It was my mother who started me on my crafting career with an ingenious gift, one that I have also given to my kids. You can help your kids, crafty or not, to discover their creativity with a similar gift.
On my tenth birthday, there was a large wrapped box that held quite the mystery. I hadn’t asked for anything in particular, so I had no clue what was inside. When I unwrapped it and looked in the box, I was confused for a moment. Then it dawned on me. Mom had raided a craft store.
Inside the box were pipe cleaners, pom poms, felt, glue, glitter, markers, googly eyes, beads, sequins and loads of other craft supplies. I was in heaven. We didn’t have a lot of money and I usually did my crafting by mixing up flour and salt clays in the kitchen.
I asked her later what made her think to give me that gift and she said that she noticed I liked making things. She remembered that when she was a kid and had an idea she never had the materials to make whatever it was. She wanted to make sure I had what I needed to execute my creativity. Sniff. My mom was way cool.
I loved that box of supplies and hoarded some things I couldn’t bring myself to use up. I’ll bet I still have bits and pieces of those original supplies lurking in my now overflowing basement.
Even if your kid isn’t into making crafty things, you can still fill a box with whatever it is that brings out his or her creativity. Here are a few ideas that might be a perfect fit for your child.
1. For a builder: Model airplane or car kits with glue and paints and books or magazines about airplanes or cars
2. For an organizer: Scrapbook supplies: an album, paper punches, embellishments, sticky dots, etc…
3. For an artist: Pencils, pens, charcoal, sketchbooks and instructional art books
4. For a scientist: Fun science books with experiments plus supplies to do the experiments, a magnifying glass, astronomy charts and magnets
5. For a musician: Tape recorder, microphone, karaoke tapes, musical instruments