Christmas Toddler Toys.. arts and crafts

You can never have too much paint or glitter! For small gifts or big buys, places like Early Learning Centre and mail order company Letterbox have a wide range of art and craft items suitable from the earliest age up to more sophisticated challenges for budding young artists.

By around 12 months your child should be able to randomly create images with non-toxic crayons or paints if you put down some paper in a safe place away from anything that could be permanently damaged! Even with washable paints ensure you keep dark colours to a minimum and dress your child in messy-play clothes.

Beyond 18 months your child will begin to master a few first art skills. As well as the feeling of gooey paint or glue on their fingers, toddlers delight in creating something that they can see and enjoy when it’s finished.

Being able to create will boost your child’s confidence, so begin to create collages or use other materials (even old boxes) to make more ambitious works of art together.

Purple Fairy Canvas Kit £20, 5+ Create a magical fairy picture with beautiful fabrics, sparkles, silk ribbons, flowers and fairy dust. The Fairy storyline instruction book is easy to follow, and a pretty purple bag is included to store your magical treasures in. This kit also includes PVA glue and small parts. www.loobyloudesigns.co.uk	Animal Magic Sounds Aquadoodle £26.99, 18mths+ These popular drawing mats have a real benefit – you don’t get paint everywhere! Small children can draw with water to create pictures on this farm-themed art sheet, which also makes animal sounds. www.tomy.co.uk	Art Centre £45, 2+ Along with tabletop easels (£20) and their wooden easel (£50), this is a reliable ELC art department staple. This double-sided sturdy plastic easel comes with a chalk-board on one side and wipe-clean white board on the other. www.elc.co.uk
Recycled Cardboard Play House £35 It can be a den, a castle, a pirate hideout or a tree house: watch this playhouse become whatever your child wants it to be as they paint and decorate it. The house has a door, seven windows and numerous peepholes, and comes flat packed, requiring assembly which you and your child can complete together. www.roseandgrey.co.uk	Find & Make Car £8.95, 5+ MakeDo is an ingenious connector system that uses re-clips, lock hinges and plastic safe-saws so children can make play objects from all manner of recyclable materials. Once the play value is exhausted, simply take it apart and re-use the same connectors. This kit provides car inspired sticker sheets and step-by-step instructions to create a wonderful car – as well as a list of what recyclable materials to source, such as old boxes, plastic plates and CDs.  www.holz-toys.co.uk	Galt Elmers Go Paint Mini Pictures £5.21, 3+ This handy little drawing set is useful to keep in your bag when on the go. Like Aquadoodle, Go Paint brushes paint only on the Go Paint paper with clear vibrant colours. www.childsplaysussex.co.uk