Easy DIY Holiday-Scented Play Dough Recipes for Kids Winter Play

To make your own winter playdough sensory activity you’ll need:

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How to Make an Easy Winter Playdough Sensory Activity – DIY Instructions:

Print out the winter playdough mats and laminate.

Download our printable winter playdough mat set and print the desired pages onto cardstock or construction paper. For playdough play, I find it’s best to laminate them in a self-laminating sheet like these so they can be used over and over.

For a more earth-friendly option, you can slip your printed mat into a gallon zip-lock bag and tape the edges down to the table. When you’re done you’ll be able to take the paper out and save it for later, rinse the bag, and use it again!

Don’t want to download or print? You can draw your own simple gingerbread and snowman outlines on a piece of paper. Tracing around winter-themed cookie cutters works well too!

Add holiday scents and colors to your winter playdough.

I made our playdough from scratch using this DIY playdough recipe,  but you can use pre-made if you prefer. For the rich brown and bright red hues I was looking for, I’ve found food coloring gels are the easiest way to get true, vibrant colors.

To add to the sensory experience and winter feels, I scented mine with some spices and candy oil or oil extracts.

The Holiday Scents We Used for Our DIY Playdough

Gingerbread-Scented Playdough

I added about a drop each of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and clove extracts to the brown playdough for a gingerbread scent.

Peppermint-Scented Playdough

I gave the red playdough a peppermint scent by adding a drop of candy oil.

Wintergreen-Scented Playdough

A drop of wintergreen oil was added to the blue playdough.

Sugar Cookie-Scented Playdough

Our cream-colored playdough received a drop of vanilla oil for our “sugar cookie” playdough. You can also add glitter (you can find our taste-safe DIY glitter recipe here) or sparkling sugar to your dough for a bit of snowy sparkle**

**MESS WARNING…I was working with a 3-year-old who absolutely loved seeing the sparkling sugar “snow” in the play dough, but after about 3 minutes in her hot little hands, it got fairly goopy/sticky. She didn’t mind at all, but if you don’t love the mess of it, or have a kiddo who’s anxious about getting sticky fingers, skip the sugar and use our salt glitter or eco-friendly biodegradable kind instead.

More Holiday and Winter Playdough Scent Ideas

1. Cinnamon: You can add ground cinnamon or cinnamon extract to your playdough mix for a warm, spicy scent. This is perfect for making playdough gingerbread men or cinnamon “cookies.”
2. Vanilla: A drop or two of vanilla extract can give your playdough a sweet and comforting aroma. This works well for any type of playdough activity and is particularly nice for creating pretend baked goods.
3. Mint: Peppermint extract can give a refreshing and cool scent to your playdough, reminiscent of candy canes. Use this for making playdough candy cane shapes or even a peppermint-scented snowman.
4. Orange: Add orange extract or grate the zest of an orange right into your playdough for a citrusy, uplifting scent. This can be great for making playdough fruits or just for a refreshing smell that can invigorate the senses.
5. Ginger: Ground ginger can be added for a warm, spicy note, perfect for holiday-themed playdough activities like creating playdough gingerbread houses.
6. Cocoa: For a chocolatey scent, mix in some cocoa powder. This is great for making playdough chocolates, “baking” playdough cakes, or filling mugs with playdough hot chocolate (topped with white playdough marshmallows!).
7. Maple: Maple extract can be used in small amounts to add both scent and a slight sweetness to the playdough. This can be a fun addition when creating playdough pancakes or waffles. Mmmm, winter comfort food playdough!
8. Almond: Almond extract can give a sweet, nutty aroma. This is particularly nice for making playdough “sweets”.

20 Ways to Play With Your Winter Playdough

1. Playdough Snowman Building: Create small playdough snowmen, complete with pebble eyes, a little orange nose, and twig arms.
2. Winter Wonderlands: Craft a winter scene with play dough, including trees, snowdrifts, and animals.
3. Cookie Cutter Shapes: Use holiday-themed cookie cutters to make shapes like snowflakes, stars, and Christmas trees.
4. Playdough Igloo Construction: Mold an igloo out of play dough, using a small bowl as a form.
5. Playdough Candy Canes: Make ropes of white and red playdough, twist them together, and bend them into candy cane shapes.
6. Snowflake Imprints: Press cardboard snowflake cutouts or cookie cutters into the play dough to create unique imprints.
7. Playdough Holiday Ornaments: Make playdough ornaments and decorate them with beads and sequins (note: these are not for hanging, as playdough doesn’t harden like clay).
8. Playdough Winter Animals: Shape playdough into winter animals like polar bears, penguins, and reindeer.
9. Frosty Letters: Practice spelling winter words by rolling the dough into ropes and forming letters.
10. Playdough Snow: Spread playdough thin to mimic a snow-covered landscape for small toys to play on. Use toy cars or animal figures to make tracks in the playdough.
11. Texture Exploration: Press various materials like pine cones, sticks, and leaves into the dough to explore textures.
12. A Playdough Frozen Lake or Ice Skating Rink: Flatten blue playdough and add white around the edges to simulate a frozen lake or to create a skating rink for small figures or toys.
13. Winter Clothing Design: Fashion tiny winter clothes out of play dough for dolls or action figures.
14. Playdough Holiday Wreaths: Form playdough into wreaths and decorate with red beads for berries, or other craft and play supplies.
15. Playdough Pine Trees: Create a forest of pine trees using green playdough and add white to the tips to resemble snow.
16. Hibernating Animals: Make little dens and caves for play dough bears and other animals to hibernate in.
17. Playdough Snowball Fight: Roll tiny playdough snowballs and set up a miniature snowball fight scene.
18. Winter Fairytale: Recreate a scene from a winter fairytale, like The Snow Queen or Jack Frost, with playdough characters and settings.
19. Playdough Sledding Hill: Mold a hill and use a flattened piece of play dough as a sled for toy figures.
20. A Playdough Winter Vegetable Garden: Make playdough carrots, potatoes, and cabbages to mimic a winter vegetable garden.

More Winter Sensory Play Activities for Preschoolers

This is such wonderfully easy sensory play for little ones.

If you’re looking for similar activities, our mini winter sensory garden or this pine tree farm small world (made of pinecones!) is going to be right up your alley. And this collection of simple winter toddler activities is guaranteed to keep your kiddos entertained and engaged.

For holiday sensory activities you can turn into gifts, visit our articles about making simmer pot sachets or mulling spice bags with kids (both come with free printable visual recipe cards and gift tags!).