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9 best kids’ craft kits for creative fun during lockdown
From tie-dying old clothes to creating glitter mosaics, keep your child busy with these entertaining ideas
Martha Alexander
Thursday 30 April 2020 04:30 EDT
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If the days feel endless, your children seem restless and bored, you’re not alone. It’s hard being a parent at the best of times – especially when it comes to keeping children entertained, busy and educated.
Crafts – defined as an activity involving skill in making things by hand – are a brilliant way of being creative and focusing the mind.
It helps people to relax, be more mindful and destress. It is no coincidence that therapists the world over are always suggesting their clients learn to make things with their hands.
The kits we have included here all require children to use their hands to make something that can then be kept.
We chose bright things, with lots of colour, and where possible, crafts that involved a number of disciplines. From tie dye to mask making these are boredom busters that require skill, creativity and concentration.
But overall, these crafts are a whole lot of fun.
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Puzzle and grow build your own farm 3D farm
This is especially good for families who perhaps don’t have much in the way of green space, but all children will relish the opportunity to have a garden of their very own.
But first, you need to build the farm. This looks like it is going to be a fiddly nightmare achievable by only the most nimble-fingered and patient but actually all the pieces are sturdy and can withstand a bit of cack-handedness.
Younger children can use the (plastic) tool to pop the different parts out of their packaging and older children or parents can match the numbered tabs to holes. This sounds much more complex than it is – the whole process is totally intuitive, takes about half an hour and is deeply satisfying.
You’ll need a tiny bit of earth – or failing that, cotton wool – to put in the little plastic trough along with one of the two seed packets provided.
One of the best things about this kit is that the seeds start to germinate within a matter of days so children won’t grow impatient and lose interest.
Eugy 2D alligator model craft kit
This looks like it’s going to be a fiddly nightmare but in fact, if you lay it all out carefully at the start the experience is dream teamwork – and very therapeutic, too.
There is glue included and everything is clearly labelled so you can’t really get lost.
Once your creature is complete it’s surprisingly compact and sturdy – so no need to worry about it falling apart within minutes of creation.
There is an entire menagerie – including parrots, sharks and even a unicorn – to collect and create.
John adams colourmazing 3D jungle
This is perfect for children who love a little bit of magic with their colouring in. ColourMazing is essentially a colouring in system that doesn’t allow ink to leak across the lines so the pictures look crisp and neat.
There are six special pens included – our little tester applied the ink out easily and watched as it spread right up to the lines.
But there is more to this than just the colouring, there are a load of engrossing activities to get on with including a theatre show, complete with finger puppets or best of all a bird with fully flapping wings.
The verdict: Kids' craft kits
The Mouse House Sewing Kit is just so cute and requires the basics of what is sure to be a useful life skill, we just have to recommend this as our best buy.