Kids & Family | Blog Category Archives | Meraki Lane

3 DIY Christmas Gift Ideas Kids Can Make | #ad Whether you have kids in daycare, preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, or beyond, these personalized, homemade teacher gifts are easy to make, useful, and perfect for both male and female teachers. These beginner Cricut projects offer a great way to spend quality time with your kids, and you can make them as simple or complex as you want to based on your child's age. #cricutmade

3 Teacher Christmas Gift ideas You Can Make with Kids On Your Cricut

14 Simple and Easy Melted Crayon Crafts for Kids | They say that broken crayons still color, and this post is proof! We've curated the best melted crayon art projects for kids of all ages - for toddlers, kids in preschool and kindergarten, elementary school and beyond. Learn how to melt crayons in the microwave, oven, or on the stovetop, and give some of these arts and crafts a try! From sun catchers, to candles, to ornaments, to jewelry, these ideas are colorful and oh so beautiful!

14 Easy and Creative Melted Crayon Crafts Your Kids Will Love

9 Water Bead Activities for Kids of All Ages | Orbeez have become a popular sensory activity for toddlers and kids in preschool and kindergarten, but they can be just as fun and beneficial for older kids as well! This post has lots of fun things to do with orbeez, from sensory bins, to making sensory bottles, to fun science experiments, to creating your very own DIY foot spa and more! Many of these ideas double as fine motor activities, and they are easy to setup and oh so fun!

9 Hands-On Water Bead Activities for Kids of All Ages

17 Beading Crafts for Kids | Beading is a great way to improve fine motor skills in kids, and can also improve dexterity and strengthen hand muscles. Also? It's fun! You'll be amazed at what you can make with a pipe cleaner and a seat of perler beads, and there are tons of DIY beaded jewelry crafts you can do with kids of all ages. If you have wooden, plastic, or glass beads on hand, this collection of bead crafts and jewelry making ideas will not disappoint!

17 Fun & Creative Beading Crafts for Kids Of All Ages

14 Easy Homemade Fidget Toys Kids Can Make | If your kids are fidget toy obsessed and you want to know how to make your own fidget toys at home, this post has tons of DIY for kids ideas! Perfect for school and while doing homework, these DIY fidgets are easy to make using items you probably already have at home. Fidgets improve self-regulation while also improving focus, concentration, and active listening. Give these projects a try!

14 Easy Homemade Fidget Toys to Make with Your Kids

17 Air Dry Clay Projects For Kids | Whether you're looking for easy craft ideas you can enjoy with your kids, or specifically looking for simple DIY art projects that double as homemade gifts kids can make, air dry clay is a great option. You don't have to bake anything, and kids can paint them when they are dry with tempura, acrylic, and/or water color paints. Whether you buy Crayola clay or make your own baking soda clay, this post has tons of projects and ideas to inspire you!

17 Simple and Easy Air Dry Clay Projects Your Kids Will Love

17 Snow Globe Crafts for Kids | You don't have to celebrate Christmas to enjoy these winter-themed snow globe activities! If you're looking for easy DIY crafts you can enjoy at home or in the classroom with your kids and/or students, this is a great post to bookmark. We're teaching you how to make snow globes with items you already have on hand like mason jars and water bottles, and we've curated tons of art projects to try, including adorable photo snow globes you can give as gifts!

Winter Wonderland: 17 Fun and Creative Snow Globe Crafts for Kids

27 Road Trip Activities for Kids | Long car rides can be difficult at the best of times and when you add kids into the mix, it can be downright miserable if you don't have fun games and activities to keep them entertained. The iPad only goes so far, am I right?! Whether you're in a car or an RV, these car ride activities for kids are simple, easy, fun, and compact. We've included a mix of family friendly options you can enjoy together and independent travel activities for kids to keep you sane!

Are We There Yet? 27 Fun Road Trip Activities for Kids and Teens

21 Homemade Christmas Ornaments for Kids to Make | Whether you're looking for easy Christmas crafts to get your kids in the holiday spirit, or in need of DIY Christmas gifts kids can make for their Grandparents, this post has lots of ideas to inspire you! From simple salt dough handprint and footprint ornaments you can make with toddlers, to more complex crafts for older kids like pop can snowmen, clothespin snowflakes, and yarn wrapped trees, these ornaments will look beautiful on your tree!

Holiday Crafting: 21 Homemade Christmas Ornaments Kids Can Make

11 Car Games for Kids the Whole Family Will Love | Whether you're embarking on a long road trip, driving car pool, or running errands with your kids, there are tons of easy to setup and super fun car games you can play together to help beat boredom and pass the time. Perfect for kids of all ages - even for tweens and for teenagers! - this post has lots of ideas to inspire you. From cheap store bought games to fun DIY travel activities, this list will not disappoint!

11 Fun and Easy Car Games for Kids the Whole Family Will Love

8 Easy-to-Learn Popular TikTok Dances for Beginners | If you want to learn how to do all of the TikTok dances you see in your feed as you scroll through TikTok and Instagram, this post is for you! We've compiled the best fun (and clean) tutorials to start with, which you can do alone, with your kids, with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and even as a family. These videos are easy, and we've included a couple of duet challenges at the end that are really fun!

8 Easy-to-Learn Popular TikTok Dances for Beginners

9 Simple No Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas for Kids | If you're looking for pumpkin carving alternatives to enjoy with your little ones, this post has lots of easy, no mess ideas that are creative, classy, and (most importantly) cheap! Perfect for a classroom Halloween party, as an after school activity, or for a Halloween-themed birthday party activity, these DIY pumpkin decorating ideas are also great if you're trying to create a no carve pumpkin decorating contest for kids!

9 Ridiculously Simple and Stylish No Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

42 Halloween Party Ideas for Kids | Whether you're organizing a classroom Halloween party, throwing a themed outdoor backyard bash for the neighborhood kids, organizing a garage party for teens, or hosting a simple party for the family, this post has tons of fun and easy DIY ideas to make it a celebration to remember. From decorations, to food, to games and activities, we've curated the best simple and budget-friendly tips and we're sharing virtual Halloween party ideas to boot!

42 Spooktacular Halloween Party Ideas for Kids Of All Ages

20 Puffy Paint Crafts for Kids | If you're looking for easy art projects for kids, this post is full of ideas! We've included DIY recipes to teach you how to make puffy paint at home, and tons of crafts and activities for all ages and stages - even for teens! While we used puffy paint to decorate shirts when we were kids, there are so many other fun activities you can try. From sidewalk chalk, to framed canvases, to fabric bags, to window clings and more, these ideas are so fun!

Puffy Paint Crafts: 20 Recipes and Projects for Kids

27 Halloween STEAM Projects For Kids | Science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math, oh my! If you have children and/or students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, and/or middle school and you're looking for Halloween activities with an educational twist, this post is for you! We've curated tons of fun and easy to set-up STEAM projects for all ages to get your little ones in the holiday spirit. Use these to create Halloween lesson plans, or at home on bad weather days!

27 Spooky and Fun Halloween STEAM Projects For All Ages

23 Pinecone Crafts and Experiments for Kids | While pinecones are abundant in late fall and early winter, they are the perfect material for crafts and projects year round - even in spring and summer! Whether you're making decorations for Halloween, centrepieces for Thanksgiving, or wreathes and ornaments for Christmas, this post has tons of ideas to inspire you. We've also included ideas that are not holiday specific and that are perfect for all ages and stages!

23 Pinecone Crafts and Experiments for All Ages and Stages

15 Meaningful Gender Reveal Ideas | Whether you're looking for unique and simple gender reveal ideas for you and your partner, or you want fun and creative ideas to surprise your guests at a gender reveal party, this post has lots of cute and easy DIY ideas to choose from. Whether you're organizing a theme party or a quiet celebration at home, we've included food ideas, games, and everything in between. Enjoy these inside or outside in fall, winter, spring, or summer!

Boy or Girl? 15 Creative and Meaningful Gender Reveal Ideas

10 Easy Dice Games for Kids | If you're looking for portable travel games and/or need ideas for family game night, these dice games are family friendly and much fun. With options for 2 players as well as games you can play with a large group, we've included a mix of simple DIY dice games and classic store bought games you'll love. These make great camping activities, and are also perfect for road trips and those who need airplane activities for kids. Roll the dice and see what you think!

Family Game Night! 10 Fun and Easy Dice Games for Kids

31 Indoor and Outdoor Tween Activities | If you're a parent, caregiver, or teacher of tween boys and/or girls, and you need a list of fun ideas to keep them engaged and entertained in summer, fall, winter, and spring, this post is for you! We've curated our favorite boredom busters with a mixture of independent activities and family fun ideas that are perfect for to enjoy together on a rainy day, on a road trip, while camping with the fam, and on weekends and holidays.

31 Indoor and Outdoor Tween Activities to Beat Boredom Year-Round

9 Amigurumi Tutorials for Beginners and Beyond | If you're looking for step by step tutorials to teach you how to crochet and knit cute little stuffed animals, dolls, foods, etc., this post is for you! We're sharing everything you need to know - amigurumi basics, how to get started, tools and essentials to invest in, crocheting tips and hacks for beautiful designs, and lots of tutorials that include free patterns and instructions so you can make simple designs that are oh so adorable.

9 Step-by-Step Amigurumi Tutorials for Beginners (10 Free Patterns!)

8 Step-by-Step Embroidery Tutorials for Beginners | If you want to learn how to embroider, this collection of embroidery designs, patterns, and projects is just what you need. We've included a list of embroidery essentials, a tutorial to teach you basic embroidery stitches, and 8 hand embroidery ideas that are equal parts easy and beautiful. From flowers and leaves, to cursive letters and modern lettering designs, to hand border embroidery for clothing, this post has it all!

8 Step-by-Step Embroidery Tutorials for Beginners and Beyond