Apparently doing some kids’ party crafts at kids’ parties is quite popular, and keeps little hands away from the Haribo.
Plus there’s all the child psychology stuff about letting kids be creative and express themselves with art.
Perhaps you are the kind of highly capable Pinterest parent that puts together and hosts their kids’ parties themselves (yeah, that’s so not me). Or at least you want to be (not me either).
So why not throw a crafting party? I mean, whose home isn’t improved by a layer of glitter, paint, and glue?
I wrote a post a while ago about making party bags plastic free (or as near as dammit) to reduce the amount of plastic crap your kids accumulate.
When I was thinking useful and fun stuff to put in party bags, I considered including crafting ideas. Little items kids could take home and make.
I realised that they were more a party activity than just a party bag filler, so could probably use a separate post (which is this post, duh).
These crafts can all be done at the actual party, and the completed crafts are taken home as a party favour. If your party is going to include crafty things, here are a few ideas that will work very nicely.
Please note, this does not absolve you from providing cake to take home. See my party bag post for the best way to distribute it.
Sorry this is a picture-free post, but I’m not going to buy all this stuff to take pictures of it. Use your imagination. It’s not difficult.
I haven’t included detailed instructions with all the ideas, because they should be fairly self explanatory. If you can’t figure out how kids get paint onto a piece of wood, you probably shouldn’t be a parent. Or damn, just use Google, right?
So here goes, a bunch of ideas for party crafts for party bags.
By the way, this post contains affiliate links.
Mini Painting on an Easel
You can buy super cute mini canvases and easels. If you’re buying in bulk, get a pack of 12 here.
You can splurge and get slightly bigger ones if you like, but I think this size is ideal for display withouth taking up too much space.
Pick up some acrylic paint , and kids can make their very own masterpiece for their proud parents to display in a prominent position. You don’t need a ton of colours because c’mon, they’re kids, not Klimt.
You could simply put a blank one in a party bag for kids to paint at home. Be aware this may well piss parents off, because it means their home getting covered in paint instead of yours.
Decorated Box or Other Wooden Thing
You can get lots of wooden things for decoration.
For example, a wooden chest, fairy door,(or if you’re feeling more ambitious, a fairy house) wooden heart (not like Elvis).
You could even get some predrilled wooden discs to make their own ornaments.
I quite like the idea of a treasure chest or box, because kids, rather like Pooh, like things for putting things in.
Again, use acrylic paints, and if you’re feeling reckless, throw in some glue and sparkly things too.
Decorated cup/mug/plate
If you don’t like the idea of kids going wild with paints in your nice clean home, this is easy and almost mess-free.
Buy plain white mugs, or plates.
Grab a set of colourful oil-based paint pens, such as these.
Let kids decorate the former with the latter.
Put them in the oven at 180 for around 30 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave to cool inside.
Note these are decorative only! They shouldn’t be used for eating, though if it’s Christmas they’re perfectly acceptable for Santa’s cookies.
Decorated picture frame
You just need small plain picture frames.
These are more expensive, but they have a stand.
Let kids decorate with paint, jewels, glitter [shudder], sequins, pompoms, googly eyes, whatever you think might be fun. Just remember they need to dry out!
This isn’t so different from the wooden box etc. but there’s a FANCY BONUS to this craft:
Take a picture of all the kids at the beginning of the party. Print out copies (or have someone run to the instant print shop if you’re close to one) and put a copy in each picture frame. An awesome souvenir of the party!
This is also a great excuse to get out of the party for a while. Leave someone else in charge and go to the print shop yourself. Hell, have a cup of coffee/glass of wine/pint/shot to give you the strength to return to the paint-smeared hordes.
Decorated Pillow Case/Tea Towel
Buy cheap plain white pillowcases/teatowels and let the kids decorate them with sharpies/fabric paint pens.
The colours will probably need to be sealed with an iron (check instructions), so you can do that yourself if you’re feeling energetic, or pin a note to the item telling parents to do it.
Decorated Tote Bag
You can buy plain tote bags in bulk. Do as above, plus it has the extra bonus of being the actual party bag itself! And extra eco-friendly bonus as well, as parents will no doubt appreciate the addition to their collection of reuseable shopping bags.
Decorated Cookie or Cupcake
If you want to go down the additional sugar route, decorating cookies and cakes can be a lot of fun. (If messy. Sorry.)
Most bakeries and supermarkets will sell multipacks of large gingerbread men/shapes and fairy cakes. You can also make your own, if you feel you don’t have enough to do preparing for the party.
Buy icing sugar and food colourings, ready-made writing icing, and various decorative sprinkles (such as these or these), mini marshmallows, and candies.
For the party itself, set out the decorations, mix up your various coloured icings, and let kids drizzle and sprinkle at will.
By the way, if you choose to do this, I suggest leaving sweets out of the actual party bags.
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So there you have it. A bunch of ideas for party crafts for party bags.
There are of course many, many other craft activities that can be done at parties, but I’ve chosen these because they are all things that can be taken home, used, and kept.
You’ll dazzle other parents with your alpha parent party skills and willingness to let a bunch of hyperactive kids loose in your home with paint, sticky stuff, and glitter.
Alternatively, just have them play pass the parcel and musical bumps for an hour, fill them with sugar, salt, and fat, and send them home with a normal, yet smugly eco-friendly, party bag.
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Pin this for later, and share with your friends!
Drop me a line in the comments and let me know what you think, or if you have any more fantastic ideas for party crafts.
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