Mum dyes dried rice for ‘easy and cheap messy play’ for daughter – and other parents love the idea
A CLEVER mum has revealed how she created a quirky “messy play” game using packs of Aldi’s 45p rice. The woman shared a snap of her handiwork on Facebook group Extreme Couponing & Bargains UK, run by money-saving expert Holly Smith. In the pictures, the woman’s daughter can be seen using plastic pots and shovels […]
A CLEVER mum has revealed how she created a quirky “messy play” game using packs of Aldi’s 45p rice.
The woman shared a snap of her handiwork on Facebook group Extreme Couponing & Bargains UK, run by money-saving expert Holly Smith.
In the pictures, the woman’s daughter can be seen using plastic pots and shovels to scoop up heaps of brightly-coloured rice.
The pieces are kept in a medium-sized tub, which could easily be substituted for a washing up bowl or storage box.
Her caption explains: “Easy and cheap messy play for indoors or outdoors.
“Nice change from sand and kept my wee one occupied for hours. (I did 5 diff colours using 4 bags of rice) [sic].”
The mum goes on to explain her method for dyeing the rice, writing: “Bag of uncooked rice from Aldi 45p, food colouring in the cupboard into a tablespoon of vinegar.
“Pop in a ziplock bag and shake to spread the colour.
“Then pop on a tray to air for an hour or so and the vinegar smell will go.
“(Can also do it with paint but I haven’t tried that option!).”
Other members of the group were clearly impressed with the results – within a couple of hours, the post had racked up 1.1k likes and over 500 comments.
One person wrote: “What a brilliant idea thank you for sharing xx.”
Others said: “Thanks. Just made a load, my youngest will love it,” and: “This is really good for children with sensory issues too I’m going to be doing this.”
Some said they’d already given it a go, with one message reading: “Been doing this for years, daughter loves it.
“We also have stuff she can scoop it up with which has helped strengthen her hands which is helping her with learning to write. She has many disabilities so also fun too.”
Another commented: “I use a little hand sanitiser instead of vinegar so there’s no smell and I use kids’ paint.
“Find it a lot brighter than food colouring.”
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