11 Arts & Crafts Gifts For Creative Kids — The Tot Guide

Shopping for a little maker? All non-toxic and eco-friendly, these 11 arts & crafts gift picks may just help them create their masterpiece!

little girl making christmas crafts with play dough

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!

The benefits of 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 molding 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 review:

  • 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 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 90 Piece

 

Once Kids Eco Bricks Wooden Set

$50

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Kid Made Modern Arts & Crafts Library

 

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 and Crafts Library

Kid Made Modern Arts & Crafts Library

 

$49.99

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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 Custom Name Mats - Boy

 

Dough Parlour Personalized Name Mat – Sail Boat

 

$40

EXCLUSIVE

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Dough Parlour Custom Name Mats - Girl

 

Dough Parlour Personalized Name Mat – Rainbow

 

$40

EXCLUSIVE

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Olli Ella Play’N Pack Forest

 

Featuring a coloring roll, 103 stickers, crayons, wooden trains, and alphabet cards, this art set takes coloring to the next level.

 

Olli Ella Play N Pack Forest AW19

 

Olli Ella Play’N Pack Forest

 

$34.90

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Kid Made Modern Studio in a Box

 

Featuring paper pads, acrylic and watercolor paint sets, markers, colored pencils and more, this set is just the thing a budding artist needs. Plus, it comes with a handy storage box.

 

Kid Made Modern Studio in A Box

 

Kid Made Modern Studio in a Box

 

$49.99

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Kid Made Over the Rainbow

 

This handy all-in-one kit lets you create handmade crafts to use as gifts, home decor, or as a fun activity during playdates.

 

Kid Made Modern Over The Rainbow

 

Kid Made Modern Over the Rainbow

 

$23.99

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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 Christmas Greeting Kit

Kid Made Modern Holiday Greetings Kit

 

$24.99

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Kid Made Modern Washable Double-Pointed 30-Count Markers

 

Featuring a rainbow of colors and two tips, one side is designed for drawing fine details while the other is great for filling in large expanses of color.

 

Kid Made Modern Washable Double-Pointed 30-Count Markers

 

Kid Made Modern Washable Double-Pointed 30-Count Markers

 

$19.99

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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

 

Kid Made Modern Wondrous Watercolor Set

 

$23.99

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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

 

Twee Macaron Sidewalk Chalk

 

$45

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