I am an occupational therapist who absolutely loves to incorporate arts and crafts into my sessions and it’s always fun to see how excited the kids get when they have something to either display in our gym or bring out to show off to their grownups. There are so many benefits to doing arts and crafts with children of all ages, most important being that it encourages creativity and imagination and helps increase confidence in self-esteem. For this years arts and crafts gift guide, I tried to choose a variety of options for kids of all ages and interests. I also wanted to find things that could be used more than one time such as an easel and little pegboard kit. Lastly, I was purposeful about putting things on that could be done with a sibling, parent or friend to work on social skills such as collaboration, cooperation, sharing, active listening and taking turns. In addition to what has already been said, arts and crafts are a great way to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, encourages hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and works on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, following directions, motor planning and organizational skills.
If you are looking for something more specific for someone on your list this year, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at otmeghan@gmail.com to get some other ideas. What’s shared in this gift guide just scratches the surface the arts and crafts sets that I use during my sessions.
1. Orb Factory Sticky Mosaic Kits-these sticky mosaics from Orb Toys are one of the items that has been on my gift guide for as long as I can remember because they are timeless and the kids still love them every time I bring them out. Kids follow a numbered template to match the colored sticker squares to complete a picture. There are a ton of different themes including dinosaurs, horses, unicorns and even a DIY jewelry box. Sticky mosaics are a great way to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills, encourages focus, attention and organizational skills and improves confidence and self-esteem when they have completed the picture.
2. Mrs. Grossman Sticker Kaleidoscope Books-full disclosure. I am obsessed with stickers and have been for as long as I can remember and Mrs. Grossman’s has always been a staple in the sticker world. I am not sure where I found these but I had to use all of my self-control to not complete every single sticker kaleidoscope picture before bringing them into work. Each of the book includes 8 Templates, 1 blank template and 8 pages of over 550 stickers. Kids make beautiful pictures by matching the stickers to the correct object/letter on the template. This is a great activity to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills, improves visual scanning and can work on letter identification skills.
3. smArt Pixelator-if you have a kid who loves perler bead crafts, this might be a nice upgrade for the holiday season. Just like the perler beads, kids make pictures by placing beads onto a baseboard to match the pattern. Once all of the beads are on, you use and iron to fuse them together. Like I said, this is just like that but with the added bonus of being able to use smart technology to pixelate any design they want to create. They can use the free smART Pixelator 2.0 app to pixelate any photo from their smart device and then reflect it back to the screen to create an easy-to-follow personalized picture. The Pixelator comes with over 50 preloaded templates but offers unlimited options to personalize their own designs. There are so many benefits to this activity including improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on improving hand-eye coordination, visual motor and visual perceptual skills, works on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, planning and organizational skills and encourages creativity and imagination skills.
4. Scratch and Shimmer Spirograph-i’ve always loved spirograph and love this newer version that combines it with scratch paper. This Spirograph set comes with the same cogs and wheels to make beautiful designs but allows you to use the stylus tool with the glitter wheel and gears to scratch designs on the special sparkle or rainbow scratch paper. It can also be used with regular paper and colored pencils or gel pens. Kids work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improve hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, improve visual motor and visual perceptual skills and work on improving motor planning and organizational skills and encourages creativity and imagination skills.
5. Peg A Pattern-I wanted to include a few things that could be used over and over again, especially for the younger ones. For as long as I can remember, I have always had a variety of pegboard options for my kids because they work on so many occupational therapy skills and goals. This pegboard comes with over 200 multi-colored small pegs and 10 animal cards, a really durable wooden pegboard and a booklet with ideas for your kids to replicate. Kids can create the animal scenes or make their own designs which is great for encouraging creativity and imagination skills. You can also practice making letters, numbers and shapes using the pegs and pegboard. This is a great toy to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye coordination, works on color identification and matching and works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills.
6.Scribble Scrubbie Paw Patrol Pets-our Paw Patrol toys are a huge hit at the gym so when I saw that Crayola came out with a set of Scribble Scrubbie pets, I knew they had to go on this year’s list. If you arent’ familiar with the Scribble Scrubbie line, they are adorable washable, colorable pet toys for children that can be customized and played with again and again. There are a huge assortment of pets, including this Paw Patrol kit, and they all come with markers, a cleaning tool and some come with even more extravagant drawing and cleaning accessories. The kids at work have just loved these and I love that they don’t even realize they are working on so many of their occupational therapy goals. Playing and creating with the Scribble Scrubbie pets is a great way to work on improving graphomotor and coloring skills, improves fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on improving hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills and encourages creativity, imagination and play skills.
7. Make Your Own Lava Lamp Kit-I love that Lava Lamps have made a comeback lately and knew that this make your own Lava Lamp kit had to go on this gift guide. This is a great gift for kids 8 and older but can be done by younger kids if they have supervision from a grownup. One of the things I love about it is that you can make and re-make it over and over again. Kids can design and decorate their lava lamp from the colors they use inside to decorating it with stickers on the outside. Add confetti to make it even more glamorous. As they make their lamp, kids are working on following directions, improve hand-eye coordination and visual motor and visual perceptual skills. I have been recommending lava lamps for my sensory kids as it can be a helpful tool to help kids calm down when they are anxious or feeling big feelings and can help improve focus and attention.
8. PomPom Puppies Collage Kit-I have been a fan of the Djeco craft kits since my daughter was much younger. I was always impressed with the high quality of all their products, but really love the durability of their craft kits, especially for preschool aged children . This puppy pompom craft kit comes with 3 puppy cards, over 300 different colored pompoms and a illustrated instruction booklet. Kids simply remove the pre-cut adhesive backing on the puppy pictures and then add pompoms to the sticky area so create three adorable dogs. This is a great way for younger children to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on hand-eye coordination, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourages creativity.
9. Kid Made Modern Arts and Crafts Library-if you have a kid who is really creative and loves art, this is a perfect gift for them. I have had one of these at the gym for years and love how I have a go-to craft library when my kids are on some kind of creative journey. This open-ended craft kit contains pipe cleaners, pom poms, popsicle sticks, shiny sequins, colorful beads, silly googly eyes, scissors, needles, white glue, and so much more. Kids can create jewelry, make collages, making popsicle stick figures or whatever their imagination can come up with. This craft library is great for improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on hand-eye coordination, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills, encourages planning, organizational and critical thinking skills. Most importantly, this arts and crafts kit encourages creativity and imagination skills and will help build confidence and self-esteem as kids create.
10. Mindful Crafts: Calm Vibes Friendship Bracelet Making Kit-this is definitely geared to the older kids on your gift list. I loved making friendship bracelets as a kid and am always amazed how quickly it comes back to me when I work on them with my kids. This kit includes 15 skeins of high-quality embroidery floss in assorted soothing colors (all are different), two sets of clasps, and an illustrated instructional booklet with knot-tying basics, ten step-by-step bracelet patterns (from easier designs like Spiral Staircase to the more advanced Breaking Waves)-plus tips and tricks to customize and elevate your bracelets. Kids can work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, work on improving hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, encourage creativity and work on developing executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, motor planning and organizational skills. Making friendship bracelets is also a great way to work on building confidence, self-esteem and an help with improving social and friendship skills.
11. Double-Sided Magnetic Tabletop Easel-I think every kid can benefit from having some kind of easel but living in NYC and working with families who live in smaller spaces, I try to be mindful of how much space things that I recommend take up. This tabletop easel is a great option for city-living families because it doesn’t take up a lot of space and can be easily stored. It comes with a bunch of accessories included including chalk sticks, a dry-erase marker, felt eraser, and 36 magnetic letters. One side is a magnetic dry-erase board while the other is a chalkboard and it has a roll of paper on the top for drawing or painting. Kids can work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improve hand-eye coordination, improve visual motor and visual perceptual skills, learn how to identify letters and numbers and it encourages creativity and imagination skills. Additionally, working on a vertical surface such as an easel works on improving upper extremity strength and shoulder stability while also working on wrist positioning for an improved grasp on writing instruments.
12. Color In Sticker Book-my kids love stickers so when I saw this sticker coloring book from Ooly, I knew it had to go on this year’s list. This 30 page coloring book features over 400 fun stickers to color in. There are all different kinds of stickers to color including whimsical characters, adorable animals, and playful motifs. You can use your favorite Ooly crayons, markers, gel pens, etc. to color the stickers in. This coloring book will help kids work on improving grasping and fine motor skills, works on coloring with accuracy, works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills and encourages creativity and imagination skills.
13. Color A-Looong Fold Out Family Coloring Book-I have always loved the big coloring posters out there because it can be such a fun family or group activity, especially during the holidays when you are trying to keep large groups of people entertained and want to avoid television or screen time. As I mentioned, I have loved these for years but this is the first time I have seen one that folds up so you can take it on the go much easier. There are two posters to choose from, Safari Family and Ocean Adventure. Each one folds out to 5 feet so there is plenty of space for multiple kids. This is great for working on improving graphomotor skills, works on improving hand-eye coordination and visual motor skills, encourages creativity and can work on improving social skills such as being flexible, taking ideas from other friends and working on personal space. Make it unique by having lots of different coloring tools available to them. Some of my favorite from Ooly are Yummy Yummy Scented Markers, Mighty Mega Markers (great for little hands), Switcheroo Color-Changing Markers, Smoothstix Watercolor Gel Crayons and Happy Triangle Jumbo Crayons.
14. Collage Art-this open-ended art kit from Tiger Tribe is great for the creative kid on your gift list. The collage art kit is filled with everything kids need to begin learning the art of collaging. From cutting and creating to learning new techniques, this set offers endless artistic possibilities for creative exploration. The kit comes with patterned papers, art paper, scissors, glue, double sided pen, stickers, template frames, shape template, cards, envelopes, stickers and a 32-page idea booklet. There are so many benefits of collage art for kids including improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on cutting skills, improves hand-eye coordination and works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills. Most importantly, this collage kit encourages creativity and imagination skills, works on planning, problem solving and critical thinking skills and leads to improved self-esteem and confidence as they become more comfortable with collaging.
15. Jelly Bean Bead Kit-i’m a sucker for cute bead sets and this one from iScream is one of the sweetest I have seen in ages. This bead set comes with a variety of vibrantly colored and shaped beads, including jelly bean shaped beads, pony beads and letter beads and the elastic string needed to make jewelry. This bead set comes in a sturdy case making it a good on-the-go arts and crafts set to keep kids entertained outside of the house. Beading and jewelry making is a great activity to work on improving