Making this basic slime recipe with glitter is the ultimate rainy day activity. If you have been wanting to get on the slime bandwagon with your kids, this…
Easter is a time of vibrant colours, new beginnings, and of course, plenty of chocolate! It’s also a brilliant opportunity to get those creative juices flowing. Drawing is…
Here at Kiwi Families, we love crafting ideas that are simple enough for little ones to have a go at, but difficult enough to keep older kids engaged.…
Every year we like to make some DIY or crafty decorations for Christmas. Whether it’s something new and quirky for our Christmas tree, or something to display on…
If you’ve been following our crafts section this year you might have seen a few projects using iceblock sticks. I decided to do a Christmas themed craft this…
Calling all aspiring astronauts and space enthusiasts! Get ready to embark on an out-of-this-world adventure, I think you’re going to love this cool little space-inspired iceblock stick craft.
This is a super-fun and engaging activity to do with your kids as a weekend project. I think you’ll really like building this marble run from cardboard rolls!…
We’ve been thinking a lot about DIY games that you can make together at home. This project is also a great way to reuse those cardboard rolls and…
Halloween is just around the corner, and what better way to get into the spooky spirit than by crafting your own creepy crawlies? Try out these spiders made…
We’ve made lots of cardboard roll crafts over the years. I love them because it reuses the rolls, they’re very easy for small hands to work with, and…
Looking for a fun and easy way to introduce your kids to the world of printmaking? Look no further than LEGO and Duplo!
As the weather gets colder outside, we’re constantly searching for fun and colourful activities to brighten up our days. That’s why we thought it would be the perfect…
Looking for a fun and creative way to celebrate the changing of the seasons with your kids? Autumn is a beautiful time of year, with its colourful leaves…
Here is a fun and incredibly simple craft you can do with your kids. And if you’re anything like us, and don’t mind a tree full of random…
This is a fun little activity that you can make with both young and older kids. We have made these ones as Christmas cards but you can really…
This is a fun little activity that kids of all ages can do. It’s an idea based on the really simple ‘squash and fold’ style of art I…
When it’s raining outside it’s time pull out the crafting materials for the kids to get creative with. Today I am going to show you a cute little…
With the school holidays upon us and the weather wet outside what better way to keep the kids engaged, than with some fun monster loose parts craft.
The other day we were at the beach and, as children do, they started collecting shells along the walk. This is a common occurrence for us. But often…
February, being the month in which love is celebrated on Valentine’s Day, it seemed only fitting to play around with heart art. Of course this craft idea is…
Cardboard tubes are so easy to come by and make a great material for kids to craft with. They can be used to make cars, butterflies, puppets any…
Spring is in the air and so are cute little spring chickens and lambs! My kids and I really love going for country walks this time of year,…
Some kids (especially mine) just love dinosaurs, so here is a fun little craft you can make with your kids using recycled cardboard, paint and bubble wrap.
My kids really enjoy printmaking so I wanted to share this super-simple activity using cardboard tubes found around the home. Paper towel rolls or toilet rolls work great…
Sometimes I am so surprised at how one little craft project can open up a world of play and revive olds toys that haven’t been touched for awhile.
I don’t know about you, but we always have cardboard tubes lying around the house. Be it toilet rolls or paper towel rolls. And often I find them…
The school holidays are fast approaching and the winter polar blast has started to take hold here. So I’m in need of some easy indoor craft activities to…
The school holidays are fast approaching and the winter polar blast has started to take hold here. So I’m in need of some easy indoor craft activities to…
It is pouring with rain today as I sit in my studio and ponder what arts and crafts I can make with the kids. I’m looking around at…
This is a super-simple craft that you can do for Halloween, or if your kids are studying spiders. The thing I liked best about making these paper plate…
It’s the school holidays, so what better way to entertain the children than by getting our craft on. My son is loving boats at them moment, and we…
Making a paper plate dinosaur with your little ones is a fun and easy rainy-day activity. Little ones love playing with paint and they love painting on anything…
Mother’s Day is right around the corner so here are two different ways to make a Mother’s Day card that your kids will love. These would also make…
Egg Cartons are great for crafting. Kids can make so many fun and simple crafts with them. I love the simplicity of this egg carton flower idea. And…
If you’ve ever tried painting with a 12 month old baby, or younger, you’ll know that rather than painting on the paper, most of the paint ends up…
Terracotta clay pots are my new favourite material to work with. There are soooo many craft ideas using clay pots. Here’s how to make terracotta clay pot Christmas…
Find out how to make your own masquerade mask from an egg carton. This egg carton craft is perfect for kids of all ages. And there’s no end…
Paper Mãché Volcanoes are such a fun activity for children of all ages to make. But they’re especially fun for young kids, who’ll love playing with the goop…
My daughter has been interested in mermaids lately, so for these school holidays we decided to make a mermaid peg doll. They are super-simple to make and kids…
Discover how to turn the $199 Kmart Cubby House into a playhouse palace fit for a princess (and prince). We inject a bit of Kiwi flavour into the Kmart Cubby House…
Today we spotted a fire engine parked up at the supermarket. The kids were so excited we headed over to get a closer look at it and take…
Using air drying clay to make Christmas decorations is so easy, and so much fun! It really is an activity the whole family can join in on. Here’s…
This year I decided to starting decorating my home early with Christmas decorations. You see for the past 2 years we haven’t had the tree and decorations up…
With Halloween just around the corner my mind has been on creating fun and spooky crafts. You’ll love these upcycled Halloween craft ideas.
We have LOTS of miniature “ocean animals” toys in our house and I wanted to come up with a creative way for my daughter to play with them.…
Holy-quacamole Father’s Day has crept up on me fast this year! I truely feel like it was just yesterday that it was the 1st of August. Time just seems…
My 4 year old has just discovered the joys of puppetry. She’s really into it. So I thought what a great idea to create a shoe box theatre for…
Toilet Roll craft is so inexpensive and easy to create for all ages. The kids and I spent half a day building toilet roll rocket ships with all…
We want to make some cards to give to the Grandparents for Easter this year. We were thinking something Easter egg related, and we came up with this…
With Easter just around the corner, I thought it was time to focus my attention on some fun and cute Easter crafts. I couldn’t go past this idea…
This is a great little growing experiment that you can do with children of all ages. It’s lots of fun for a rainy day activity, there’s lots of tending…
The shaving cream rain cloud is a great little experiment, that takes no time at all to set up. It’s a simple way to teach kids about clouds…
I’ve always loved making robots with kids. As a school teacher I used to love letting my kids go crazy with a bunch of recycled items to create like…
Both my children love flowers! There isn’t a walk we can go on without them stopping to pick a flower. Anything with an interesting looking leaf, or simply…
This craft is a great one for all ages. All you really need to do is lay out a bunch of materials and let your child’s imagination run…
If your kids are into painted rocks, find out how to make a painted rock photo holder. The painted rocks craze has made painting on rocks pretty popular…
Howling cats and big black spider, Flying Bats, some doughnuts and cider, Smiling pumpkins can be seen; The time is here for Halloween. – Karen McGuigan Brothers
I was having a look on Pinterest the other day to come up with some toilet roll craft ideas, when I saw toilet roll wool wrapped monsters. This inspired…
The other day my daughter and I made a butterfly toilet roll craft. Today my daughter decided our butterflies needed some flowers! So we created this cool toilet roll…
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up to give me a fright…
Toilet rolls have to be one of the best crafting materials around. The endless possibilities with the humble toilet roll never cease to amaze me and they’re free.…
With Matariki having just entered our skies the thoughts in our household have all been pointed toward space. So with thoughts focused on planets and stars, of course…
If your household is anything like ours, you’ll accumulate toilet rolls at an alarming rate! But before you throw out that next toilet roll, consider adding it to your…
Shaving cream is my new, favourite art material, to use with my little ones. It can be used for a number of different sensory and craft activities. Today…
Art activities for preschoolers are as important to your child’s development as reading, writing and other physical development skills. We’ve pulled together 19 art activities for 3, 4…
This easy no-cook playdough recipe uses just five basic ingredients and takes about 10 minutes to make. The finished dough is soft, smooth and easy for little hands…
This year, I made it my mission to start creating a set of quality dress up’s for my kids that don’t cost the earth. We have a special…
We’re really loving painting on rocks at the moment and after creating our 3 little pig story stones little miss 3 decided we should make the 5 little ducks…
I love this paint art project for kids, as it’s suitable for all ages. I did this art project with a class of 5 and 6 year olds…
I discovered story stones a little while back and decided it was time to share them with the Kiwi Families community. These story stones are inexpensive to make…
I have to admit I’m pretty addicted to Pinterest! I can waste many an hour scrolling through, looking for fun and fresh crafts to do with my kids…
In my experience of being a teacher and raising children of my own, I’ve discovered that kids love painting on all types of objects. In fact my daughter prefers…
I just love this little activity because it’s a fantastic activity for so many ages. I’ve done this with 3 year olds, right up to 8 year olds.…
The other day, while dropping my little girl off at kindy, I noticed she was having trouble using the scissors, while other kids around her seemed quite capable.
It must be because it’s coming up to Halloween because my daughter has gone spook mad. Every morning around the breakfast table the first thing she says is,…
Inspired by Halloween I thought what better idea than to create an invitation to play for magic potions this week. My little miss 3 loves mixing, stirring and making things so…
We were so excited when we found our first painted rock. Our 4 year old daughter found one randomly in a park in Whanganui when we were on…
This is a great kid’s painting idea that will have your kids coming back for more. My little miss 3 just loved pouring and exploring with the paint.…
Halloween is just around the corner, which means it’s a great time to get your spook on. Trying out some kids halloween crafts gives you a great excuse to pull…
The first spring flower craft idea I created was with my class during art and I thought what a great craft to share with our Kiwi Families community. They’re super simple to…
I love invitations to play they are such a neat way to inspire our children. I first stumbled upon the idea of invitation to play when I was teaching…
After reading What Could it Be? Exploring the Imaginative World of Shapes to my 3 year old daughter, I was inspired to make our own shape stamps to…
Pompoms are an all time favourite of mine, I used to make them all the time when I was a child. There’s just so many great craft projects…
Last updated: 10 June 2026 The quick version Matariki 2026 is on Friday July 10th. Most schools and whānau celebrate the week before and after. The simplest crafts…
In a time where the school curriculum seems to become narrower and narrower, outlets for expressing creativity are becoming more and more vital in the lives of our…
This craft activity is one to get the children involved with. Ask young children to draw something to do with Christmas: Santa, baby Jesus, an angel etc. Older…
These little people will be looking cute with grass for hair in a short couple of weeks. What a fun project – and it will be just as…
This craft is an oldie but a goodie, I used to love making these as a kid and have to admit I rather enjoyed making this guy. Added…
I’m sure that many of you will remember having hours of fun with paper dolls when you were children. Here are some great printables that you can use…
Get gardening with your children these holidays. Here are some great gardening activities, projects, and ideas to get kids started. This should keep them busy for at least a…
Find out what can you create with your kids for free or at low cost in our Craft Activities for Parent and Child article. Craft activities like card…
Here are some free or low cost craft activities for young children. Fabric and ceramic painting, mosaics and more. Find it all in Craft Activities for 4 –…
When you start scrapbooking you will hear all sorts of terms and jargon, and it will feel like scrapbookers speak in another language. Don’t worry – after a…
You can do more with scrapbook papers than simply scrapbooking; there are heaps of craft ideas where scrapbook papers can really be put on show. Whether you are…
There is no right or wrong way to lay out your scrapbook page, but there are some basic guidelines that will help ensure your scrapbook layout is the…
Scrapbooking does not have to be done in traditional albums; you can make a scrapbook album out of just about anything. Altered art is the term used for…
Create Craft Memories by Scrapbooking. Scrapbooking involves collecting, storing and displaying photographs in a way that tells a story. Scrapbooking is more than making a photo album, it…
There are many different types of painting, but when you are thinking about young children, acrylic painting is the most common place to start. Acrylics are the easiest…
Mosaic is the art of creating pictures and designs using pieces of tile, ceramics or glass. Kids of all ages enjoy making mosaics, and you can adapt any project…
If you are a jewellery making beginner, it is sometimes hard to know where to start. These tips and tricks for beading beginners, whether kids or adults, will…