Holiday Cookie Playdough Bakery: DIY Christmas Playdough Recipes

a playdough tray filled with holiday-related items like red and green sprinkles and gingerbread cookie cutters

The holidays aren’t complete without cookies. Rolling, cutting, and sprinkling are an integral part of the magic. But sometimes the kitchen gets crowded, timers beep too loudly, and dough spreads when it was supposed to stay crisp. That’s where the Holiday Cookie Playdough Bakery swoops in to save the day. This little setup delivers the joy of holiday baking without a single crumb or oven mitt.

a playdough tray filled with holiday-related items like red and green sprinkles and gingerbread cookie cutters

With cinnamon playdough and peppermint playdough on the counter, cookie cutters lined up, sprinkles ready for decorating, and playdough tools at the ready, the kitchen suddenly transforms into the coziest pretend bakery. Small hands press, roll, and decorate; baking up endless trays of holiday playdough cookies.

This Christmas sensory play idea smells like cinnamon spice and peppermint cheer, and feels like a holiday dream.

Christmas Playdough Activity That Smells Like the Season

a playdough tray filled with holiday-related items and playdough cookies

Playdough usually brings to mind bright neon tubs and that distinct PlayDoh scent. But this bakery is something special. DIY cinnamon playdough carries a warm, spiced aroma that wraps around the senses like a cozy blanket. Meanwhile, DIY peppermint playdough bursts with cool, minty freshness. Together, they set the scene for the sweetest pretend bakery in town.

The best part? Every batch of “cookies” smells deliciously holiday-themed. Kids scoop up the playdough, roll it out, and press cutters into the soft dough, all while breathing in aromas that make the experience richer than just plain old play.

Holiday Cookie Playdough Bakery Supplies

A bakery isn’t complete without supplies. This playful holiday setup is stocked with all the essentials for endless pretend baking:

playdough, red food coloring, and cinnamon
  • Cinnamon playdough – warm, spiced, and cozy

  • Peppermint playdough – cool, minty, and cheerful

  • Sprinkles – real sprinkles or colorful bead substitutes

  • Cookie cutters – stars, gingerbread shapes, snowflakes, and more

  • Playdough roller – smooths out the dough just right

  • Playdough knife – safe cutting and shaping tools

Put these all together, and suddenly the dining table transforms into a busy bakery counter. Trays fill up with pretend cookies dusted and decorated, peppermint treats stacked in neat piles, and gingerbread men decorated with a sprinkle of imagination.

Holiday Play Ideas That Last Longer Than Cookies

a playdough tray filled with holiday-related items like red and green sprinkles and gingerbread cookie cutters

Cookies vanish in minutes. A tray of playdough cookies? That lasts all afternoon. Rolling out cinnamon dough, stamping shapes, and decorating with sprinkles stretches time in the best way possible. This activity is about soaking in the wonder of the season without rushing.

Every cookie becomes a tiny masterpiece. Some end up with sprinkles piled sky-high, others are simple peppermint rounds, or a gingerbread family might get created and lined up on a pretend cookie sheet. It’s the process, not the product, that makes this bakery sparkle.

DIY Christmas Playdough Recipes for Holiday Fun

No store-bought tubs here. This bakery shines because everything is homemade. Making the dough is part of the holiday fun, and the recipes are simple enough to whip up in a flash.

a kid rolling out cinnamon playdough with sprinkles in in

DIY Cinnamon Playdough

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
  • Ground cinnamon (as needed)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 cup boiling water

Mix the dry ingredients, stir in the oil, and carefully pour in the boiling water. Knead until smooth. Add cinnamon while kneading until desired color/scent level is achieved. The cinnamon adds the most delicious bakery scent.

DIY Peppermint Playdough Recipe for Kids

a playdough tray filled with holiday-related items like red and green sprinkles and gingerbread cookie cutters

DIY Peppermint Playdough

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • Red food coloring

This is the same process as above. So just stir, knead, and breathe in that cool peppermint aroma. Feel free to increase or reduce peppermint extract for a stronger or more subtle scent. Once dough is ready, divide in half and add food coloring to one batch. Knead until color is consistent. Both doughs can stay soft for weeks when stored in airtight containers.

Pretend Holiday Baking with Playdough Cookies

a playdough tray filled with holiday-related items like red and green sprinkles

The magic of the Holiday Cookie Playdough Bakery isn’t in perfect shapes or flawless decorations; it’s in the way imagination runs wild. One moment, a tray of stars is cooling on an invisible rack. Next, a pretend bakery window is filled with gingerbread people and candy cane rounds.

Sometimes sprinkles end up in unexpected places, or playdough cookies stack into a leaning tower. That’s the beauty of it. Creativity gets a wide-open stage, with no burnt bottoms or kitchen mishaps in sight.

Why Holiday Cookie Playdough Should be a Tradition

gingerbread cookie made out of playdough

There’s something grounding about simple traditions. Rolling dough, sprinkling toppings, and sharing trays of pretend cookies all build connections and holiday joy. Unlike other seasonal activities that last only a few minutes, this bakery can be revisited again and again.

Set up the bakery once, and it becomes an ongoing tradition. Cinnamon dough in the morning, peppermint rounds in the afternoon, and maybe a whole new batch tomorrow. The smells, the textures, and the endless creations make this holiday playdough bakery unforgettable.

Holiday Cookie Playdough Bakery Without the Sugar Rush

gingerbread cookies made out of playdough

Not every holiday activity needs sugar. This Christmas sensory play idea delivers the cozy spirit of cookie baking while skipping the frosting-covered counters and flour-dusted floors. Instead, kids get the full hands-on experience of baking cookies without ever turning on the oven.

The result? Stickiness-free fun, trays of imaginative cookies, and memories that linger far longer than a sugar rush.

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