You'll Never Have To Buy Bubble Solution Again Thanks To This Recipe (2024)

Blowing bubbles with your kids is a fun and easy way toget them playing outside—not to mention the smiles and laughs along the way. There's just something about bubbles that kids of all ages love, whether it's chasing after them or trying to blow the biggest one without it popping.

Beyond just being fun, playing with bubbles may also help toboost your child's development. "When a child goes chasing a bubble across a yard, giggling with delight, they are actually working on their hand-eye coordination and practicing visual tracking," says Kristen Miller, a certified early childhood educator and director of education forCelebree School.

Before you head out to the store to stock up on bubble solution, consider making your own homemade bubble solution at home. You probably already have everything you need in your kitchen—you can even involve your kids for a fun activity, too.

Homemade Bubble Solution Ingredients

To DIY your own bubble solution you will need:

• Large container
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup dish soap

Optionally, you may also need:

• 1 tablespoon glycerin
• ¼ cup sugar
  

How To Make Homemade Bubble Solution

There issciencein the process of making a good bubble solution. Water by itself has a high surface tension, which means plain water bubbles are small and quick to burst. Adding soap or detergent to water lowers the surface tension and allows larger bubbles to form.

Here are the steps to DIY your own bubble solution:

1. Pour the water into the container.
2. Slowly add the dish soap.
3. Mix the dish soap into the water very gently. Do your best to not let foam or bubbles form on top.

The recipe for bubble solution is six parts water to one part dish soap. The easiest way to do this is to mix 6 cups of water with 1 cup of dish soap. While you can adjust measurements as needed (such as 3 cups water with ½ cup dish soap), larger amounts work best.

How To Make Better Bubbles

Adding the optional ingredients to your homemade bubble solution can improve the consistency of your bubbles. Glycerin and sugar will give you bubbles that last longer and are more difficult to pop.

Glycerin absorbs water, so your bubbles won't dry out as fast. Sugar mixes with the dish soap, creating a stronger bubble film. These additions will also allow you to blow much bigger bubbles.

• For glycerin bubbles, add 1 tablespoon of glycerin before mixing the water and dish soap solution.
• For sugar bubbles, add ¼ cup sugar to the water and stir until dissolved. Then, add the dish soap.

Letting your solution sit overnight may make it easier to blow those big bubbles. Alternatively, you can uncap your dish soap overnight for similar results. But don't worry if you don't have time for this; the solution should work either way.

Fun Bubble Activities To Try With Your Kids

If you feel like doing some organized activities, we have a few ideas for you. Just know that it's completely optional to structure your kids' time playing with bubbles.Free playis just as beneficial.

Do a bubble science experiment

Try thisscience experiment with your kids: Mix up one regular batch of bubble solution, one with glycerin, and one with sugar. You can also add both glycerin and sugar for a fourth batch. Compare the different types of bubbles you get from each batch. Which are the largest? The smallest? The shiniest?

Have a bubble-blowing competition

See who can blow the biggest bubble, using hoops or long pieces of string with the ends tied together. Mix your solution in a kiddie pool or another wide container.

You can break into teams where part of the challenge is making the best solution, or you can focus just on the skill of bubble blowing.

Create colorful bubbles

Simply add a few drops of food coloring to your mixture and your bubbles will pick up a new hue. You can make several batches of different shades, or experiment with color mixing.

Freeze bubbles

Bubbles aren't just for warm weather. Bundle up on a cold winter day and watch your bubbles freeze after you blow them.

Play a silly popping game

Add a fun challenge by trying to pop bubbles using only a specific body part. For example, everyone must use their foot or their nose to pop the bubbles. Switch to another body part after several minutes have passed.

Additional reporting by Amanda Rock