Need help being Santa!

[frozendaisy]

Youngster's school is doing a Christmas "buy a present" for a child who (assuming) might not get much at Christmas.
We got a choice of a gift off the tree, youngster chose it, and I have a 6 year old who enjoys art and crafts.

We have two teenagers, neither of which have ever been that art and crafty.

So anything anyone has bought that has been a hit! I am looking for art and craft fun as it is Christmas but if it has added "educational" value then great.

But would prefer the enjoyment to come first.

I have seen a marbling set, would that be fun?

There is too much choice - in all things in life

Must be really hard being Santa nowadays!

One thing I loved as a child was making cards for other people. So I would have loved cards, double sided sticky tape (ideally very narrow), the sticky foam pads in case I wanted to raise something up (again, tiny is best) interesting/pretty papers to put on the front of the cards, that quilling paper that you could use to make stripes or do quilling with, stickers that said "happy birthday" and other pretty/interesting things (I had some corrugated cardboard flowers that were great, for example).

I was probably about 9 when I was into this sort of thing, so maybe I was too big for that to be helpful.

I also enjoyed making my own board game (needs dice, counters, big sheet of cardboard and good colouring pens), and I was definitely only about 6 when I did that.

Other memorable craft projects included building a lighthouse out of an old salt pot and a washing machine ball with a tiny lightbulb in it and a battery, and making a dragon out of a big empty egg tray and an egg carton and cardboard.

https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/toys/steam-science-tech-engineering-arts-math/steam-arts/crayola-ultimate-tub-of-colour-assortment/p/153896

what about something like this?

https://www.very.co.uk/1600697779.prd

or this?

https://www.very.co.uk/1601188700.prd

this looks cool!

The trouble with the 'make your own' sets is that a disadvantaged child might not have that kind of parental involvement at home. So it would need to be something they can do by themselves, and which doesn't make a mess or need adult help.

Apologies if anyone is going down a art set rabbit hole they don't need to

I am veering towards more of the younger items, crayola basically, and will add in a nice sketch book I have looked at the imagination set and there are crayons and textures you can rub - that could be endless possibilities for a 6 year old with limited room perhaps and as I say no more information other than they are 6.

Anyone else want the air gun for themselves?

A good set of coloring pens is the absoloute basis for any arts kid. My kids have this one. (which he got at age 6 and has lasted over a year and a half so far)

Every arty kid loves a ream of paper, better yet if its colored or thicker like card.

I use to love my 'how to draw animals' book as a kid as you can always learn and improve with step by step stuff so it lasts a long time.

Everything else has novelty value really, I'm getting my DS 'BLOpens' this year as I always loved them as a kid.

My DS also loves those 'colour your own bags' at the moment, they are usually under £1 in homebargains but they are basically only 1 use (once coloured they are done) but a cheap novelty and stocking filler type gift.

I loved my Spirograph as a kid so got my DS one last year when he was 6 and neither of my arty kids have ever even bothered looking at it.

I suppose it is pretty much a 'one trick pony' type thing.

There is an amazing book called “I am not a toilet roll” and if you got that plus assorted pens, coloured paper, glue sticks etc that would be an ongoing gift that wouldn’t break the bank moving forward. Good crayons, pencils and felt pens and some paper would be great.

We gifted this set to one of our nephews and he loved it. Walking around with it was part of the fun 😂

I agree with other posters saying that it should be all inclusive. Add paper 👍

Great stuff my 6yo (boy) has had and used:
paint your own money box / sun catchers from hobby craft.
paper airplanes pack of paper / instructions
quality sticker/activity books
“how to draw” spiral bound book with step by step for vehicles of every type
nice felt tips (washable)
multi coloured biro pens
plain cards pack from the works
gem (3D) stickers
beads set (Hobbycraft)
pom Pom making
dot to dot colouring book
crayola washable glitter paints and a set of brushes with different sizes/sponge ends

This one. My 6 year old has a similar set up that we made ourselves (box was from Hobbycraft I think) and he loved it. Still gets a lot of use.

I’d stick with the main present being something they could do on their own if needed. You’ve no idea how much parental involvement they have. Crayola is always a hit the pens are decent and the crayons are actually bright. Make sure you provide paper and card so they have the supplies they need to use it. You can always top it up with a paint your own style gift the works have a few smaller versions of these. I’d just avoid making it the main present in case the child has no one to help them do it.

I would also consider a pencil case for the pencils. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vicloon-Fidget-Pencil-Poppet-Adjustable/dp/B09Q38Z38N/ref=sxin_24_pa_sp_phone_search_thematic_sspa?adgrpid=190138853247&content-id=amzn1.sym.6abef4fb-b8b2-49d9-b820-ce18d03905a3%3Aamzn1.sym.6abef4fb-b8b2-49d9-b820-ce18d03905a3&cv_ct_cx=pop+it+pencil+case&gad_source=1&hvadid=779272721719&hvdev=m&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9190076&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=14484274185093299897--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14484274185093299897&hvtargid=kwd-1301175986633&hydadcr=21374_2292535_374389&keywords=pop+it+pencil+case&mcid=0dac61024b5f3177894c644cbc90f249&pd_rd_i=B09Q38Z38N&pd_rd_r=52cfa370-add1-48e7-9317-d1354ca89f3d&pd_rd_w=JcZ7p&pd_rd_wg=eqxcy&pf_rd_p=6abef4fb-b8b2-49d9-b820-ce18d03905a3&pf_rd_r=W6JNHH1CW48JJQF97548&qid=1763104228&sr=1-2-ad3222ed-9545-4dc8-8dd8-6b2cb5278509-spons&aref=9k8DOtSVb3&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1

Lots of the kids at work had one similar to this and it was always popular. It also means that if they move around they can take their arts pieces with them, I had a child crying at work the other day because they didn't have stationary at dad's house and they wanted to make a card for someone.

Hi I have this brief for my 5 years old niece and also best friends chick for Christmas I went to the works and got

• coloured paper pad, white card, pattered card, pens, paint pens, stickers, pom poms, lollipop sticks, feathers, tissue paper and felt.

They have loads of crafty bits for £1 and I feel the kids like this better than a pre made craft box you buy in Smyths and it’s all very small amounts of poms poms and lollipop sticks etc!

if it’s a child who doesn’t receive much this way you can group the items and wrap maybe 3 parcels for them instead of one big box, if that makes sense? I would also add a pair of scissors and a glue stick incase theirs has run out/ don’t have
hope this helps!

Could be a coloring calendar and a set of crayons/glitter gel pens.

A marbling set sounds amazing imo, I'd get that without a second thought tbh.

Marbling is lovely but in my experience it’s not an activity that could be done by a six-year-old independently without some adult help. My very sensible ten-year-old has a marbling kit and could manage it on her own now, but needed help/supervision when she first got it last year.

There are lots of craft kits for younger children. Bracelet-making is a good one (but beads might be tricky to keep safe if there’s a younger sibling).

Try to choose something that doesn’t need adult supervision in case they don’t have parents or carers who can dedicate that time to them.

Hama beads or water beads. You can get little crystal art sets too. I have a 4 and 8 year old (one of each gender) and they both love the bead and crystal sets.

I think the Crayola carry case looks brilliant! That would be my top choice.

The Crayola case looks sooo good and would last a long time and so easy to carry around. just add a big pad of paper or so.