Candy Cane Play Dough is one of our favorite Christmas crafts to make during the winter months. The scent is invigorating and my kid loves twisting the different colors together to form pretty shapes!

Plus, it is a great way to not only be creative and have fun, but if you let them dry out, they make the cutest ornaments too!

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Christmas Crafts

Every year I come up with Christmas crafts to do with my kids. The holidays are usually centered around presents and toys, so much so we sometimes forget what the holidays are really about, family.

This way we could spend time together and bond as a family in a fun way! Plus, it allowed us to make some special ornaments for our Christmas tree this year. 

Supplies Needed To Make Candy Cane Play Dough

Most of these supplies you will already have at home, but if you don’t the supplies are fairly low cost which makes this Christmas craft even better!

Materials:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 Tbsp cream of tartar
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup boiling water
• Red Food Coloring
• White Food Coloring
• Peppermint Essential Oil

Christmas Craft Video: Candy Cane Play Dough

How To Make Candy Cane Play Dough

1. Mix together the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil.
2. Pour in the water and stir until a dough forms.
3. Knead the dough to smooth it out.
4. Separate the dough in half and create two balls of dough.
5. Make a small indention in the top of each ball and add food coloring inside.
6. Knead each ball to incorporate the food coloring throughout — you might want to wear gloves to avoid stains on your hands!
7. Once the food coloring is spread throughout, you’ll have one ball of red play dough and one ball of white play dough.
8. Now it’s time to add your Peppermint Essential Oil! We love the way this smells — just like Candy Canes! Even better, the smell is invigorating and can support mental alertness.
9. Make a small indention in the top of each ball and add 5-7 drops of oil. Knead the play dough to disperse the oil throughout the dough.

This would be an easy candy cane craft for toddlers!

Let your kids have fun twisting the two colors around each other, mixing them together for a marbled effect, or cutting out shapes with cookie cutters. The play possibilities are endless!

These essential oil candy canes smell amazing!

Candy Cane Ornaments

The best part is, once you’re done twisting and making candy canes you can leave them out to dry. Once they dry they’ll be hard and you’ll be able to hang them on your Christmas tree.

Plus, your Christmas tree will smell great! Who doesn’t love the fresh smell of peppermint? It is one of the main smells of Christmas after all!

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Want More Playdough Fun?

Play dough is always better when it has a scent, right!? Whether it’s gingerbread play dough or pumpkin pie play dough, we love changing up our play dough with the seasons.

Check out our list of 100 Homemade Play Dough Recipes for even more fun!

Still looking for more? We have all the play dough recipes!