Taste-Safe Chocolate Gloop – Easter Messy Play Worth Trying

Those plastic Easter eggs that come out every year and then sit in a drawer for the other 51 weeks? This is what you do with them.

I mixed up a batch of chocolate gloop, let my kids loose on it and they played for way longer than I expected. My 4 year old mixed it with her hands, buried the plastic eggs and some plastic animals, pulled them out, cleaned them off and did it all again. Then she added her toy cars and monster trucks. I made the dinner and loaded the dishwasher and nobody needed me - win!

What you need:

• Cornflour (plain flour will do if you don’t have any)

• Cocoa powder

• Water

• A container or tray to mix it in

• Whatever toys your child wants to throw in - plastic Easter eggs are perfect for this

Mix your cornflour and cocoa powder together first, then slowly add water until you get a thick gloopy consistency. Cornflour and water make oobleck - a strange, satisfying mixture that feels solid when you press it and liquid when you let it sit. Kids (and adults, tbf) find this absolutely fascinating and will spend a long time exploring it.  If you only have plain flour, that works too - it'll be more of a cake batter texture, but still great for mixing and playing.

Before you start
Pop a Zazi Messy Mat down on the floor underneath your tray or start your play in the garden. The gloop itself is pretty easy to clean up - it dries and brushes off most surfaces - but anticipating the mess and embracing it means you're not watching anxiously if any escapes over the edge. Messy is best for learning!

How to play
There are no instructions here really. Put the tray in front of your child and let them go. Add the plastic Easter eggs and whatever toys they want to throw in, let them mix and squish and clean things off and start again. It sounded like my kids were playing mud baths then car washes then pretending to make chocolate eggs like Willy Wonka.  The whole activity smells like chocolate which is a bonus.

Why it's worth doing
The setup takes about three minutes, you probably have everything at home already, and kids genuinely love it. Sensory play like this is brilliant for so many parts of learning and development - so try not to shy away from it and leave it up to preschool to make the mess. If you like your coffee hot - this is the activity for you. And those plastic Easter eggs finally get a second life.

Happy Easter. You’ve got this!🐣