Fun family crafts are a great way to bring everyone in the family together. Older ones can help younger ones. Everyone gets to express their own creativity. And it’s a good excuse to spend time together doing something that doesn’t involve sweating or batteries.
I think of crafting a little different than most. No one would ever accuse me of being a person who crafts. It’s just never been my thing. But, of course, my kids LOVE it. So fun family crafts to me are ones that are simple, not crazy messy, and that the kids can pretty much do themselves.
Check out my last post with super easy craft ideas.
To celebrate the season of Spring, my friends at Juicy Juice put together several fun family crafts that anyone can do…even me. When it’s rainy or too hot or cold to go outside, or when the CRAZY pollen that-falls-from-the-sky-like-snow gets too bad, sit inside and get crafty!
5 Fun Family Crafts for the Spring
1. Watermelon Slushie
In my opinion, the best kind of fun family crafts are the ones you can ingest. And who doesn’t love a slushie? This Watermelon Slushie drink is cool and refreshing and is the perfect complement to a spicy Cinco de Mayo Mexican meal. I’m not a huge fan of watermelon, but strawberries work really well too.
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped seedless watermelon
- 2 cups ice cubes
- 3/4 cup White Grape flavor Juicy Juice® 100% Juice
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Directions
Place watermelon, ice, White Grape Flavor Juicy Juice® 100% Juice, sugar and lime juice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately. Servings Per Recipe 2
2. Juice Box Walk Talkies
Promote the power of creativity and imagination with these Juice Box walk talkies. No batteries necessary. Kids can have fun making them and then can “talk” to each other, or fake truckers on the road, as much as they want. If you cut out the pieces beforehand, this could be a car activity on your next road trip.
Directions
- Gather materials including a leftover Juicy Juice™ juice box, a black marker, three sheets of construction paper, kid friendly scissors and a glue stick.
- Color the top of the juice box’s straw black. Cut one sheet of construction paper horizontally so it is the height of the juice box. Then, cut smaller pieces in the shape of a rectangle, a circle, a square and four small ovals. Glue on the ovals, the circle and the square onto the rectangle. Using your marker, color in dots and lines for the walkie talkie’s earpiece and mouthpiece. Finally, glue on the rectangle at the edge of the largest sheet.
- Cover the back of the large sheet in glue and attach it directly over the juice box. Insert the straw back in and you’re ready to go!
I have 3 rules when it comes to doing crafts with my kids…and no I’m not sorry.
3. Butterfly Snack Packs
Fun family crafts that are useful are totally awesome. Sure I love all the hundreds of pieces of artwork my kids produce (and I have boxes and boxes of them to prove it) but the useful ones really have my heart. When finished, take your snack packs outside and see if you can see a real live butterfly.
Directions
- Gather materials: two different dry snacks, a standard clothespin, a sandwich bag, markers, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and a glue stick.
- Place the two snacks into a sandwich bag, making sure it is sealed tight and keeping them apart as much as possible. Put aside.
- Color the clothespins using the markers. Glue on two googly eyes and two rolled up pipe cleaner strips for the butterfly antennae. Don’t have pipe cleaners handy? Use that creativity and choose something else. Do you!
- Cinch the bag down the middle with your thumb and index finger, place the decorated clothespin right in the center. You can use this again and again!
4. Egg Carton Chicks
Easter is late this year, but it’s coming. Why not have your kids help out and make the decorations for your Easter brunch this year? I have learned that if you say the kids did it, everyone will absolutely love it. (Feel free to say that even if they didn’t do it. I won’t tell.)
Directions
- Gather materials: construction paper, yellow paint, a paintbrush, a glue stick, a black marker, safety scissors and an empty egg carton. Each chick requires two egg carton cups, so a carton that holds a dozen eggs will make six chicks.
- Use the scissors to cut each egg carton cup out.
- Paint each egg carton cup yellow. Then, cut out “beaks,” “wings” and “feet” from the construction paper. Small triangles will do.
- Glue two cups on top of each other from only the back panel. This way you can lift the top cup to make the chick “talk” or you can fill it with jelly beans. Then, glue on the beaks, wings and feet. Draw eyes with the black marker and you have yourself a fantastic Easter table setting, decoration, or cute toy.
5. Sprinkle in Spring Cupcakes
This is one of the most delicious of the fun family crafts. And the kids love it too. Before you say it, I know technically baking isn’t a craft but it falls into a fun family activity to me so I’m counting it!
Directions
Just take any cake mix and follow the directions, substituting your favorite Juicy Juice Splashers for the water that is called for. Bake. Once they are cooled, pull out the canisters of frosting you have, leftover sprinkles from the last birthday party, chocolate chips and anything else surgery that would taste good on top of a yummy cupcake. Then let the kids go at it. I like giving them a theme, like Spring, to focus their creativity.
These fun family crafts are easy ones to get your dabbling into the world of making a mess for a good reason…otherwise known as crafting. Which one will you try first?
