This lavender playdough recipe is easy to make, uses basic ingredients and is perfect for sensory play.
Do you find that your kids can get a bit over stimulated and need help to calm down sometimes? Our tried and tested lavender scented playdough has been great for my kids, it’s soft, naturally scented and smells fantastic
After a trip to the park where they turned into The Loudest Kids On The Planet I got them to make this lavender playdough together.
They were happy because they got to make something fun and they love playdough, I was happy because it worked and they actually calmed down for a while. Result.
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This lavender playdough recipe is super easy to make – as you’ll see with supervision and a tiny bit of help my kids were able to help make this themselves.
It’s perfect for sensory play and was really popular as an activity with my kids aged four and one years old, making it great for preschoolers and young children.
If you like this recipe and would like to make it yourself make sure that you bookmark this page or pin an image so that you’ve got this to hand when you need it!
What You'll Find on This Page
Lavender Playdough Ingredients
2 Cups of Plain Flour
1/2 Cup of Salt
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Cream of Tartar
1 – 1 1/4 Cups Boiling Water
How To Make Lavender Scented Playdough
Add all the ingredients into a bowl, adding the water last bit by bit so that you get the right consistency. If our playdough is too wet I normally just add a bit more plain flour and this normally sorts it out.
I had rather thought that this would be an activity that I would just do with my son but when my one year old daughter saw us nipping out into the garden to grab some lavender buds off a plant she became determined to be involved.
Obviously if you are doing this with small kids or that like to put things in their mouths then you are going to have to be a bit vigilant and supervise continuously here. This much salt is not good for kids eat and boiling water is involved, I’m sure you know these things but I’ve been sleep deprived too so I like to remind people!
We used fresh lavender from our garden but if that’s not available you can buy dried lavender flowers to use.
To make the playdough it really is as simple as mixing all the ingredients together.
We measured them out together (good counting practice for younger kids too) and then I added the hot water and mixed it until it had cooled enough for the children to join in again – this is actually really quick.
The kids both did a great job at mixing the ingredients together and kneading it to make a dough.
Because both kids wanted to make this together I decided to put the bowl on the kitchen floor. You would be right to question my sanity but actually it only took a couple of minutes and a few baby wipes to clean up the mess.
Both kids loved putting the flowers into the dough. I’m of the belief that anything that’s slightly naughty is a winner with kids, they aren’t normally allowed to pull flowers off of plants so this was appealing to them!
Due to the whole bowl-on-floor-flour-everywhere issue I didn’t worry about getting the perfect consistency, the smell and interesting texture was enough to keep them busy.
As with most playdough activities this eventually descended into them burying Batman in the dough and having to rescue him, but it kept them busy for nearly an hour during which time I managed to calm down a bit too. Phew.
I am hoping to make this with a group of tweens in a grief support group. I will be ordering lavender buds. I have two questions. 1.) How much dough does this recipe make? I have 8 kids in group. and would like them each to have about about 1 cup worth.
2.) How much lavender would you recommend that I order? I can buy it by the lb., but have no idea how large that quantity amounts to. How much (cups, tablespoons, etc) would you recommend per batch?
Hi Judy, I’m not sure how much exactly this made as I did it a little while ago – the quantities were for one person though and it was a small handful (maybe a few tablespoons?) of lavender in each one. I hope your group find it helpful x
I just got done making a huge batch for a health fair. I quadrupled the recipe and came out with about 10 cups or so. I used 3 cups of lavender buds. I also added some lavender EO to give it a little boost, and I used baby oil instead of olive oil. It smells great and it made my hands feel soft. Good luck with your group!
Hi, how long does this playdough keep? I’d like to make some in advance to give away at a childrens’ party…
Hello there,
It looks like a great recipe, I’ll definitely be making this. I too am wondering how long it will keep?
Thank you!
Hi Denise, I think it would probably last for a day or two if you kept it in a tupperware box, if it’s a little dry you could always add more liquid? We tend to only use ours for the one day though so I haven’t properly tested it.
This looks so good! What a great way to help kids calm down while enjoying play!
Hi! i like the idea of adding lavender to the dough — could i use dried buds? since it’s currently winter — i’ll try it with fresh buds in the summer. thx.
Dried buds sound good, I can’t think of any reason why you couldn’t use them (obviously the normal check for allergies etc) x