Nothing says Christmas quite like fresh-baked cookies. And nothing says Christmas Fun to a child like helping roll, cut, and decorate those delicate treasures.

We can’t make Christmas cookies every day (can we?!?), and many little hands don’t always make light work, as the proverb says. What do we do when it’s not cookie-making time, or littles are quite ready for the real thing?

Holiday Playdough For Everyone!

We’ve been making gluten free playdough for years, ever since I had to eliminate gluten, quickly followed by two of our children. I’ve come to prefer our homemade playdough over store brands, despite the work involved. All because of the mix-ins!

Over the years, we’ve made spring-themed playdoughs with spearmint and lilac, or summer varieties of lavender and rose. While I’ve wanted to make Christmas playdough, it never quite fit onto our fall to-do list. Until now!

We created six delightful holiday themes that would make the perfect gift to accompany a copy of our book, The Joy of Advent! We have a playdough option for every member of the family. Rose of Sharon for our pink-loving daughter, green Christmas Tree for our very literal “color must match the thing being made” son, Vanilla cookie because … COOKIES! Read on for some tips for your playdough preparation!

Step 1: Gather your ingredients

Growing up, my mom made homemade playdough only once. I don’t know what her recipe had, but whatever it was tasted awful (baking soda?) and … molded in just a few days. We have NEVER had issues with mold with our gluten free variety and have generally kept using a batch until it was thoroughly dried out, mixed up, un-usable. Months.

I think one of the key mold-preventatives is the salt. Our recipe uses a lot of salt! I’ve found the most cost-efficient salt is a canning and pickling salt that’s packaged to be used in large quantities. You’ll find a link to the brand I use below.

Step 2: Measure out your dry ingredients

Cream of tartar is one of those odd kitchen staples that I always have and (almost) never use. And White Rice flour (for the gluten free recipe) is something I almost never have and can’t always find.

While I’d love to say that white rice flour is not essential and can be substituted, it really IS ESSENTIAL. This flour gives the playdough a pale off-white color before adding mix-ins and the perfect texture. I’ve used brown rice in a pinch, but the texture is not as natural (it’s more grainy) and just not near as lovely as the white rice. I would not recommend trying any other glute free flour blend. Part of what makes playdough so deliciously doughy is the pull-ability.

The gluten in regular flour is what gives playdough its lovely texture both commercially and in homemade. But for those of us who can’t manage wheat gluten, all hope is not lost! Other grains have binding properties, and rice has one of the highest. Combined with the cornstarch, you get a dough almost identical to wheat flour. Gluten free flour blends can have any variety of flours: oat, potato, rice, corn, and starches and binders all tested to approximate wheat flour for baking. Those flours may behave unpredictably in this recipe.

Step 3: Add your wet ingredients

The recipe calls for grapeseed oil because it’s light and very neutral. Other oils can be used, but be aware they’ll change the dough’s consistency and even odor! Olive oil can smell a little off when it ages, and coconut oil might be great—in the right recipe! I suggest whisking the mix well before turning on the heat beneath your pan.

Step 4: Stir till your arms are noodles

Three minutes isn’t long … unless you’re stirring a pot with a quickly-thickening goo while trying to keep any from scorching on the bottom of the pan.

You WILL get a workout with this recipe! Consider it your arm day and skip the gym. (I find making crispy rice treats does the same. Which makes that treat my favorite to eat, but not to make.) I find a heavy silicon spatula works well for this step, as long as it’s not too bendy.

DO stop stirring promptly when your timer goes off. It’s unlikely you’ll need to cook longer. The dough will be VERY thick and will hold together, not really being stir-able anymore.

Step 5: turn out and knead

Don’t wait too long to turn the dough out. It should be cool enough to handle carefully within a minute of being finished. Knead while warm and see what the texture is like.

If it sticks to your hands more than a very small bit, dust your surface with cornstarch (for GF) and knead while it air dries a bit.

If your hands are very sticky, you’ll need to knead in more cornstarch. Keep kneading until it’s only slightly sticky and is thoroughly combined (some areas may seem more “cooked” than others).

Now for the fun!

Step 6: Mix in your mix-ins!

This is my favorite part! A single batch of dough will yield about 3 “playdough-sized-portions” that equal what you’d get in a commercial can. I always double my recipe, so get six balls of dough to get creative with. Fun!

One handy tip: poke your finger into your dough to make a small well in the center, and add your coloring, oils, other mix-ins there. You will greatly minimize mess on hands and surfaces!

How do we use our Holiday Playdough?

We made six scents (see the recipe below) to use with different celebrations found in book, The Joy of Advent.

Cinnamon Spice and Vanilla Cookie goes beautifully with December 8’s Moravian Spitz recipe.

Pumpkin Spice and Christmas Tree are just what we need for Christmas Eve and St. Nicholas Day when we focus on ancient Christmas traditions and all things festive!

Gifts of the Magi Dough: we of course save for the twelve days of Christmas and Epiphany, as we celebrate the Magi bringing gifts to baby Jesus!

Rose of Sharon Dough is the perfect accompaniment for January 4th and the reading about the prophetess Anna and her long wait to see the Messiah.

Supplies that might help with this recipe (affiliate links—thank you for supporting Joy of Advent!):