Messiest gift your child has ever been given pls

[ReluctantCourier]

For an 8yo who helpfully loves arts and crafts.

Received a snide comment about my home at a family bbq and wish to discreetly send the giver my fondest regards whilst winning their child’s affections!

I once bought my friend's daughter a cushion that you colour in with special felt tips. Unfortunately it leaked on to the furniture and her dd face when she laid on it😂

www.smiggle.co.uk/shop/en/smiggleuk/sparkle-sand-art-book

THIS. By a million percent it knocks kinetic sand, DIY slime, moondust etc out the ballpark. I can only presume that the parent that bought this monstrosity for DD’s birthday hates me and/or is a tightwad on the regift.

@Jules912 we had an aqua beads down the toilet incident which is why we now own drain rods- added to the hamper of doom 😁

Those dig kit things and some plaster of Paris

There used to be a device that rotated paper covered in paint to give a pattern that was excellent for accidentally decorating walls….

Looked it up - called ‘twirl and paint’

@GoAround ‘With the sand art kit, it's as easy as peel, sprinkle, & spread!’ <<laughs maniacally

@cantkeepawayforever yes this is the kind of horror I’m after. I’ve a dim memory of something involving marbling and a balloon? Oil based paint and kids- ideal

A make your own slime kit and a tub of 1000 aqua beads, which an 8yo will insist on having on the bath. From my own bitter experience, I can tell you that it takes forever to get them all out. Link: Water beads from Amazon

A large leaky beanbag?

I still find loom bands all over my house, somehow they pinged off into every draw and cupboard and there is always one in the dustpan whenever I sweep even though I don't think we have bought or played with any for 5 years.

Bought my niece some glittery colourful bath bombs and bath melts and whatever that moldable coloured bath stuff from lush is called.
My sister then had glittery/colourful baths for almost a year as they never really wash out.

I'm fairly sure you can get a make your own glitter slime kit in case you'd like to mix two hellish crafts into one 😉

Glass painting kit. Now have a completely indelible yellow stain on his rug. Also some other paint shit which ended up with blue paint all over the blinds.

www.etsy.com/uk/listing/842720884/beaded-bracelet-kit-deco-peyote-stitch?click_key=a84e80a05f77995f2ef867329fbb58f8f89b7761%3A842720884&click_sum=ffcfded9&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=beaded+peyote+bracelet+kit&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&frs=1&cns=1 Teeny beads which will go everywhere and most likely involve parental involvement for such a fiddly task even with a super gifted 8 year old. Bonus points for a colour to clash with the grey house?
We’ve got a marbling kit. It’s only been used once because you have to prep the liquid thing the day before.

what about a tie dye kit and a pack of white T-shirts? Even if it doesn’t make a mess the child will gloriously clash with the magnolia/grey palace.

@wigglycactus I do also have an older child (not mentioned as they don’t cause all the apparent fetid squalor like the smalls) and have cut this concoction from her hair after a play date gone wrong

Definitely slime. It's now banned in our house!

Maybe you could be extremely kind and buy the kid an additional gift of a book entitled “1001 messy craft ideas” or similar
I wouldn’t be too subtle, she sounds like a cow…

@SBAM ideal- yes aware v messy things will be spirited away (that’s what I do anyway and obv I’ve got huge piles of dust and excrement to hide things under at my house) so good to have stuff they can open independently 😁

Gellibaff. No contest. I am relaxed about mess, all ok with moon sand, kinetic sand, play doh slime etc, I'm OK with all of it but that jelly bath stuff, why?? Just why?? Kids loved it whereas.. I had my lowest point of parenting scooping the stuff out of the bath into the toilet for half an hour. They stuff is THE WORST

Whatever you do, make sure the child is there when you hand over the gift and opens it in front of you. Don't just give it to her or she might sneakily siphon it off for the charity shop.

www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/brand/crayola/crayola-sprinkle-art-shaker-set/p/188553 this needs to be in the hamper. Tiny beads that will still be hiding in corners months later. I can only assume whoever created it hates parents.

Something which involved digging a dinosaur skeleton out of some sand stuff. Kitchen was covered in it .

I'd ask how, but really I don't want to know.

Blow pens, it's absolutely messy unless you have something underneath while crafting, but children do not really think about such a thing, do they?🤫😉

We’ve had a few but nothing compares to the complete chaos of the children’s potters wheel. It shot clay at speed into every nook and cranny. I think it’s discontinued but we’ll worth tracking one down. It was so bad even 7 year old DS said he didn’t want to risk using it again.

@SignOnTheWindow yes I’m considering waiting and handing over in person on Boxing Day, dish best served cold etc etc…