There are endless possibilities when it comes to playdough, which is why it’s loved by both children and parents! 

Playdough is a brilliant open-ended sensory activity that supports early development in so many ways, including:

• Building fine motor skills   
• Developing hand strength and coordination    
• Encouraging creativity and imagination  
  

In this guide, you’ll find 10 of our favourite playdough tools and resources to help make play even more engaging, creative and meaningful at home or in early years settings.  

Top tools and resources to enhance playdough play  

1. A high-quality playdough set  

If you want to really get hands-on with playdough, a good set of tools make all the difference.

Our Sensory Dough Tool Set includes five child-friendly, soft silicone tools designed to spark creativity and support fine motor development.

It includes:

• Crinkle Cutter – for cutting, slicing and adding fun textures.    
• Straight Cutter – for shaping and dicing playdough.     
• Stylus Tool – for drawing patterns and making imprints.    
• Sculpting Tool – for carving and creating exciting textures.   
• Rolling Pin – with soft-grip handles for rolling and flattening.    
• Storage Bag – to keep everything together.
  

It’s the perfect set for open-ended sensory play and is dishwasher safe for easy clean-up!   

2. Loose parts

Loose parts are one of the simplest ways to enhance playdough play.   

Pushing items into dough and pulling them out again helps develop hand strength, coordination and focus.  

We love using a mix of:

• Pasta, buttons and matchsticks    
• Twigs, shells, pebbles and leaves   
• Flowers and other natural materials   
• Feathers and pine cones for texture and imaginative play.  
  

Loose parts can quickly turn playdough into a bakery, nature scene or small world setup. 

3. Cookie cutters and shape cutters 

Cookie cutters are a classic playdough tool and brilliant for structured shape play.

Animal cookie cutters are a particular favourite in our house and often lead to all sorts of storytelling and imaginative role play!  

Shape cutters are also a great way to introduce early geometry in a hands-on way. From circles and squares to stars and hearts, children can cut, sort and decorate shapes in their playdough.     

 We often combine both with loose parts to extend play and creativity, turning simple shapes into characters, food, or themed creations.

4. Craft supplies  

Simple craft supplies can really bring playdough creations to life.  

We love adding a few simple extras to give each creation personality and detail: 

• Googly eyes  
• Sequins, beads and gems  
• Pipe cleaners 
  

There’s something about adding googly eyes that instantly transforms a lump of dough into something full of personality!  

5. Spelling set  

A spelling set is a great way to introduce early literacy through playdough. 

Our 57 Lowercase Letter Set for Spelling features a recessed design so children can press letters into dough to form simple words.

It’s a fun, hands-on way to explore:

• Name recognition  
• Early spelling  
• Phonics and vocabulary 
  

6. Number set

A number set is perfect for introducing early numeracy through play.

With our silicone number set, children can: 

• Press numbers into playdough  
• Match numbers with loose parts  
• Practice counting 
  

You can also use them to make pretend “birthday cakes”. Popping one of the numbers on top and asking your child to add the correct number of candles is a great little game for children and a fantastic way to build confidence with numbers through play.

7. Bricks and Blocks  

Small bricks and blocks are a brilliant addition for children who love construction play. 

You can use our silicone Bricks & Blocks  to make patterns, or for building structures and imaginative small world scenes. It’s such a wonderful way to blend construction play with sensory exploration. 

8. Baking set 

A baking set is perfect for encouraging imaginative role play and storytelling.

Children love pretending to bake with playdough — rolling, cutting, mixing, and serving their creations to friends, family and cuddly toys! Adding items like silicone cake cases, candles, or pretend utensils helps bring the experience to life even more.   

This often leads to extended play scenarios like cafés, birthday parties, or kitchen role play scenarios.

9. Ice cream cones 

My girls have always loved making playdough ice cream cones — it’s one of our favourite pretend play activities.    

We use real cones from the supermarket alongside our mini scoop set and bowls for endless ice cream shop fun! 

Children can scoop, stack and serve and decorate their creations with sprinkles to make them feel even more realistic.

Ice cream themed sensory play is brilliant for developing:

• Fine motor skills  
• Hand-eye coordination  
• Imaginative play and storytelling 
  

It’s simple, open-ended play that always leads to lots of creativity and role play.

10. Playdough mats and play surfaces

Playdough mats are a brilliant way to extend play and give children inspiration for what to create.

They can help children: 

• Follow visual prompts and simple designs   
• Develop storytelling and imaginative play   
• Build early maths and literacy skills   
• Stay engaged during open-ended sensory play  

We love using themed mats, such as our Monster and Feelings playdough mats, which are great for creativity and emotional exploration. We recommend laminating or slipping them in a clear pocket to preserve them for repeat use. 

While printable mats and themed activity sheets work well, we also love using a simple, reusable base for play. 

The lid of our PlayTRAY is perfect as a playdough surface or “mat”. It creates a contained, easy-to-clean space for rolling, pressing and shaping playdough without mess spreading across the table or floor.

Pair it with loose parts, cutters or our Sensory Dough Tool Set, and it becomes a complete open-ended play station!

Make your own playdough

If you haven’t ever made your own playdough, it’s super simple and only takes five minutes. Check out our Favourite No-Cook Homemade Playdough Recipe for an easy step-by-step guide.