The Sweet Smell of Christmas

The Sweet Smell of Christmas was our book of the day for Friday.  I love this book and remember reading it when every Christmas when I was a child.  My mom gave O(5) this copy on her first Christmas, and it's always a favorite. 


After we read the book, the girls and I made candy cane playdough.  Here is the basic recipe:

1 c. flour
1/2 cup salt
1 T. cooking oil
1 T. cream of tartar
1 c. water
Food coloring of your choice
Add-ins of your choice (i.e. spices, extracts, glitter, etc.)

Stir ingredients together well. Just measure them into the saucepan you will be using to cook the dough, but mix them well before heating up the pan. Over medium heat cook the dough, stirring constantly until it forms a ball.

Let the playdough cool and then knead until it's smooth.

The girls loved taking turns pouring in the ingredients, and they especially loved kneading the warm dough.  We ran out of salt, so we only made a half recipe, but we'll make more this week.  Homemade playdough makes great Christmas gifts!