Kool Aid Playdough for Mardi Gras

Since January, I’ve been planning some special Mardi Gras themed activities and meals for the month of March.  This year, Mardi Gras is March 8.  Although I live in Texas now, I spent many years of my childhood in Lafayette, Louisiana, where Mardi Gras is a school holiday!

For our playdough this month, not only did I make playdough in the colors of Mardi Gras, but I also used Kool Aid for some extra sensory fun!  Remember when I used Kool Aid for that Scratch and Sniff Paint last year?  Yeah, I’ve been itchin’ to use it again!  I’ll be honest though, I cheated a little bit.  In addition to the coloring from the Kool Aid (which in most cases will be sufficient coloring for the playdough), I also added some Wilton Icing Gel coloring.  The purple/grape looks a little blue, but the yellow/lemonade and green/lime turned out great!

The Littlest Apple is having so much fun playing with this.  His favorite way to play with playdough is to cut it, but I’ve also caught him actually trying to MAKE shapes with it, which is a first around here.  Hooray for progress!

Kool Aid Playdough

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt (use iodized, not kosher for smoother dough)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• Green, Yellow, and Purple Kool Aid packets

Stir first 5 ingredients together well in pot.  Over medium heat cook the dough, stirring constantly until it forms a ball.  Turn dough onto a board (or the countertop) and knead until very smooth.  Divide into thirds, and add Kool Aid (and food coloring, if needed) to each ball of playdough.  Cool.  Store in a covered plastic container.