If you’re busy in the kitchen this holiday season, here’s a way to keep the little ones entertained and close by – bring a little magic into your kitchen! Travis was happy playing with this project for ages after the initial reveal.

Make sure you set up while kids are in another room. Place a few drops of food coloring on plastic spoons – I made one each of yellow, blue, red, and green (using the all natural food coloring from J.R. Watkins).

Cover the colors with baking soda, then fill clear plastic cups with vinegar about half full, one for each color spoon. Be sure not to fill the cups too much, or you’re going to have an over-the-top explosion (we learned this lesson the hard way!).

Then I invited Travis up to the counter, telling him I had magical spoons to stir. He eagerly reached for the first. The baking soda hit the vinegar and turned a gorgeous pink as it bubbled up and over the cup.

Needless to say, he couldn’t wait to discover the next color, and on down the line until we had 4 colorful magical potions.

That was just the beginning of the fun! Travis loved mixing and matching colors.

One cup, oddly, had a high layer of foam after it settled, and Travis thought spooning and stirring this foam was great fun.

After one cup tipped at the counter, we prudently moved the game to the floor, where Travis was like a mad scientist mixing and stirring for over half an hour.

Although normally I let him in on the science behind our projects, this time I kept the food color secret a mystery. A little magic never hurts!