The Artist's Eyes by Jenn Lee

It seems the closer to Christmas we get each year, my childrens Christmas wish list gets longer and longer. All I hear ringing in my ears is, “All I want for Christmas is…” every day. The television commercials blast all the newest and coolest toys and the postmaster delivers mailer after mailer of Christmas deals with tantalizing pictures of colorful tidbits of toy treats. I’m starting to think he’s in on the attack! As we all know, we parents are pounded defenselessly against the brutal attack from the retail barrage coming from every direction. In my nightmares I peek into my wallet seeing cobwebs and lint and credit card statements delivered by men in dark suits looking menacingly like mobsters coming to break my knees in their attempts to collect.

Alright, enough with the dramatics he-he! Honestly though, it does seem to feel more and more difficult to justify the cost of all the wants for Christmas unless your wallet is bursting at its seams.  So with that said, I decided to share with you some ideas for gift giving for the creative youth(s) in your life, that serve dual purpose as educational or creative inspiration wise and are not quite so tasking on the wallet.

1. Every child likes to play with clay. As we adults can remember, we spent hours of fun playing with Play Dough, creating everything under the sun that our young imaginations could come up with. Sculpey is a wonderful clay that not only can they create with, but can be baked in any standard oven or toaster oven to keep as a keepsake. There are tons of how-to instructions on the internet as well as books you can buy from book stores or craft stores for every age group. From jewelry to statues, photo frames to ornaments, the ideas are limitless as are their imaginations.

2. What better way to inspire the young writer in your life than fun tools to grow their skills? Ultimate Writing & Creativity Center is a fun program that lets them create their written dreams and implement them with music, pictures and more. This program teaches them proper spelling, punctuation and the five steps of the writing process. It’s not only entertaining, but chalked full of hours of educational and creative learning.

3. Going along with the same topic, Storybook Weaver is an excellent program that your child can play with, create and even print with ease. Not only can your child add their own pictures or illustrations, but they have a large library of images at their hands in the program. Having the capability to print and hold their own work in their hands will motivate them to develop their writing skills.  What a wonderful way to inspire the young writer in your life?

4. I don’t remember having all the cool electronic games for learning in my life like kids have available to them now…how could a child not want to learn with all these tools..err toys available? Leap Frog and VTech have cornered the market with the almost limitless amounts of products they have designed for 0-8+ age groups. From preschool  learning aids to elementary age, the fun games they create have learning as their focus. Math games, spelling games, even science and history. The games are hours of fun with learning in mind.

5. Do you have a budding photographer? Yes I know, digital cameras can get quite expensive and are fragile. There are several great beginner cameras for kids that can take a beating. The Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera, VTech KidiZoom Plus Digital Camera, VTech KidiZoom Kids Camera and the LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Camera and Video Recorder are all great cameras that can handle being dropped or knocked around. A few of these are even water resistant.

6. Do you have a Michelangelo in your household? A great idea for your little artist is an artist’s easel. KidKraft makes a great easel you can buy at most local stores like Walmart, Kmart, Target or Toysrus called the KidKraft Artist Easel.  Guidecraft 4 in 1 Flipping Easel is another great childrens easel and available online as well as Sears.

7. Going along with the art easels or if an easel is not in mind for something you have room for, there are a multitude of art sets you can buy that can store in a bookshelf, toy storage or elsewhere. They come complete with all types of mediums for your little artist. One that I recommend is a wooden arts & crafts set on Amazon, but you can find many other alternatives at your local retail stores for crafts or even in the crafts section of major retailers like Target or Walmart.

8. There are many great drawing books available for young and old as well. Amazon has a great list of books that you can purchase or just use for a resource for ideas of types of drawing books. These are inexpensive and great tools for learning in all aspects of art.

These are just a few ideas that came to mind that focus on feeding creativity and imagination in those individuals that are giving you “All I want for Christmas is…” lists. Fun, educational and inspiring…in this artist’s eyes.