Arts & Crafts Gifts – Tot Guide
Shopping for a little maker? All non-toxic and eco-friendly, these eight arts & crafts gift picks may just help them create their masterpiece!
Is there anything better than a solid arts & crafts session?
Your hands get to keep busy while your mind is free to imagine, problem solve and create!
Arts & crafts is especially great for kids because it comes with numerous benefits for both physical and cognitive development.
The benefits of kids arts & crafts
When kids are crafting, they’re simultaneously strengthening their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, while having loads of fun. Getting to use tools like scissors and glue helps build confidence and allows them to feel a sense of pride. Crafting activities like moulding play dough have also been shown to be an effective way for kids to work through stress and anxiety.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of arts & crafts products on the market that contain not-so-great ingredients that can disrupt hormones, cause irritation to the eyes and skin and harm the environment.
To help you find the safest arts & crafts gifts for your kids, we’ll go over:
- Chemicals to avoid in arts & crafts materials
- What to look for when shopping for arts & crafts materials
- The best arts & crafts gifts for kids
Scroll down to learn more!
Chemicals to avoid in arts & crafts materials
At The Tot, we never use or recommend anything that hasn’t passed The Tot Test. This means we’ve looked deep into third-party testing, examined ingredients lists and asked in-depth questions about a product’s composition to ensure it doesn’t contain any of the ingredients we avoid.
When it comes to arts & crafts supplies, we like to avoid:
- Bisphenols (BPA & BPS)
- Formaldehyde
- Methyl Isobutyl Ketone
- Lead & Other Heavy Metals
- Ammonia
- Harmful Phthalates
- Harmful Solvents
- PVC
- Pesticides
- Synthetic Fragrances
Click here to read the full list of ingredients we avoid and why.
What to look for when shopping for arts & crafts materials
While obviously we want the arts & crafts materials to facilitate open ended play and foster creativity, we also always look for things made with:
- Non-toxic inks like vegetable or GOTS certified
- Water-based paints
- Low voc ingredients
- Biodegradable ingredients
This helps ensure that if anything happens to end up in a little mouth or eye, nobody is at risk for any short or long-term health issues.
The Best Non-toxic Arts & Crafts Gifts
To help make your search for the best arts & crafts gifts easier, we’ve listed eight of our tried and trusted favorites below.
Once Kids Eco Bricks Wooden Set
Designed to inspire your child’s creativity and imagination, Once Kids Eco-Bricks offer a simplistic yet elegant approach to building bricks with heirloom quality. The wooden surface allows your child to utilize paint, markers, stain, or even carve to personalize their creation.
Once Kids Eco Bricks Wooden Set
$50
Kid Made Modern Arts & Crafts Library
Hands down every kid needs an arts & crafts library like this epic set from Kid Made Modern!
Featuring over 1000 pieces like pipe cleaners, googly eyes, beads, glue, scissors, pom poms, and felt, kids have everything they need to design and make their creation come to life!
Kid Made Modern Arts & Crafts Library
$39.99
Dough Parlour Personalized Name Mat, Non-Toxic Play Dough & Rolling Pin
Arts & crafts like play dough are a fantastic way to provide a sensory experience for kids. This is particularly great for those who may experience anxiety or simply have a lot of energy throughout the day!
Since nothing makes us happier than gifts that can be personalized, we are so excited about these double sided name mats from Dough Parlour! Featuring three tubs on non-toxic scented play dough and a rolling pin, kids will be having loads of fun while honing fine motor skills.
Dough Parlour Personalized Name Mat – Sail Boat
$40
EXCLUSIVE
Dough Parlour Personalized Name Mat – Rainbow
$40
EXCLUSIVE
Crayon Rocks Rubeez Art Box + 16 Crayons
Featuring eight textured templates and unique crayon shaped rocks, this art set takes coloring with crayons to the next level!
Crayon Rocks Rubeez Art Box + 16 Crayons
$15.99
Kitpas Little Artist Kit
Featuring 16 medium color crayons (that even work on glass), brushes, sponges, cloths and a how-to book, this set is just the thing a budding artist needs!
The best part: it comes with a handy burlap storage bag.
Kitpas Little Artist Kit
$49
Kid Made Modern Christmas Craft Kit
This handy all-in-one kit lets you create handmade crafts to use as gifts, home decor, or as a fun activity during a holiday party!
Kid Made Modern Christmas Craft Kit
$16.99
Kid Made Modern Holiday Greetings Kit
This adorable kit will bring plenty of holiday cheer and includes everything your little one needs to write a Christmas letter to loved ones, and Santa too!
Kid Made Modern Holiday Greetings Kit
$24.99
Kid Made Modern Stocking Decorating Kit
Keeping kids entertained over the holidays will be a whole lot easier if you can set them up with this fun DIY stocking kit from Kid Made Modern.
Kid Made Modern Design Your Own Felt Stocking Kit
$16.99
Kid Made Modern Holiday Craft Kit
Just in time for the holiday season, kids will love crafting festive trees, ornaments, gifts and more with the Kid Made Modern Holiday Craft Kit!
Kid Made Modern Christmas Craft Kit
$10.99
Kid Made Modern Watercolor Set
Painting with watercolors is a wonderful way for kids to learn about mixing colors, achieving depth and experimenting with mixing mediums.
We love drawing with a picture with a white crayon and then painting over it with this Wondrous Watercolor set from Kid Made Modern!
Kid Made Modern Wondrous Watercolor Set
$16.99
Twee Sidewalk Chalk
Let’s be honest – you’re going to want to play with these yourself. A new take on a classic activity, kids will go crazy for these macaron shaped chalks from Twee.
Twee Macaron Sidewalk Chalk
$45
Continue exploring
- Want to make a Busy Box for your tot? Be sure to check out Nasiba Adilova’s 10 Busy Box Essentials.
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