Kids LOVE These Fun Recipes for Homemade Slime, Playdough, and Bubbles!

These homemade recipes for slime, playdough, and bubbles will keep kids occupied and happy all summer long. The added bonus is that you can boost these kid-friendly recipes with essential oils to support calming, focus, or happy moods (depending on the oils you choose) and provide hours of soothing sensory play. In other words, these fun homemade play recipes are a WIN all around!
Looking for more DIY essential oil recipes for kids, cleaning and homemade gifts? Check out this must-have hair detangling spray for kids, and our full essential oil recipe gallery here!

It’s summer, my kids are off of school for what feels like forever, and I’m always looking for kids’ activities we’ll all enjoy. These three homemade recipes fit the bill, and the best part is we can customize them with essential oils to fit our needs and mood! For example, adding lavender to the bubbles makes for a calming session of quiet bubble blowing. Peppermint in the playdough boosts focus and sustained activity time. And lavender the the slime means calming sensory play for hours on end.

We created a quick video to show you our three favorite recipes, with detailed ingredients and instructions below!

3 Homemade Play Recipes with Essential Oils

Here’s a quick overview of our 3 favorite homemade recipes for play– homemade slime, bubbles, and playdough!

Which essential oils are best for homemade play recipes?

Here’s a few of our favorites for using with kids; note that I only use and trust Young Living essential oils because I’ve personally witnessed the purity of their oils firsthand!

Lavender (calming)

Peppermint (focus)

Joy (mood boosting)

Lemon (mood boosting)

Peace & Calming (calming)

What are some safety rules for using essential oils in recipes for kids?

I’m sure you know this already, but make sure to supervise kids while making and playing with these recipes. Keep ingredients out of the reach of children when not being used. Avoid contact of all ingredients with eyes, nose, and mouth. Wash hands before and after making and playing with the recipes. Make sure the essential oils you are using are of the highest quality and the correct strength to use with kids (the ones listed above are great, as long as you are using Young Living.) Do not eat the recipes, even though they may smell yummy. 🙂 When finished playing with the slime/ playdough/ bubbles, store in an airtight container.

How to Make Homemade Calming Slime with Essential Oils

We’ve used Elmer’s Glitter Glue because it already has the color and glitter embedded inside; if you don’t have that on hand, you can use school glue, food coloring and regular glitter for the same effect. Personally, I love using the glitter glue because it makes it so much easier!

Materials

1/4 c. Liquid Starch or Slime Activator
1/2 c. Glitter Glue (OR, School Glue, food coloring, and glitter)
1/2 c. water
Lavender Essential Oil

Instructions

1. Add most of the bottle of glitter glue to bowl. Add in liquid starch and water and knead it it’s slime-like. If it’s too stringy, add in more glue. If it’s too solid and sticky, add in more liquid starch.

2. Add in a drop of essential oil, and continue kneading and stretching.

3. Watch as kids smoosh, stretch, and play with the calming slime!

How to Make Homemade Calming Bubbles with Essential Oils

Using a variety of bubble wands makes this bubble solution full of endless fun, and it’s especially calming if you use an oil like Lavender!

Materials

variety of bubble wands (similar)
5 drops vegetable glycerin
1/4 cup dishwashing liquid (I use Thieves dishwashing liquid)
3/4 cup cold water
a few drops of essential oil (we love lavender for calming bubbles)
bowl

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a bowl, stir, and use a variety of wand sizes to blow bubbles!

How to Make Homemade Focus Playdough with Essential Oils

Materials

Playdough cutters (optional, but fun!)
2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
2 TB cream of tartar
2 TB vegetable oil
10 drops of essential oil
1 1/2 c. water
food coloring

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, stir the flour, salt, and cream of tarter together until well incorporated. In a small bowl, mix your essential oil in with the vegetable oil. Pour into the dry ingredients and blend together.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add food coloring to the boiling water and stir.

3. Carefully add about 1 cup of the dyed water to the flour mix and stir. Continue to add the remaining water slowly and mix until the playdough is the correct consistency. With your hands, knead the dough until smooth and then you’re ready to play!

Wilton Cookie Cutters Set, ...Shop on Amazon NOW Foods Solutions, Vegeta...Shop on Amazon Elmer's Liquid Glitter Glue...Shop on Amazon Elmer's Slime Activator | M...Shop on Amazon

The kids beg to make these recipes and I agree because it provides so much playtime where they’re engaged and being creative. It’s a fantastic alternative to screens this summer!

Truth be told, I kinda want to sneak off and make some of that focus playdough myself. I could see kneading it for an hour while reading or listening to a podcast! 😉

Which recipes do you plan to make with your kiddos? Any additional tips for making homemade play recipes to share?