Kids’ Gift Guide - The Crafty & Sensory Stuff
Pens, goo and so much more!
Each year I use Christmas as a reason to re-stock my children’s art supplies and yes, mainly because I’m a sucker for stationery or stuff which will get us all sat down together for a bit. A couple of years ago their Father Christmas gift was an art caddy each which I filled with a personalised collection of artsy wares. I enjoy seeing it all sat there, colour-coded and shiny, just as much as they do. Art supplies always feel somewhat nostalgic because it was one thing my own mum always had in abundance, while sensory toys just feel like a great excuse for us all to get back to basics. Not sure what to play with? Stick your hand in something gooey. Bored? Get lost in the pointlessness of fiddling with an object. There’s no huge expectation, energy required or even specific talent to enjoy any of it. It’s just what it is. And sometimes (quite often actually) I’m too tired to play Twister or pretend to be a dog.
So with that in mind, here’s a bunch of stuff I’ve either already bought and love or intend on stocking up on this year. Like last time I’ve hyperlinked the captions for ease so feel free to click away!
We bought a few of these for Milo’s birthday and will probably never buy any other slime ever again. It’s malleable and stretchy like other slimes, but leaves no film and snaps if you break it fast. No mess, no bits, no gooey residue - plus I absolutely love the different themes.
I’ve linked the one we bought for Daphne but there are so many different options. Not only do I love the no-mess element but I love the size. Anything which allows for kids to get fully stuck in to creating art and sort of… sitting amongst it, just feels even more fun and immersive. She lays on it, sits on it, slides from one end to the other and we just roll and pack it away once we’re done. All you need is water and it always keeps little ones occupied for a good length of time (although yes, you need to be on hand to fill those pens up every so often)
Another no-mess (can you sense a theme here?) option for little artists. Perfect for the grip of tiny hands in lots of fun colours and most importantly, it washes out! While these are a lovely art introduction for anyone 18 months+ they’re also a really fun way to try out some at home pointillism with older kids.
These guys are the crayon KINGS. We’ve already got wiggly worms, cutesy flowers and alphabet letters but as you can see, all of their sets are inspired by wonderful parts of wildlife and kids are so excited when they open the box. I’ve bought these as gifts for friends’ children and they’re always so well received because they’re fun and unusual while still being something they can use. Might have to snap up the sea shells next just to have on display to be honest…
Granted you’ll need to have a window space you don’t mind being doodled on, but it always feels so much more fun to be using pens on things you don’t ordinarily get to adorn with pictures, and the same goes for rock drawing (which these pens can also be used on). These come in lots of colours, can easily rub off and it’s a cool way to help with spellings, learning letters and numbers or just going wild and drawing whatever they fancy.
You can find this in a few places but I always like shopping on Etsy if I can. Washi tape’s a big hit in our house so the kids always get a few different bundles in varying themes and when they were younger they loved this race track tape. Great for interweaving getting crafty with role play and then we’d end up carting all the Duplo out too so we could create a city around the sides.
I stumbled across these cute little creatures at The Toy Fair 2023 earlier this year and thought they were brilliant. Some sensory toys are just a bit… basic. And I understand why they’d be that way because they have a function, but I think some kids appreciate extra detail in what they’re fiddling with and can actually use them in further play. All the characters launched are so much fun and interesting to work out - what part clicks? What swivels? What pops? All three of mine enjoy playing with these.
Ooly’s Colour Together Markers
You can’t go wrong with Ooly in general and we own pretty much every set they sell. They’re U.S based so I always have to hope we can rely on the U.K stockists to provide us with the goods but some of their new releases look so much fun; I can’t wait for them to hit the shelves over here. Must mention we’ve had one of their watercolour paint sets for a year now and despite weekly use it’s still not run out! These markers look brilliant for creativity; this set includes lots of lovely bright colours and realistic shades for skin tones.
I don’t really need to jazz this one up; it’s literally just the bog standard tracing paper we’ve all used for years! I think my two like seeing that they’re capable of following an image and seeing how cool it all looks once they’ve taken their time and done it. You can use the aforementioned Posca pens to jazz it up too and the colours really pop on this sort of material. It’s also fun for using it on material rubs - tree bark, tarmac, Velcro etc.
This family game just looks so much fun (I’ve ordered it to use during our Boxing Day party and can’t wait to see what happens…) It’s all about combining 3 cards and acting out, describing or drawing whats ended up on them. Can you get your team mates to work out you’re describing a clumsy beaver hula hooping? Or acting like a confused dinosaur selling lemonade? I’ve included this because it involves some element of craft but let’s be honest, it just sounds nuts/hilarious…
Its the sensory bits for me! Winning that I've found this article...thank you!
Thank you for this. I LOVE the crayon set, perfect for our dinosaur/fossil/Minecraft obsessed 7 year old.