Art gift for 5 year old-help! Need ideas!

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LynnieLew

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Originally we got her barbie, pollypocket, and a bunch of other toys. Last night I took them all back because I knew she would play with them for awhile but they would ed up discarded. We don’t want to get just a bunch of stuff she sees on television. We want her gift to be intentional and that expresses WHO she is.

My 5 year old girl LOVES to cut, color and paste.

For Christmas we want to do an art themed gift but we are really stuck as to what to included.

She has an easel and a desk.

The problem is that so many art things are really cheap and plastic and we want to move away from buying a bunch of “stuff” and get something more meaningful. We have already gotten a gift to express our faith but want to get something really fun for her to play with.

This art theme is her “big” gift.

The problem is that I don’t want to get a bunch of little things but I am really stuck!

Ideas of special things we could include? Remember, she is 5.

Thank you for your help!
The more suggestions the better
 
The new Crayola Cutter seems really cool! Of course, it is also becoming very hard to find…
 
What about buying a shelf with drawers or something similiar and fill it with art supplies? ie. fuzzy balls, glue, paints, glitter, crayons, markers, coloring books, paper, buttons, cloth, a small sewing kit, an apron, puffy paints, a couple wooden boxes to decorate.

I can’t think of something big that would be appropriate for a 5 yr old, but I don’t think it’s a waste or just “stuff” if she really likes art projects. Kids LOVE these little projects since big ones usually take so much time. You could even get her a couple knitting needles and yarn to start with - they make ones for children too. My 11 yr old sister has used hers for a long time now. She also has a bin full of material and a sewing machine that she got last year and uses it all the time to make bags and doll clothes! But she is quite a bit older too.
Hope this helps! 🙂 (Great idea by the way!)
 
Ahh…my area of “expertise”! 🙂 I grew up addicted to art and still am… 😃

My ideas would be a giant assortment of art stuff:
  1. Lots of blank, decorate-yourself cards that you can find at Michael’s or Wal-Mart - kids love to make greeting cards for people (they’re only about $2 a pack at Walmart and come with envelopes)
  2. A tub of pre-cut foam colored shapes - flowers, stars, hearts, etc.
    http://www.dick-blick.com/items/611/35/61135-0000-2ww-m.jpg
  3. Anything glitzy to glue to her art to zazz it up - sequins, beads, glitter, etc. and some craft glue or elmer’s
  4. A set of watercolors and brushes
  5. A nice set of markers
  6. Some sketch pads and a pad of nice art quality paper
  7. Some of those fun decorative scissors that cut neat borders and shapes
    http://img.alibaba.com/photo/50098552/Craft_Scissors.jpg
  8. Some decorative/crafty hole punchers
  9. Colored pencils
  10. Stamps and ink if she likes stamping
  11. Construction paper
  12. Glitter glue (available in pens or in a tub with a paintbrush)
    http://www.sz-wholesale.com/uploadFiles/060320150303s.jpg
    http://www.scotch-corner.co.uk/artistsupplies/catalogue/images/45-E-thm.jpg
  13. Craft paper (you know - the kind at Michael’s that is preprinted with fun designs and stuff)
  14. Twistable crayons…a big pack. Those are still my favorite crayons to use.
  15. And quite possibly a neat kiddie craft/art book at Michael’s that gives her ideas
    on fun stuff to make with all her goodies.
I’d go NUTS over this gift if I was a kid!!!
 
LynnieLew said:
Originally we got her barbie, pollypocket, and a bunch of other toys. Last night I took them all back because I knew she would play with them for awhile but they would ed up discarded. We don’t want to get just a bunch of stuff she sees on television. We want her gift to be intentional and that expresses WHO she is.

My 5 year old girl LOVES to cut, color and paste.

For Christmas we want to do an art themed gift but we are really stuck as to what to included.

She has an easel and a desk.

The problem is that so many art things are really cheap and plastic and we want to move away from buying a bunch of “stuff” and get something more meaningful. We have already gotten a gift to express our faith but want to get something really fun for her to play with.

This art theme is her “big” gift.

The problem is that I don’t want to get a bunch of little things but I am really stuck!

Ideas of special things we could include? Remember, she is 5.

Thank you for your help!
The more suggestions the better
Click to expand...
I have a 5 year old and 7 yr old who like to cut, color and paste. I haven’t bought any special art sets for them, but the things they seem to enjoy most are : twistable crayons (my youngest was thrilled with the 64 crayon set I bought her, the older one likes the twistables), markers, construction paper (these come in pads as well as loose), drawing pads, coloring books, glue sticks, stickers (they put stickers on plain paper and draw pictures around them), coloring pencils, safety scissors. Maybe buy a combination of things you know she would enjoy using and wrap them separately or together in a big box?
 
Oh - sorry - just read that you don’t want to buy her lots of little stuff…

hmmmmm. Let me think some more.
 
Last year, my mother in law bought my kids (8 & 5) a set of the shaped hole punches and a set of the decorative edge scissors. They loved them! (She bought both at Costco.)

She also bought them a set of the Rubbermaid storage drawers and filled each drawer with different crafty items, as described by the previous poster.

My DD has a knifty knitter that is fun for making hats, and I think a 5 year old could handle that. (If you ever had a knitting spool, it is the same concept, just on a larger scale.)

Hope that helps!
 
What about a gift certificate to a local paint your own pottery or make your own pottery place?

Or one large, nice art set. Try dickblick.com

Personally, I think a nice art supply box with lots of different art supplies would be fun and educational (like some of the others have posted). Creativity is a gift from God and if she has a desk and easel, then I can’t think of much else she’d need other than actual supplies! You can buy good quality art supplies and not the plastic stuff. I agree that they tend to fall apart. A nice set of pencils, markers, brushes, etc are expensive, though.

You might look at magiccabin.com or rosiehippo.com/categorysubdept.asp?deptid=6&subdeptid=601 or even
store.forsmallhands.com/cgi-bin/cgipagls?l=6&g=19002 at their art supplies. Maybe something there will catch your fancy!
Jennifer
 
Last year we got my little one just a bunch of “Stuff”. But I hid most of it and then let him open the gifts throughout the day rather than all at once. He was elated. It really worked well. I wouldn’t rule out a bunch of stuff. Kids don’t know what it costs and the fact that you got one big thing doesn’t mean much to them. Mine just loves opening the packages.
 
My 5 year old granddaughter loves art. I got her a magna-doodle. It doesn’t invlove the cutting and pasting, but she LOVES it. In fact, she had one from about the time she was three, and then we replaced it because it got used so much! The kids (there are 6 of them) walk on it, stand on it, it’s indestructable! Hope this helps.
Greema~
 
Lynn,

I think there’s nothing like a big stock of supplies to make it OK to go wild. Paper, paint, cups, brushes, glue. Lots of each, especially the the paper and paint, which get used up. For special versions, look for colored glues and those giant rolls of paper. I think you’ll find stuff like that at Hyatt’s on Jefferson Ave. (Maybe call first, as I haven’t been there in ages and then I was looking at printmaking supplies.)

Fancy scissors are fun, but I don’t know if a five-year-old might find them frustrating. I can do very little with them myself, so I may be projecting a preference for plain old scissors onto your child. 🙂 I do remember liking my mom’s pinking shears when I was little, but I also got frustrated that I couldn’t do corners with them without ruining the pattern.

A small handbrush/dustpan set (adult size is manageable for kids that age) and a dedicated clean-up towel might make a nice suppliment to that gift. (Maybe not something to wrap under the tree, but just to add to her work area.) Providing a fun way to clean up makes it OK to make a mess. I know my daughter likes to cut up a piece of paper until it’s confetti, and then she also likes it when I take out the dustpan and brush and help her sweep it up.
 
KellyEr said:
My 5 year old granddaughter loves art. I got her a magna-doodle. It doesn’t invlove the cutting and pasting, but she LOVES it. In fact, she had one from about the time she was three, and then we replaced it because it got used so much! The kids (there are 6 of them) walk on it, stand on it, it’s indestructable! Hope this helps.
Greema~
Click to expand...
Those things are great on trips, too. Now that our kids are older, we write stories on them, even. They write a sentence or two and pass it to the front, and I read it aloud. Then I write the next bit, pass it to the back, and they read it aloud. It gets pretty hilarious.

I don’t see how you get around the “stuff” issue when it comes to art supplies. Paints, glitter or glitter glue, and so on…even if all she has is a stack of paper and a box of crayons, the amount of art she’ll generate will bury you. That is the way it goes. If you give her fun stuff to use but include a place to put it away, though, you’ll do ok. Preschools and schools manage it with a herd of kids…it’s just called “pick up your mess before you move to the next thing.”

You might want to include in your gift three bulletin boards…really big ones, homemade if you’re up for it. You can put them on her bedroom wall as panels and she can paper that wall of her room with her artwork. One-inch cork sheets work well if you’re on the cheap and don’t want a big project for yourself…my old bedroom at home still has one in working order that is at least 25 years old. Otherwise, you’ll find instructions on the internet that use picture molding, fabric, ribbons and such over a stick-pin-friendly backing.
 
My kids love art too. Some of our favorite things are Color Wonder. You can find big sets of these or individual things. My kids love the finger paints. And the new color wonder sprayer looks really cool!
We got our little one a play-dough table. It looks like a “big” gift. The model magic stuff is also a big hit and goes with the art theme.
I second the recommendation about the fancy cutting scissors and paper punches. My kids love them. They got some with their scrap-booking supplies last year.
When it comes to art, you almost have to buy a lot of little things. If I were you, I would buy a big plastic tote and wrap each little art supply separately and throw them all in, or go with the drawer idea previously posted.
I also might throw in a hand vac or carpet flick (for her or Mom?). All those little pieces of paper can be “fun” to clean up! 😃
 
amills said:
Last year we got my little one just a bunch of “Stuff”. But I hid most of it and then let him open the gifts throughout the day rather than all at once. He was elated. It really worked well. I wouldn’t rule out a bunch of stuff. Kids don’t know what it costs and the fact that you got one big thing doesn’t mean much to them. Mine just loves opening the packages.
Click to expand...
I can understand that but my experience with my kiddos and friends kids as well has been “okay, what’s next?”. The art box will have several things to it to unwrap but it stays within a theme.
 
BLB_Oregon said:
Those things are great on trips, too. Now that our kids are older, we write stories on them, even. They write a sentence or two and pass it to the front, and I read it aloud. Then I write the next bit, pass it to the back, and they read it aloud. It gets pretty hilarious.

I don’t see how you get around the “stuff” issue when it comes to art supplies. Paints, glitter or glitter glue, and so on…even if all she has is a stack of paper and a box of crayons, the amount of art she’ll generate will bury you. That is the way it goes. If you give her fun stuff to use but include a place to put it away, though, you’ll do ok. Preschools and schools manage it with a herd of kids…it’s just called “pick up your mess before you move to the next thing.”

You might want to include in your gift three bulletin boards…really big ones, homemade if you’re up for it. You can put them on her bedroom wall as panels and she can paper that wall of her room with her artwork. One-inch cork sheets work well if you’re on the cheap and don’t want a big project for yourself…my old bedroom at home still has one in working order that is at least 25 years old. Otherwise, you’ll find instructions on the internet that use picture molding, fabric, ribbons and such over a stick-pin-friendly backing.
Click to expand...
I LOVE the bulletin board idea! That is great! Then she can show her work in her room!
 
kage_ar said:
The new Crayola Cutter seems really cool! Of course, it is also becoming very hard to find…
Click to expand...
How funny is that! I just bought one today on ebay because I remembered seeing it on TV. I spend a few dollars more than I would have in the store but they are sold out everywhere! I guess it is safe for her age to use too!

Awesome thank you!
 
LynnieLew said:
How funny is that! I just bought one today on ebay because I remembered seeing it on TV. I spend a few dollars more than I would have in the store but they are sold out everywhere! I guess it is safe for her age to use too!

Awesome thank you!
Click to expand...
When I saw them on TV, I wanted one 🙂
 
LynnieLew said:
Originally we got her barbie, pollypocket, and a bunch of other toys. Last night I took them all back because I knew she would play with them for awhile but they would ed up discarded. We don’t want to get just a bunch of stuff she sees on television. We want her gift to be intentional and that expresses WHO she is.

My 5 year old girl LOVES to cut, color and paste.

For Christmas we want to do an art themed gift but we are really stuck as to what to included.

She has an easel and a desk.

The problem is that so many art things are really cheap and plastic and we want to move away from buying a bunch of “stuff” and get something more meaningful. We have already gotten a gift to express our faith but want to get something really fun for her to play with.

This art theme is her “big” gift.

The problem is that I don’t want to get a bunch of little things but I am really stuck!

Ideas of special things we could include? Remember, she is 5.

Thank you for your help!
The more suggestions the better
Click to expand...
**Y’all may not agree that is an artistisc gift but what about the Fisher Price digital camera? Then she can learn about creating mixed media? I guess being inlvolved in digital arts and media i tend to think more along the lines of photos being art:)

I just think it would be neat to be able for her to see and learn how to view things and make a image come to life:)**
 
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