Homemade Crayola Gift Baskets

Tips on making a homemade Crayola gift basket that will thrill kids.

Art materials are a wonderful gift idea for children. They are fun, develop creativity and help children's development.

But buying a pack of crayons or markers is a bit of a ho-hum gift. Especially if the gift if for something big like a birthday or Christmas present. Giving a homemade Crayola gift basket full of art materials and other goodies creates more excitement and happiness.

Why a Crayola Gift Basket? I have had professional training in art and I find the Crayola products the best. Their colors are wonderful and they have a smooth, velvet-like feel when you are using them. They are also a good price which makes them perfect for making a gift basket.

Which Basket to Begin With?

The basket you begin with is important to the mood and look of your gift basket. There are lots of baskets that are good to use for a gift basket. You can find colored, patterned, plastic or a natural material. But because the gift basket is for a child there are a few things that are helpful to keep in mind when you make your choice:

Colorful is a better choice than a natural colored cane basket for a child. But because the Crayola products are so brightly colored you can go for a pastel and white mix and still end up with a really bright basket to give a child.
It is good to choose a basket that can be used for storing toys or other things afterwards. Baskets are always handy in a house with kids around.
Look for one that will be big enough to neatly hold what you would like to include in your basket. If it's a little too big you can cushion the bottom of the basket with colored tissue paper. If it's a little too small it's okay for the gifts to overflow the top a little. But make sure there is no risk that they will fall out or get damaged.

Good Basket Ideas

Munchkin Canvas Bin

Munchkin

View on Amazon

Plastic Bright Round Basket

Fun Express

View on Amazon

Book Basket

Romanoff

View on Amazon

Crayola Kids Gift Box

Organic Stores

View on Amazon

Best Crayola Gift Basket for Inspiration

Do you need some inspiration to get you started?

This Crayola gift basket was the best one I could find. It is the only one which has a mixture of Crayola art materials, other fun gifts and some goodies to eat. It is also bright looking for children.

It should give you some ideas about how to mix and match your own homemade Crayola gift basket.

What to Put Inside Your Basket?

Crayola Art Materials

Now it's time to be creative. Even if you want to include other toys and goodies in your gift basket the first things you want to choose is the Crayola art materials.

You need to choose the art materials carefully. This is because different art materials are good for different ages. A toddler does not play happily with the same art materials that an older child will play with.

What Art Materials for a Toddler?

Jumbo Crayons and Finger Paints

If your basket will be for a toddler go with jumbo crayons and finger paints because they are good first art materials.

Jumbo crayons are easy to hold and hard to break.

Finger paints are good because they don't need a brush so they are easier to use. They let toddlers find out about how colors mix together. Finger paints are also better for toddler learning. This is because they let a children learn through sight and touch. When you paint with a brush you learn through looking not feeling.

What Art Materials for a Preschool Child?

A preschool child can use toddler art supplies. They are good for preschoolers for the same reasons they are good for toddlers. But older preschool children can also use normal markers, crayons and paints too. How old the preschool is, how good their coordination is and how much experience they have had with art are all important. If the child is 3 years old, is a bit clumsy and hasn't used art materials much the toddler choices are best. If they are 4 or 5 years old and love their art time then the usual crayons, markers and paint will be fine.

What Art Materials for School Children?

School children need more colors to enjoy their art time. This means the bigger sets of crayons and markers (64 or 120) are the best. The Crayola art activity sets are also a good choice for this age.

Art Materials for Your Basket


Neon Explosion Disney Fairies Crayola View on Amazon	Jumbo Crayons Crayola View on Amazon	120 Crayon Pack Binney & Smith View on Amazon

Older children will also enjoy art materials with a novelty feel. Think of crayons and markers with special effects like glitter.

These are fun because they are different to normal art materials. They feel new and add an extra dimension to their art play. Art materials like this also tend to be a popular thing to show their friends because not all kids have them.

Novelty Art Ideas


Mini Twistable Special Effects Crayons Crayola View on Amazon	Metallic FX Crayons Crayola View on Amazon	Glitter Crayons Crayola View on Amazon

Why Make Your Own Gift Basket?

There are three reasons why it's good to make your own Crayola gift basket rather than buying a ready made one.

1. You will create a better gift basket for less money than you would pay to buy one of the same quality.

2. You can personalize the gift basket for the age of the child you are making it for. This is important because art materials need to be matched to the age of the child. To give you an example. A toddler will break normal crayons very quickly. But a school age child will not be happy with the jumbo crayons made for younger children.

3. You can create a gift basket to suit the interests of the child. This will make the basket you give even more special.

Other Fun Things to Include

The Crayola art materials will be the main part of your homemade gift basket. But there is no reason why you can't include other fun activities.

You can include activity books for preschool and school children. There are lots of choices for both boys and girls.

Coloring books are a common gift but they can stop kids being creative. Luckily there is a good alternative called Anti-Coloring Books for school age children. These are like coloring books but they also encourage kids to be creative with lots of interesting activities.

For toddlers some plain, white drawing paper is good to add to their gift basket.

Some Fun Ideas

The Anti-Coloring Book

Holt Paperbacks

View on Amazon

Sticker Activity ABC

Priddy Books

View on Amazon

Craft kits and materials are also good to mix and match with the Crayola art materials for preschool and school age children. They are also fun for kids and not too expensive. For toddlers you can add some Play Doh to your gift basket.

Craft Kits for Your Basket


My First Sticky Mosaics® Vehicles The Orb Factory View on Amazon	Needlepoint Kit: Butterfly Alex Toys View on Amazon

Small Games and Toys

You can also pop small games and toys into a homemade Crayola gift basket. Things like bubble sets that will be good for the age and interests of the child.


Pocket Etch A Sketch Ohio Art View on Amazon	Animal Finger Puppets Set Crazy Cart View on Amazon	Frog Feast Sticky Tongues Playvisions (Club Earth) View on Amazon

Fun Novelties for Your Gift Basket

Small novelty toys and gifts are fun to include in your gift basket if you are making it for a preschool or school child. These little gifts give a little surprise inside your gift basket. Kids love playing with them or with the stars they love having them on their bedroom ceiling. They also aren't expensive.

Lastly you can also add candy and other goodies to your homemade Crayola gift basket. Candy, cookies, cupcakes wrapped in cellophane, granola bars, fruit snacks and small packets of potato chips will all work in a basket like this. You only need to match your choices to the child's age and likes.