Cloud dough is a great alternative to homemade play dough since it comes together from just two ingredients. Plus it’s one of those great sensory materials that you can vary only slightly to make it fit each season!

To wit, today it was time for sparkly Christmas cloud dough. I added 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup vegetable oil to a craft tray, and simply mixed it all together with my hands. (Note: You can use an equal amount of cornstarch in place of the flour if you want the dough to be a more pure snow white).

We then added green glitter for some Christmas spirit! Veronika was thrilled to see the sparkles and began spooning through the mixture with a little scoop.

I showed her that she could squeeze it into balls, which we called “Christmas cakes”.

It also made great snowmen if we piled a few atop each other.

We then pulled out an arctic set of plastic animals she loved tromping them through the dough, adding an imaginative element to the sensory play.

Overall, this was very simple but clearly great fun!