Creative minds are always buzzing with ideas, and I love giving my kids a way to connect their busy brains with busy hands. These gift ideas for creative kids are a combination of things we have and things with awesome Amazon reviews–and they’re almost all under $25!
Gift Ideas for Creative Kids
Crayola Art Case
My kids love working with different mediums–from paint to markers, crayons to colored pencils. Crayola art cases are a quick way to get lots of high quality supplies in one place!
Kids will love the variety, and I love that the included case provides a clear place to put everything away.
TRY… The Crayola Inspiration Art Case for a great starter set, or level up to the Crayola Masterworks Art Case if you have a more serious young artist in your midst.
Sketchbook
Sketchbooks are one of my mothering secret weapons: my kids love how grown-up a real bound sketchbook feels, and I love that their creations are automatically compiled in a single book (instead of scattered all over the house!). They’re a win-win for creative kids and their parents!
TRY… The Pentalic Hardbound Sketchbook for a real-book feel, or the Canson Spiral Bound Sketchbook for easier page turning.
Twistable Crayons & Colored Pencils
There’s nothing like a brand new, giant box of crayons or colored pencils. The perfected rainbow order, the tips still sharp and full of promise. I’m waxing poetic, sure, but the feeling is real:
A fresh box of art supplies is a box of possibility when you’re a kid!
We transitioned to the Crayola Twistable brand a few years ago, after I noticed how many broken crayons were getting discarded at our house. The twistable ones are much more durable, and have the same great color and quality. I’m a fan!
TRY… Crayola’s Mini Twistable Crayon 50 pack or Twistable Colored Pencil 50 pack.
Easel
Easels are a great option for busy toddler and preschool aged artists.
Like a sketchbook, they help contain artistic endeavors to one place, and they also offer some variety: this one has a white board, chalk board, magnets, and a paper roll for lots of different styles of creativity.
TRY… The Hape All-in-One Wooden Kid’s Art Easel
Ed Emberly’s Thumbprint Book + Stamp Ink
I heard about Ed Emberly from a friend, and find his thumbprint drawing book so cute and fun! Simple lines make these thumbprint creations easy for almost any level of artist, with the added fun of inking their own fingerprints into the mix.
TRY… Ed Emberly’s Thumbprint Book, and add in a selection of rainbow of stamp ink for fingerprinting fun.
Pentel Markers
These markers are so great that we have two sets of them at home. My kids and I like them so much that we’ve purchased multiples to give the kids’ friends as birthday gifts.
Brilliant colors, nice line thickness, and a case to keep them in–these are a win!
TRY… The Pentel Color Pen Set of 36
Notebook Doodles Coloring Books
All three of my girls love to color and I just added a couple of these Notebook Doodles Coloring Books to their Christmas wish lists. My 5-year-old will love the fun, cheerful designs, and I think the color palettes and technique tips at the beginning will vibe with my artistic tween.
TRY… The Notebook Doodles Super Cute Coloring Book for fun animal doodles, or their Superstar Coloring Book for inspirational quotes and designs!
Star Wars / Marvel Doodle Books
Part coloring book, part activity book, these doodle books get kids started with part of a drawing, and challenge them to finish out each page with their own ideas and artistic skills!
TRY… Star Wars Doodles for fun in a galaxy far, far away, or Marvel Doodles for some earthside super-hero creativity.
Spirograph
My daughter got a Spirograph as a gift this year and quickly dove into creating easy-to-make mandala-style artwork.
Graph-like works of art come to life as kids spin different sized gear-toothed wheels across the page. A combination of art and math with gorgeous results, these sets make could easily have made my list of STEM gift ideas for kids, too!
TRY… the Original Spirograph for older elementary kids, or Spirograph, Jr. for little kids as young as 3!
Beginner’s Sewing Kits
My kids love creating things that they can use–from stuffed-animal homes made of cardboard boxes to bedroom decor made from spare gift ribbon. If your artist also likes venture beyond the world of paper and pen, a beginner’s sewing kit can give them a new medium to play with.
These two kits both come with pre-cut felt so Mom or Dad can skip over the tricky pattern cutting (yes, please!) and all the tools and supplies to start making cute little stuffies–so your kid can get right into sewing!
TRY… The Little Monsters Craft Kit for cute-but-not-frilly crafting, or the Alex Toys My Sewing Kit for brightly colored creations.
The Sewing School Books
The Sewing School books by Andria Lisle and Amie Plumey are project-based books that teach kids sewing skills by helping them make things they can use and love.
Aimed at ages 5 and up, they teach both hand-sewing (1st book) and machine sewing (2nd book) techniques!
We have some cooking/baking books from the same publisher and love them, so I’m adding these to my gift ideas list for my oldest this Christmas!
TRY… Sewing School for an introduction to sewing for ages 5 & up, or Sewing School 2 for kids ready to level up to a sewing machine!
Klutz Sew Mini Sewing Kits
These darling Sew Mini sets come with everything you need to whip up lots of miniature stuffies: needle, thread, felt, stuffing, patterns, and instructions are all included.
Best suited for the 8+ crowd–kids with a little more patience and dexterity–these kits are fun because the end result is a special (adorable) creation to keep or give to a friend.
My oldest daughter has loved using her kit to make tiny plushies for her brother and her best friend–she even got brave and customized them a little!
TRY… Sew Mini Animals for miniature animals, or Sew Mini Treats for tiny food!
Cook Books & Baking Books
Felt food is adorable, but real food is messy, delicious fun, too! If your Picasso is ready to move to the kitchen, a kid-centered cookbook is a great place to start.
We bought the Cooking Class cookbook and Baking Class cookbook for our daughter, and she has loved learning from their straightforward instructions and illustrations. (I even use the crepe recipe myself!)
The recipes range from simple (fancy ideas for toast) to complex (baking a cake from scratch), so they’re a great option for ages 5+.
Our oldest is getting more comfortable in the kitchen, so I’m eyeing the highly rated Young Chefs cookbooks from America’s Test Kitchen for her this year!
TRY… Cooking Class for meals and snacks, and Baking Class for sweets, breads, and treats. Or check out the Complete Cooking/Baking Books for Young Chefs, from the popular America’s Test Kitchen.
Air Dry Clay & Modeling Clay Book
My kids love the tactile fun of sculpting with clay!
This colorful air-dry clay from Sago Brothers hardens without any baking, so your kiddo can make creations, let them dry, and keep them or give them as gifts. (Do your kids love making gifts as much as mine do??)
Pair it with this beginner sculpting book, which teaches kids to use three simple shapes (teardrop, ball, and snake) to make lots of different animals!
TRY… Sago Brothers Air Dry Clay, and pair it with the how-to sculpting book Modeling Clay!
Melissa & Doug Bead Lacing Sets
Jewelry-making has been a favored pastime at our house over the years, and we’ve owned at least one of Melissa & Doug’s bead sets.
These high-quality kits come with wooden beads (my kids always love spelling their names with the ABCs), a storage tray, and cords for stringing necklaces and bracelets. Great for ages 4-8!
TRY… Created By Me Multi-Color Set or the pink-and-purple Created By Me Sparkle & Shimmer Beads Set.
Jewelry Making Kits
If your artist has leveled up from simple bead-stringing, these fun and colorful jewelry kits will let them try their hand at some more challenging designs!
Beads, supplies, & instructions are all included–just add a kid. ๐ Great for ages 6-11.
TRY… Just My Style ABC Bead Kit or for trendier tween styles, the Make It Real Neo-Brite Charm Kit or Scent-Sational Jewelry Kit
Melissa & Doug Scratch Art Set
Kids can take drawing to a new level with this scratch art set, using a stylus tool to reveal beautiful colors and patterns beneath the scratchboard’s black coating.
My daughter loved receiving a scratch art kit for her birthday, and the effect of her drawings set off in black and rainbow colors was really cool.
This kit comes with 2 styluses, 16 scratch-off pages, a stencil sheet, and three easel frames.
TRY… Melissa & Doug Scratch Art Kit
Paint By Sticker Books
These Paint By Sticker books are fantastic for filling downtime, great for quiet afternoons, plane travel, or vacations. I love that they’re a self-contained coloring book alternative: no crayons required!
My mother in law recently brought one to a family reunion for the kids, but we all (ages 5 to 50-something) ended up sitting around the table in the evenings working on these. Once you get the hang of the stickers, they’re incredibly satisfying!
Younger kids can also try the Paint By Sticker for Kids line.
TRY… the original Paint By Stickers Kids book, or level up to one of the more complicated books. We’ve liked the original Paint By Sticker book, and the Vintage Travel version.
Needlepoint Kits
I started teaching my kids to sew a few summers back, and it has been such a nice way for them to keep their hands busy.
Needlepoint is simple enough for preschoolers (age 4+) to start with, but satisfying for older, more independent elementary ages, too.
These kits are colorful and very inexpensive–under $10.
TRY… Alex Toys Simply Needlepoint Fox or Simply Needlepoint Butterfly.
Lego Classic Box & Lego Creative Books
Lego are my all-time favorite kids’ toy–which is why you’ll also find them on my STEM gift list for kids. Their younger sibling, Duplo, also made my preschool gift guide!
While they’re not much fun to step on, Lego are fantastic for play.
They’re durable, colorful, and incredibly versatile: My kids use them to create buildings, tools, vehicles and whole cities. They play hours of pretend with the minifigs. And my oldest is even beginning to dabble in Lego stop-motion animation.
We’ve read through (and even purchased) several different Lego books, and my absolute favorite is Lego Awesome Ideas. Other books are filled with ideas but not much practical help. This one actually teaches how to make cool Lego creations come to life.
The Lego Animation Book teaches principles and practices of stop-motion animation, covering everything from sequence and focus to special effects. A fun gift idea for older kids (8+) or teens! (Psst: We use a free app called Stop Motion Studio for the actual filming!)
TRY… The Lego Classic Medium Creative Brick or Large Creative Brick (pictured), and add an awesome Lego book: Lego Awesome Ideas or The Lego Animation Book.
Happy gifting!
xo,
Jamie
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