Fun Activities to do With Peeps
As Joss has gotten older, I haven’t been great at planning for at-home experiments like crafts and science projects. But as Easter approaches, I thought it would be fun to stock up on Peeps, for the purposes of experiments and crafts. Here are five activities we did with our Peeps – plus a few more fun ideas.
1. Keeping it simple: Microwave!
Naturally, the first thing we did was to stick a Peep in the microwave for about 20 seconds. If you’ve ever done this with a regular marshmallow, you’ll know what to expect: It expands, expands, expands, until you open the door and it deflates. Just don’t microwave it for too long, or you could be left with a burnt, gooey mess.
Why does this happen? It has to do with the marshmallow basically being a bunch of air pockets that expand when heated up. (Find a more detailed explanation at annex.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/activity-mallows.html
2. Peeps Slime
Does your kid love slime? I’ve tried to avoid it because we’ve ruined at least one T-shirt when making slime, ugh! (If you’re ever in this situation, here’s an article on how to remove slime from clothing: parents.com/parenting/home/how-to-get-slime-out-of-clothes)
However, I caved this time because I needed more Peeps activities, and Joss doesn’t share my same aversion to slime. We used the recipe from Little Bins for Little Hands because it looked super simple. All you need is:
- 5 Peeps
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- A few tablespoons of corn starch
- Microwave the Peeps along with the vegetable oil for about 30 seconds.
- Remove the bowl from the microwave. Kneed in cornstarch, one Tbsp. at a time, until you’re pleased with the texture (probably around 3 Tbsp. in total)
Do this with a few different colors of Peeps to create a pastel rainbow!
I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the most satisfying slime. So we made another version of slime – sans Peeps – later that afternoon, which I do recommend: iheartnaptime.net/butter-slime
3. Peeps Taste Test
I have a family member to thank for this idea. I don’t think I even realized how many flavors Peeps come in now. She had a really nice Dr. Pepper-flavored Peep that was actually good. I don’t know if I loved any of the Peeps we tried, but it’s a fun activity nonetheless.
These are the flavors we found at Target:
And here’s how I set up the taste test:
Obviously, you can make your display much nicer!
4. Peeps Scene
Again, I could’ve put in more effort into this art, but you get the idea! This was just a simple crayon-and-paper setup, but you could get creative with props, cardboard, etc.
Along the same lines, you could make a graham cracker gingerbread-house for your Peep, and some where you can create an entire scene inside a glass jar for a centerpiece.
For some better inspiration, check out these incredible book-inspired Peeps dioramas. Mt. Lebanon Public Library has an annual contest and received 150 entries this year, so people really get into it!
5. Painting with Peeps
Bunny-style Peeps in particular make the perfect paint stamp. Grab some acrylic paints and a canvas, and start painting with Peeps! I wanted to find pastel colors, but these were the ones I found first. You could also add faces to the finished canvas.
You may want to do some trial-and-error on a separate sheet of paper to make sure you know how much paint to use for your finished product. And be sure to press down evenly on the whole Peep, or you may be left with some blank spots.
Additional Ideas
The Peeps website itself has a ton of recipe and craft ideas: peepsbrand.com/easter-recipes-and-crafts
And here are some science experiments you can do with the Peeps: sciencebuddies.org/blog/science-activities-peeps
And finally, some games: notconsumed.com/peeps-games-family-fun-night (One of them is just trying to eat a Peep of a plate without using your hands, so…hilarious, and easy.)
Share your own ideas in the comments!
