When we made our original stretchy Christmas Tree Slime, the kids enjoyed it, but were wishing they could have slime that actually looked like a Christmas Tree and count be “decorated”. This holiday scented Christmas tree slime is just what they were looking for! 
This holiday scented Christmas tree slime allows kids to use their imaginations as they “decorate” the tree. It also provides tactile, visual, olfactory (scent), and proprioceptive sensory feedback.
Holiday Scented Christmas Tree Slime Recipe:
- 5 oz. clear glue
- 1/2 cup water
- green candy colour (you can also use food colouring or paint if you prefer)
- pine essential oil
- green glitter
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp contact solution
- pom poms
Instructions:
- In a bowl, pour 5 oz. of clear glue.
- Add 1/2 cup of water. Mix until the glue has broken up and is incorporated into the water. I use warm water for this so that it mixes more easily.
- Add a few drops of green candy color, mixing until you get the perfect Christmas tree colour.
- Add a drop or two of pine essential oil.
- Sprinkle in your glitter. I used a mix of chunky and fine glitter. Stir everything together.
- Mix in 1/2 tsp. baking soda. The baking soda will help determine your slime’s thickness.
- Mix in 1 Tbsp of contact solution. Be sure that your contact solution contains boric acid. Contact solution determines the stickiness of the slime. The slime will be ready to knead when it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead the slime. At first, it will be sticky. Just keep kneading it! If you have to, you can add a little bit more contact solution, but be careful not to over-activate it by adding too much.
- Add some multi-colour pompoms as the “ornaments” on the tree.
- Be sure to store the slime in an airtight container.
During the holidays, it can be even more important to have sensory play activities around. When kids aren’t doing their regular routine, they can have a harder time self-regulating. Ensuring that they are receiving plenty of sensory input, particularly the type that provides proprioceptive feedback can help them to regulate.
With kids not only being out of routine, but also not receiving as much natural sensory input at school or out in the community, you will need to provide many opportunities for them. Holiday themed sensory play is an easy way to do that.
Here are some other holiday sensory play ideas:
Slime makes a great gift. You can either give the homemade slime in a container topped with a bow or festive cookie cutter on ribbon or create a kit with slime ingredients and recipes.
Knead each one separately until it becomes the consistency of slime.
Just a little note to add: once you start playing with all three colours together, they will eventually mix. The colours don’t stay magically separated!
What I like about this particular sensory bag is that it makes a scrunchy sound when you squish it. It also has a few different textures in the bag so it offers tactile, visual and auditory sensory experiences.
To assemble this Christmas sensory bag, open the resealable bag, fill it half to three quarters full with the coloured paper shreds and then add the other items. Remove the excess air from the bag and seal.
Depending on the age and ability of the child who is using this, you may want to use duct tape to firm up the seal so that they can’t open it and pull out the contents which could be choking hazards for younger kids. You can finds all kinds of Christmasy duct tape to make it look more festive. Of course, as with all sensory activities, adult supervision should be used.
Anti-anxiety kits help kids feel more in control of their emotions and reactions. I find that it’s best to clarify how the kit works and explain all the tools when your child is already calm. Introduce them to the holiday calm down kit and explain how each item can be used when they start to feel anxious. Reassure them that if one item doesn’t work, they can try another until they find the one that’s right for them at that time.
I actually had to help my daughter use her Christmas calm down kit earlier tonight. I found it ironic that I knew I would be writing about this later and was putting it to good use right beforehand. When I write about these kind of things, rest assured that it is coming from first-hand, up-close-and-personal experience!
