My kids LOVE crafts, but sometimes I just can’t stand the mess. I’m always looking for fun and easy mess free crafts for my kids to do.
I’ve learned a few things over the years as a former nanny, former daycare worker, and now a mom. Kids love messy play, and for the most part I’m cool with it.
But you know those days where you just *can’t* handle another mess? Yeah, I have those a lot lately.
That’s where this list of fun crafts and creative play came from. They are all easy to cleanup, and still fill your child’s need to create without the mess.
Keep scrolling to get some new ideas for how to encourage your child’s art and creative skills without damaging your sanity!
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Painting or coloring with water
This may seem a little basic, but there’s a few ways to do this!
You can give your toddler some paintbrushes and water and let them go crazy outside. They can paint stones, the driveway, sidewalks, trees…you name it! When it dries, it’s a whole new canvas to work with.
I also LOVE my Aqua Doodle Mat. In fact, I love it so much that I have one for each child. Now, my kids are still little, but I’ve gotten it out around my school-aged nephews and even they liked it! It’s really great for 1-2 year olds that are learning how to hold a pen or marker since it can get everywhere without staining.
I’ve bought mine on Amazon, and to be honest I’ve never seen them in a store. That’s not to say you can’t buy one there, I’ve just never seen it.
They also come with stencils if that’s something your child is interested in! The Aqua Doodle Mat has been a great way for my 2.5 year old to learn shapes, colors, letters and numbers.
Fun change-up: Let your child draw with an ice cube on it! As the ice melts, the colors appear.
Watercolor paper
Melissa and Doug made this super awesome watercolor paper that has the paints right on it. It comes with a little paint brush, and all you need to give your child is a little bit of water. They can dip their brush on the dried paint on the paper and get the colors they want.
Also, Usborne makes a great magic painting book that just uses water, too. My daughter LOVES seeing what colors show through when she moves her brush across the page! We have the underwater and mermaids one, and the colors are really pretty. There are a ton from their selection to choose from including animals, dinosaurs, fairies, princesses, and more.
This is one of my favorite easy mess free crafts because you still have something to hang on the refrigerator at the end! My daughter is always so proud of her paintings.
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Invisible Ink
We’re a little bit obsessed with these books! I think we’re up to 4-5 of them now!
Basically, it comes with its own pen of clear ink. When you draw across the pages, colors and shapes appear! The booklets are small, which makes it the perfect thing to bring to restaurants, doctor’s offices, car rides, you name it!
Plus, they’re pretty inexpensive. I bought the first one at Target for around $5. I later bought a three pack from Amazon for about $14. She uses them almost daily!
You can find every Disney princess, Superhero, or any other character your child likes. We personally have Secret Life of Pets, Moana, Frozen and Trolls.
Paint in a bag
My littlest one loves this! She’s 13 months, and it’s my way of including her in painting without her ending up with a mouthful of finger paint.
I basically put a few drops of different colored paints in a ziplock bag and tape off each side so it doesn’t tear apart.
She can then smush the colors around, squeeze the bag, make handprints, etc. until she’s content with herself, and then I can throw it away. Easy peasy!
You’ll also love
If your child or toddler loves crafts, give these mess free art activities a try and let me know what you think!
Are there any that your family loves that I missed? Let me know in the comments below!
Also, follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest! I’ll share with you other activities I do with my kids, as well as other helpful posts for parents. Let’s be friends 🙂
