheap, and Fun Way To Chill Out”

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Jay Schryer

September 18, 2009 at 6:38 am

Awesome! I’m so glad you introduced your son to play-doh, and even happier that you took some time for yourself and played with it, too. I think creative play is one of the most important activities for children to engage in, and I think it’s great therapy for adults.

I have this whole theory on God and spirituality that revolves around play-doh. I’d share it here, but I think it’d make a much more interesting blog post, so maybe I’ll write it this weekend!

Thanks for sharing the recipe, Sherri. I’ve never thought about making it from scratch. That’s certainly a good way to save money!
Jay Schryer´s last blog ..The Power of A Smile
Tim

September 18, 2009 at 6:59 am

Sherri:

Thank you for sharing this post and the recipe for Play-Doh. I have great memories of playing with Play-Doh when I was young and I think I still remember its smell. I don’t have kids, but I can see the value and fun that it can be for adults. Its the weekend, I’m ready to play!!
Tim´s last blog ..How Tim Kazurinsky Changed My Life
MaryBT

September 18, 2009 at 12:42 pm

I have a 2 year old who also loves play-doh. It’s so much fun! Do you want to take it up a notch? Give him some cookie cutters. My daughter was totally impressed with using cookie cutters on her play-doh.
MaryBT´s last blog ..Altered Canvas – I Love Cupcakes!
Sherri

September 18, 2009 at 1:34 pm

Hi Jay – I agree with you completely! Creative play is very important. I could just see the wheels turning when I said the long piece of play dough was a worm. It wasn’t like the ones he sees in the garden wriggling around in his hands. It was really cool! I look forward to reading your post on play dough too

Hi Tim – That’s awesome! I really do hope you take time out this weekend and make a batch to play with. It really is calming.

Hi Mary – Love the cookie cutter idea. I did bring out heart and circle cookie cutters but he wasn’t too interested…being the first time I think he was just so impressed with the dough itself. I will persist though Thanks for the suggestion.
David Cain

September 21, 2009 at 10:11 am

Hi Sherri,

I completely forgot about Play-doh. It’s an essential part of every childhood.

Maybe I will whip some up, for old time’s sake.

I’ve always wondered: why is there salt in it, if one isn’t planning on eating it?
David Cain´s last blog ..You
Megan at Simple Kids

September 25, 2009 at 5:55 am

I love this. Playing with play-doh truly is therapeutic! Thanks for the recipe and the inspiration.
Megan at Simple Kids´s last blog ..September 25th: SK Showcase and Weekend Links