Make Bath Salts {DIY gift idea for kids}

My girls love having baths. They love it even more when they have something smelly, fizzy, or bubbly to add to their baths. I like making bath salts with them because then I know exactly what’s going into their bath (no harsh chemicals on their skin!). Bath salts are quite easy to make and also make a great gift for a variety of people and occasions.

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Supplies needed:

• Epsom salts
• baking soda
• food colouring (optional)
• essential oils (optional)
• jars
• ribbons, labels (optional)

Bath Salt Recipes

There are dozens of recipes for DIY bath salts online. I just scanned Pinterest looking for ideas—and for a recipe that I had the ingredients for. The easiest way to make bath salts to do is mix up Epsom salts with food colouring (because kids like colour) and a scent, as the girls did at one Mother’s Day event.

Lavender Bath Salts

For our Lavender Bath Salts, we mixed equal parts Epsom salts and baking soda together. Sunshine had fun measuring this out while Lily stirred. Then I added two drops of lavender essential oil per cup of Epsom salts and baking soda, and a few drops of red and blue food colouring. The girls used their hands to squish and mix it all together.

We spent quite a bit of time adding more food colouring, trying to get it more purple, until I finally decided it was purple enough. Then Sunshine scooped it into the jars. I tied a ribbon around each jar and added a construction paper label. Again your labels can be as fancy or as simple as you want. Use calligraphy or hand lettering to make pretty labels or print simple labels using your computer.

Making Other Bath Salts

The possibilities with this craft are endless. If you have essential oils, you could make bath salts in a variety of scents and for a variety of purposes, and colour them as you like. I think we’ll work on some peppermint bath salts next (perfect for Christmas gifts!) and try to layer red and white salts in the jars like a candy cane.

If you don’t have essential oils, there are also recipes for making bath salts with simple household ingredients, like vanilla. I like the essential oils because many of them provide added benefits to the bath; lavender is relaxing and soothing, perfect for an evening soak in the tub.

Here are some recipes to get you started:

• DIY Bath Salts (with sea salt instead of baking soda)
• 15 Soothing DIY Bath Salts

As you can see from the pictures, I just used some jars from my pantry—old jam jars and canning jars. You could also get nicer jars at your dollar store or from Amazon. One of my friends adds a cute little wooden spoon with her bath salts. So the presentation can be as simple or fancy as you want to make it.

Cost: $5-10, depending on the recipe you use (essential oils are more expensive)

Difficulty: easy (suitable for kids 2+ with help)

If you and your kids really enjoy making bath salts and DIY self-care products, you’ll love the Simply Earth monthly subscription box. This box arrives each month with 4 essential oils and 6 recipes to make with those oils, for you and your home. You and your kids will have fun creating the practical, helpful recipes together each month. Check out what I got in the November box and or see the awesome spa treatments in the October box and use my coupon code to get your first box free!