Best Arts and Crafts Kits for Kids

The 8 Best Craft Kits for Kids in 2021

Boost creativity with these fun sets

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Want to get your kid off their electronic devices? Instead of imposing time limits that more often than not get ignored, pick up a crafting kit online that will pique their interest. A craft kit will keep them so engaged and interested they won't even notice that they're not online, plus they'll learn a thing or two in the process and maybe even develop a lifelong passion.

Kits are available for kids of all ages and interests. You can find options that will have them dipping their toes into new crafts with a single project or you can get a kit that gives them everything they need to really get into the new hobby.

If you're ready to start shopping, here are the best craft kits for kids available online.

Our Top Picks

It comes packed with 64 crayons, 20 short colored pencils, 40 markers, and a selection of coloring pages.

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Kids will have just as much fun learning to knit and purl as they will wearing all their new accessories.

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Origami may look like a complicated art, but this kit breaks it down into easy to follow steps.

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Kits are also available for bugs, birds, aliens and animals.

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Each kit includes 5 percent more stickers than you'll need to finish, just in case.

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Challenge your child to paint portraits, landscapes, still lives or whatever it is then inspires them.

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Kids can doodle freeform or create cute chocolate confections with one of 40 molds.

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Just pick an age group and interest then wait for your child's monthly box to arrive.

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Medium: Art supplies | Pieces: 140 | Recommended Age: Ages 5 and up

What We Like

• Encourages creativity and motor skills development

• Variety of materials and activities

• Easy carrying case

What We Don't Like

• Case is not very durable

For kids, arts and crafts are all about thinking creatively and exploring color and texture, all while fine-tuning motor skills. As proud as children are of their final product, young ones will also enjoy the process of creating art: the feel of fuzzy or prickly chenille stems between their fingers, the snip when they cut through different materials and the pleasure dipping their hands into a tub of colorful pompoms, sequins or beads to pick the just-right one for the current project. For maximum creativity, look for a kit with a variety of kid-friendly materials and no rules, like this kit one for kids ages 3 and up, which includes everything from beads to felt to chenille stems and kid-safe scissors. This kit makes a great gift for a young one who's ready to flex her creative muscles!

Medium: Knitting/Design | Recommended Age: Ages 8 and up

What We Like

• Helps kids learn to make clothing

• Multiple types of yarn

• Includes desk to neatly hold supplies

What We Don't Like

• Best for older kids

There's nothing more stylish than wearing your own custom-created hats, scarves, leg warmers, and more—and nothing more fun for your little fashionista than DIYing them. This kit, perfect for beginning knitters, comes with a round loom and a square loom, a hook and a needle (both kid-friendly and plastic), four different types of yarn (150 yards of acrylic and 15 yards each of specialty, glitter metallic and eyelash yarn), and a desk that neatly holds all the supplies. They'll have just as much fun learning to knit and purl as they will wearing all their new accessories. Maybe you'll even get a scarf out of it! Recommended for kids 6+.

Medium: Origami | Pieces: 108 | Recommended Age: Ages 5 and up

What We Like

• Includes book with origami instructions

• 108 high-quality papers

• 54 different designs to practice

What We Don't Like

• Papers are a bit thick to fold

Origami may look like a complicated art, but this kit breaks it down into easy to follow steps. The process starts with its colorful double-sided paper that's marked with features of the animal or object your child is creating (a butterfly's wings, a puppy's nose) that make it easy for them to see what they're making—and that they're following the instructions, which are illustrated in the accompanying book, correctly. The kit comes with 108 high-quality, eco-friendly papers that have 54 patterns (two pieces of paper for each) plus ten practice papers. Recommended for kids 5+.

Medium: Clay kit | Recommended Age: Ages 3 and up

What We Like

• Good creative STEM activity

• Includes 18 cans of colorfast clay

• Interactive app plays 3D instructions

What We Don't Like

• Clay takes 24 hours or more to dry

This craft takes something kids already know and love—playing with clay—and turns it into an interactive learning STEM activity. The kit comes with 18 cans of non-toxic colorfast clay that they can mold into one of six dinosaurs: the fearful T-rex, gentle stegosaurus, fan-favorite triceratops or more. Sound complicated? It's not once you download the accompanying app that plays interactive 3D step-by-step instructions.

They'll learn to roll and mold various shapes, create a variety of textures, and fashion different facial features. The clay dries in 24 hours, no baking required—once it's set they can play with their new dinosaur toys. Kits are also available for bugs, birds, aliens, and animals.

Medium: Stickers | Pieces: 3,996 | Recommended Age: Ages 5 and up

What We Like

• Helps kids learn geography and history

• Promotes fine motor skills

• Includes extra stickers

What We Don't Like

• Poster grid requires a large space

Part sticker craft, part paint by numbers, StickTogether kits come with a coded poster and sticker sheets that tell your child which color goes with which letter on the poster. Though it looks tricky, children as young as five can do it—picking up the stickers and placing them down is a good workout for their fine motor skills. It will take a group of three to five kids about two hours to finish one; adults are encouraged to get involved too.

Worried about sticky fingers? Each kit includes 5 percent more stickers than you'll need to finish, just in case. We like the USA map since it offers opportunities to learn geography and history, but they offer a range of fun options including a unicorn and 100th day of school countdown. Recommended for kids 5+.

Medium: Painting | Pieces: 27

What We Like

• 12 vibrant and non-toxic colors

• Waterproof smock with pockets

• Miniature easel with storage bag

What We Don't Like

• Acrylic paints are not washable

Is your little Picasso or Frieda Kahlo ready to graduate from washable paints to the real thing? This affordable kit has everything they'll need to artistically express themselves, including:

12 vibrant non-toxic acrylic vibrant paint colors, a mixing tray palette, five paintbrushes of varying sizes, six 8 x 10 100 percent cotton art canvases, a waterproof smock with three front pockets, and a miniature easel all packaged in a portable, zip-top storage bag. Challenge your child to paint portraits, landscapes still lives, or whatever it is that inspires them. Painting is shown to boost their self-confidence and social skills, too. Recommended for kids 7+.

Medium: Baking | | Recommended Age: Ages 6 and up

What We Like

• Includes 40 different molds

• Includes four packs of chocolate

• Can refill with any type of melting chocolate

What We Don't Like

• Requires adult supervision

Encourage their inner Willy Wonka with this easy-to-use Chocolate Pen. As the name suggests, it's a pen that writes in chocolate. Kids can doodle freeform or create cute chocolate confections with one of the 40 molds of things like butterflies, owls, or cherries (trays are included).

It comes with a melting tray that plugs into a USB port and four packs of chocolate. When you need refills, pick up any type of melting chocolate. (Adult supervision is recommended for the melting process depending on the age of your child.) The candies harden in minutes so they can enjoy their tasty treats almost immediately. The auto-fill pen runs on two AA batteries. Recommended for kids 6+.

Medium: Science | Recommended Age: Ages 5 and up

What We Like

• Subscription offers a variety of activities

• Kits include everything needed for craft

• Choose from one-time box up to 12-months

• Good for all ages

What We Don't Like

• Can get expensive

If your child can't get enough of crafting, a subscription to KiwiCo is the best choice for you. You pick the age group—it has boxes for babies right on up to teenagers—and interest ("atlas" for geography buffs, "doodle" for creative-types, "tinker" for builders, or "eurokea" for future engineers) then wait for your child's monthly box to arrive. It will include everything they need to make their craft, examples include: making their own kite in a "fun with flight" box, DIY soap, a tutorial on slime, and more. Choose from a one-time box or three, six, or 12-month subscription.

Final Verdict

You can't go wrong with the Crayola Inspiration Art Case Coloring Set (view at Amazon), an über-giftable kit that comes with a whopping 140 pieces of art supplies. If you're looking for a gift that keeps on giving, check out the Kiwico Subscription Box (view at Kiwico), which delivers fun toys and activities to your doorstep every month.

Age range

First of all, make sure that the materials are appropriate for your child's maturity levels. You know your child best, so take a look at the included supplies and make sure that they're ready for any small parts, sharp pieces, or potentially confusing instructions. Likewise, if you have older kids, make sure the kit will be challenging enough to keep them entertained.

Amount of projects

Some kits come with enough supplies for just one project, while others will have enough to keep the crafting going for at least a few rounds. If there's only enough for one project, check the kit carefully to make sure you buy the right refills or replacements—some kits are only compatible with supplies from a certain brand.

This article was written by Anne Fritz, a lifestyle writer and the founding editor of Create For Me, a magazine for women in their 20s. As someone with kids of her own, she knows the role that activities like crafting play in childhood development. She considered both the affordability and fun factor of craft kits when researching picks for this round-up, consulting customer reviews and third-party articles.

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Best Arts and Crafts Kits for Kids

Source: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/best-craft-kits-for-kids-4159158

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