Every preschooler I know loves outdoor summer fun, birthday parties and anything to do with dinosaurs. Put that combination together, and it's likely that a dinosaur-themed party will be somewhere in your parenting repertoire during the growing-up years. So save this recipe and use it when it's time to create sandy triceratops party favors. These surprises are something the kids will never forget.
If there are older kids in the family who have already earned their degree in the dino phase, let them get their hands in the mix and help you prepare this sand-goop recipe to make triceratops party favors for their younger brother's or sister's party. Once this sand clay is off the stove and has cooled (yes, you'll be cooking sand!), mold it around plastic eggs containing little plastic or rubber dinosaurs. If you don't have plastic eggs, mold the sand clay around the toys to form a ball. Let them dry a few days until hard.
On the day of your party, pass one out to each child, or hide them in your yard for guests to find in a treasure hunt. Invite them all to follow you to the sidewalk. Tell them to tap-tap-tap their eggs against the concrete. The eggs will break after a few tentative hits, and voila! Your guests have just delivered a slew of baby dinos into the world! Perfect for a "birthday" favor.
Sand clay recipe
Put 1 cup clean sand, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered alum (in the spice section of your market) and 1/2 cup water in an old cooking pot. Stir with hands or a spoon. An adult should then place the pot on the stove, turn heat to medium and continue stirring with a spoon.
As it becomes warm, it will begin to liquefy. Continue to stir for 2 to 3 minutes until clay thickens. Remove from heat and spoon mixture onto cutting board. Let cool.
Make above-mentioned party-favor eggs or enjoy molding into shapes and characters. There are probably as many ideas as there are grains of sand between your kids' and your hands!
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