Make your own DIY play dough surprise eggs as a unique and imaginative Easter gift for kids, or just for everyday playful fun or rewards!
I don’t know about your kids, but when I sometimes let mine look at YouTube videos with me, they always ask to watch opening surprise eggs! Recently we stumbled across some branded PlayDoh surprise eggs which come in the regular tubs and have a toy inside an egg shaped ball of dough.
Well, that was IT! We just had to have a go at making some of our own because there are never enough fun ways to use play dough! These would make a brilliant alternative, non-chocolate and candy Easter egg alternative, and better yet, you can choose your own little gifts to include to match each child’s interests (with no dud surprises!)
How to make DIY play dough surprise eggs:
First of all we made a batch of our super-quick, 4 minute no-cook play dough recipe. We split it into 4 portions and coloured each one separately. We then rolled each one of those balls into golden glitter to make it super sparkly and magical!
Then I found some plastic eggs which I had saved from last Easter (you can find these in all £1/$1 stores in Spring time, or on Amazon, supermarkets etc.)
Inside each one I placed a small animal toy with some themed small world sensory items to add to the play. If you have a child who still puts thins in their mouths then omit these items. For older children they really help add to the imaginative play possibilities when opened!
Then I rolled out the dough using a rolling pin and wrapped the closed egg and its contents inside like a present.
Once it’s wrapped around it was easy to roll into a smooth egg shape. I did the same for each one then rolled them again in the glitter to add a magical surprise element to the eggs!
The girls were thrilled to have their very own play dough surprise eggs! They chose a couple each at random to open and straight away started making imaginative small world play scenes with the contents and started playing together.
I tried to match the dough colour to the animal habitat in each case, and here are the other elements that were included:
Giraffe = yellow play dough and long grass cut from felt
Dinosaur = pink play dough and brown buttons in various shades and sizes
Frog = green play dough and felt lily-pads in three sizes
Fish = blue play dough, a shell and blue glass gem pebbles
There are SO many other alternative ways to fill the eggs, from their favourite characters, learning resources, mini lego or Playmobil figures etc. These were small things that we had and that worked together well in an animal habitat theme.
What would you put in yours?
I can’t wait to do this again at Easter time. I think I will put little Lego sets into the eggs for fun building opportunities! These would also make great take-home presents for birthday parties or class treats! Fill them with sweets, stickers, marbles or hair accessories!
What they are learning as they play:
Knowledge & Understanding: animal names and habitats
Creativity: small world imaginative/ fantasy play, using elements to represent others in play, taking on a role or character during play
PHSE: receiving gifts, surprises
Cakie: 5.5
Pop: 3.10
Bean: 1.11
Here are 30 more DIY gifts you can make for kids!
We love your 4-minute play dough! We’ve even colored it using kool-aid powder so it is colored and scented! I think my kids would love these for Easter. I buy the larger plastic eggs, so it will be fun to fill!
Yet another brilliant idea. You are a genius, Anna! I will be pinning this one right away as a little reminder before Easter.
Mel
so simple yet so affective. Don’t have words how much I love it. Sharing it on my facebook wall.
Does the play dog not dry out???? Sounds like a great idea but crumbly if you make in advance????
What a lovely and simple idea Anna, thanks Mich x
Love it – Maybe I could wean my son off kinder eggs by making these for him 🙂
I’m from Australia and we’re about to travel to the UK for a month – I was thinking these would be genius to fill in the time on the plane. My question is: does anyone know whether customs/security would allow me to take playdough onto a plane? If you Anna or any of your readers know I’d love an informed answer!
I really love this idea and I’m sure my son will love it too!
Anna these are so great. The kids’ birthday party is coming up and these are going to make great party favours. They’ll be fabulous. Love them 🙂
Lucy – About 2yrs ago I took Playdoh brand on a trip from Australia to Italy via Bangkok with no worries at all.
Thanks Kate! I follow your blog too! Was going to take our own homemade but maybe I’ll take Playdough brand to be on the safe side. Thanks so much for replying!
I also thought this would be great for our long haul plane journey at the weekend but do you have any other little, light activities which might also work?
This is a great idea for little kids!!!
I will definitely be trying it out soon.
Absolutely love your site and all your amazing ideas. I have made these for an Easter party for three year old boys. I did your black space playdoh and filled the eggs with a matchbox car and some plastic road signs. Can’t wait to see the boys open them and hopefully make a small highway scene!
Hi Anna,
I just wanted to let you know I have just posted about the scented eggs my children and I made yesterday (http://lecoindemel.com/scented-play-dough-easter-eggs/). The idea was all yours and I have given you full credit in my post and linked to this page. Mel
I thought my kids were the only ones with an ‘odd’ obsession of watching you tube vids of opening surprise eggs! (How did they find them anyway?!) -They don’t watch much TV at all but these videos are what they beg me to see, so this idea is absolute GENIUS! Thank you so much for sharing all your creativity with us- my kiddies will be SO excited by this!