How To Make Holiday Scented Play Dough

           Christmas is a time for family, food and awesome smells....so when I thought about a fun project for my Little's that they could enjoy during the long winter months, play dough came to mind! (Plus it's Christmas so having holiday scented play dough seemed like a fun idea!)  
        In this recipe I used what I had available in my own home. We use essential oils for a good many things so I chose to use them to scent our dough, however, I would not suggest going to shops looking for essential oils and other supplies just because they are in the ingredients list.  Instead of the oils I would substitute what you have in your own kitchen. Most people keep Christmas spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in their cupboards and those would be a great replacement. The best part about this project is the dough is non toxic, 100% edible (a bit salty however), and keeps well in the fridge for months for repeated play on cold indoor days.

Recipe
1 1/2 cups of white all purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
3 tbsp of cooking oil (don't use olive oil as it has a strong smell)
1 cup of boiling water
1-5 drops of your choice of essential oils, I used Thieves Blend, clove and orange (this can be substituted for a tsp of ground cinnamon, a tsp of ground nutmeg, and a tsp of  ground cloves if you want to use what you have in your own cupboard, I have also used a packet of Koolaid powder and that gives it scent and color!)
5 drops of food coloring in the color of your choice

Put water in your kettle to boil.

Add 1 1/2 cups of flour to your bowl. 

Add the 1/2 cup of salt.

  
Add the 3 tbsp of oil, your color and your essential oils, and then blend with a wooden spoon.

When water is boiled add 1 cup to your bowl. 

Blend well with your wooden spoon until the dough forms, then start kneading dough in the bowl with your hands to blend until smooth and dough like.

 The dough will be warm to the touch so pay attention to this since the boiling water would take a few minutes to cool in the process.
Take your dough ball out and begin playtime, you can also add sparkles if you have them kicking around for a more Christmas feel, but we just didn't have any....but sparkle play dough is super festive!

Enjoy hours of fun!