It’s been a long while since I have been able to be in the company of all my grandchildren. Planning an active that doesn’t require us to go anywhere is new for me. Usually, I plan an outing to a park, water park, or movie. In these trying times, I had to rely on my ingenuity for entertaining kids during a pandemic. I decided on a painting party that I entitled Grammie’s Paint-N-Sip. Here is a step by step guide to planning and executing a painting party for children:
Supplies for Painting:
- Watercolor Paint
- Table top easels
- Paint Palettes
- Brushes
- Mason jar
- Apron
- 8×10 Canvas
- 6-foot folding table (if you have 4 or more children participating)
- Tablecloth
- Glue
- Painter’s Tape
- Glitter
A backyard would be the best place to setup your 6-foot table, drape it with a dollar store table cloth of your choosing, and set-up each painting station. I like the pocket easels because they are sturdy and you don’t have to worry about the kids bumping the table and knocking over anyone else’s masterpiece in the making. I don’t have a backyard so my patio was the outdoor space that I used.
You can find all the supplies at your local craft store. Of course, your big box store always has an art or a craft section so feel free to go there. You can do it on a low budget by shopping at the Dollar Tree where you can get everything at a cost of one dollar an item.
Then you have to decide what the group will be painting. This requires a lot of thought because you don’t want to give them anything too hard, but you do want to give them some direction. We decided to go with an abstract piece using masking or painter’s tape to create fields for painting. I directed them to leave a few boxes empty for a glitter technique.
Once everyone is done painting, they can remove the taped off areas and use glue and glitter to enhance their works of art. Or the empty space that they chose will be glued and glittered. Either way, each work will be an original and all of them will feel like they did a good job. It’s the first time my grandchildren didn’t have to ask me who’s was the best. They all did great.
Supplies for SIP:
- Punch Bowl
- Punch Ladle
- Fancy plastic glasses
- Punch ingredients:
- Sprite
- Orange Sherbet
- Ice
- Pink Cranberry Juice
With all the giggling and chatting, my crew required a special drink. In all the years that I have had grandchildren, this was the first time that I made them punch. Needless to say, my punch was the hit of the painting party. They couldn’t stop guzzling it down. My eldest granddaughter said she felt like she was having an adult drink because the plastic glass was fancy (stemmed). They finished an entire bowl of punch during the course of a two-hour painting activity.
A paint and sip for children is a great way for entertaining kids during a pandemic. It gives them something to do without worry about leaving the house and a chance to be creative without tearing up your house.