When the boys were little, we bought a very nifty device for making giant bubbles.
It was and still is an amazing toy, but twenty years ago, we couldn’t get the right dishwashing detergent for the bubble solution – it needed to be either Joy or Dawn, both of which were only available in the US. During that time, our fabulous friends would come home from overseas holidays with very well wrapped bottles of dishwashing liquid in their luggage.
Last week, we dragged the Bubble Thing out and took it around the corner for Baby M, along with a batch of solution made from the last of our twenty year old Joy. Liz and Brett mastered the technique pretty quickly…
We can now buy Fairy dishwashing liquid in Australia (at Coles), which seems to be a reasonable substitute for the American brands.
Here’s the formula for a squillion bubbles…
- 3 cups cold water
- ¼ cup Fairy, Joy or Dawn dishwashing liquid
- 1 tablespoon glycerine (or glycerol – available at the pharmacy)
Stir everything together gently without frothing, as too many suds seem to prevent bubbles forming. This mix results in pretty decent bubbles of all sizes, although it doesn’t seem quite as robust for giant bubbles as the solution made with Joy.
Small Man had fun with it nonetheless…
The solution is brilliant for small bubbles, and I think it would make a great refill for the tiny bottles with wands in them. If you’d like a giant bubble maker, they’re still widely available – I spotted one at Terrific Scientific in Annandale last week!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
These are magic. What fun!
Maz, you need to get one of these wands if you don’t already have one. They really ARE magic, and our bubbles are tiny compared to the ones that can be made with it!
Looks like you had fun! Maybe I was always using the wrong brand of dish soap for our bubble solution. Ours never turned out so beautiful and big.
Manuela, apparently only certain types of dish soap will work – it has to be Joy or blue Dawn or Fairy. We tried for ages and our local brands just wouldn’t do it.
We had those for our kids, too! So much fun. :)
Misky, they’re just the best thing aren’t they!
Bubbles are always so much fun, no matter your age.
have a wonderful week ahead Celia.
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, we love them! It’s so nice having baby M coming over to play – good excuse to get the old toys out again!
That’s so funny because last night I was looking at a post I had marked on “a country life experiment blog July 2014 about how they made big bubbles and since the kids are on holidays at the end of the week I thought we would make some. Looks like fun. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane
Kathy, look out for the Fairy brand at Coles – it’s quite new, but it’s the only local dishwashing detergent that we’ve found that works!
Beautiful bubble pictures!
Thank you! I think bubble photos are always magical!
Interesting. I did notice that washing liquid in Aus was not as ‘soapy’ as what we have here. I was always adding extra before the dishes were done.
Pete said something about ours being detergents rather than soaps, but I’m not sure I understand the chemistry of it all!
Bubbles are always wonderful… an across the road apartment resident has a bubble machine… for the baby apparently… but he gets great delight in filling up our street with bubbles, and to my delight some float over to our balcony & around us, and occasionally make their way inside. Fun!
ED, how wonderful! x
There is ALWAYS time for bubbles :)
Always!!
That looks like the best fun!
Clare, when he’s a little older, E will love this! :)
Fun Post Celia. We loved bubbles when our daughter was small and had friends in the US who had one of these devices that made the huge bubbles. She loved it. Of all the odd things I’ve carried back from the US, I never thought of bringing dishwashing liquid!
Ardys, honestly we have some of the best friends in the world. One had to explain to customs exactly *why* he had a suitcase full of Joy detergent.. :)
A very timely recipe for the school holidays and another activity for the little blokes.
Have fun Francesca! I think you can make bubble wands out of pipecleaners..
Aren’t bubbles joyous Celia! BigJ bought me a machine that just keeps blowing bubbles and put it in the bathroom one time while I was in the bath and they filled the entire room- very pretty, but it took me ages to remove the burst stickines from the tiles the next day :) Our dog also goes nuts for bubbles, he leaps and goes crazy trying to catch them, but is always so surprised when they disappear in his jaws :) xox
Becca, they can make a mess, can’t they! :)
There truly is something magical about bubbles! Fun for kids and adults alike.
Kids go crazy for them don’t they, even when they’re older!
So cooooooool!
Norma, just the best fun! :)
Thanks Celia and thank you from my 7 year old grandson who is going to love this. Bubbles really are an ‘in the moment’ thing.
Madge, you can order the bubble thing from online shops locally – I found it here (I haven’t bought from them before though):
http://www.booktopia.com.au/klutz-how-to-make-monstrous-huge-unbelievably-big-bubbles-david-stein/prod9781570542572.html?source=pla&gclid=CLXsx_7x4sACFYIHvAodYUMAiw
Oh, terrific Celia. I’ve always been a big kid around bubbles and try to have bubble mixture ‘up my sleeve’ so to speak when emergency distraction techniques are needed around my grandchildren. It must be the glycerine that makes the bubble more robust. Making it myself will be so much cheaper than buying it because so often – in the tussle for supremacy of the mixture between the three of them, inevitably some gets spilt – red in tooth and claw are my grandchildren! The youngest, Mia (my Princess Rambo) is the prettiest, sweetest looking little 5 year old with the determination of a bull elephant!
How good! Who doesn’t love bubbles?
I don’t know a single person who doesn’t! :)
Jan, the stuff in jars doesn’t last very long, does it? Especially if wrestling is involved..hahaha
Did you buy your bubble maker from the markets? A friend of ours, David, introduced those bubble makers from the US and he took a bottle of detergent to a chemist and had a formula made up so that the detergent would make giant bubbles. I think he used to sell them for $10 and he made a fortune xx
No, I bought it in Coogee from our friend Mike in 1994. Sourcing the bubble liquid was hard work, wish I’d known about your friend then!
i love this celia. what fun!
Thanks Sherry! We really did have fun!
There’s something about bubbles and kids isn’t there – it always makes me smile when I see a ‘bubble man’ in a park. He’s like the Pied Piper with kids – they just love chasing and popping them. Hours of free entertainment!
Nancy, it really is great fun – I think the adults enjoyed it as much as the kids did!
Oh Celia, you have reminded me about the monster bubble thingy I had when I was little… such a beautiful thing to play with. Love it xoxo
Liz, hooray for the happy memories! :)
Lol! I suddenly remembered those fun days and big bubbles! This story made me smile, Celia :). Thank you!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Thanks Julie! They grow up too quick, don’t they!
Love those things.. fab shots! c
Thanks darling! xx
when we were grown-ups we used to love them! c
What fun and I love those big bubbles!!
Maureen, we had such a great time! :)
I always wanted to figure out a way to make the big bubbles, yes!
The bubble thing is definitely worth the money – we’ve had fun for years with it!
What fun! Lovely, too! :)
Thank you! :)
Lovely! Thank you for sharing your recipe and beautiful bubble photos! So joyful :-)
Jaqi, the bubble mix is great, even without the toy! :)
Great pictures of both the bubbles and handsome small man!
Isn’t he gorgeous? I love the happy little grin on his face! :)
Ah brilliant! You know, my boys use the little bubble bottles for about two seconds before everything ends up on the floor. I usually clean up and give up! I’m inspired to make my own solution now, thanks love! xxx
My goodness, I haven’t seen those giant bubble makers in years but look at the photos you got! Fantastic and so much fun. I always use Dawn for pots and pans here because it seems to be the best for dealing with grease and I’m surprised that its not sold everywhere. We also just tried a concoction of vinegar, Dawn, and Epsom salts as a weed killer. Just sprayed it on the weeds and the next morning they were done for.
Oh I haven’t blown bubbles in a long time Celia – what fun. I’ve never seen giant bubbles – even more fun.
You’ve made remember a place where we used to go when the girls were little in Saudi. You could stand inside a hoop and they would bring the bubble up around you so the child was ‘inside the bubble’
Had one of those when we were kids (’70s) and yes, used Fairy to make the dip. Loved the giant bubbles!