19 June 2026 · Little Rei
National Day Crafts With Kids
The useful thing about National Day for a craft with a small child is that the visual brief is two colours and a crescent. Red and white is within the reach of a one-year-old with a paintbrush, which is more than can be said for most themed crafts.
What follows is sorted by what a child can actually do rather than by how the finished thing looks, because those are different lists.
Which crafts work at which age?
| Age | What they manage | Craft |
|---|---|---|
| 6–12 months | Grasp, press, mouth everything | Handprint flag, supervised, one hand |
| 1–2 years | Stick, scrunch, post, stamp | Red and white tissue collage; cork stamping |
| 2–3 years | Big brush painting, simple gluing | Painted flag; paper plate Merlion |
| 3–4 years | Safety scissors, two-step instructions | Flag on a stick; paper chain garland |
| 4+ | Cutting, folding, sequencing | Cut-out crescent and stars; a skyline scene |
The crafts themselves
- Handprint flag. A red painted palm on the top half of white card, and a white palm below it. Works from about eight months with washable paint, one hand at a time.
- Cork or bottle-top stamping. Dip in white paint, print a crescent of dots onto red card. A fifteen-month-old can do this and it looks genuinely good.
- Tissue paper collage. Tear red and white tissue, glue-stick it onto a flag outline. Tearing is the activity; the outline just gives it somewhere to go.
- A paper plate Merlion. Half a plate as the head, a paper cone as the body, cotton wool for the water. Three-year-olds find this very funny.
- Flags on satay sticks — but only for over-fours, and only outdoors. For younger children use a cardboard tube instead of a stick, which removes the eye-level point.
- A red-and-white sensory tray: rice coloured red, plain rice white, a scoop and a cup. Under close supervision, and not with a baby who still mouths everything.
- A skyline scene from torn black paper strips of different heights on a red background. Simple, and it looks like something.
- Paper chain garlands in alternating colours, which a four-year-old can make endlessly and which decorate the corridor for a week.
More making things
What is worth being careful about?
- Satay sticks and skewers. They are exactly eye height on a running toddler. Cardboard tubes or lolly sticks instead, under four.
- Glitter, sequins and small foam shapes. Choking hazards that end up on the floor, which is where the baby is.
- Non-washable paint. Check for a toy safety mark rather than assuming — a lot of bulk craft paint is not tested for children.
- Coloured rice trays with a baby who still mouths things. Rice is a choking hazard and food colouring is not meant to be eaten in quantity.
- String, ribbon and bunting cord long enough to loop around a neck. Put it away between sessions.
- Sparklers, at any age under about eight, and never indoors. They burn at well over a thousand degrees.
How do you keep the mess manageable?
Decide before you start that the mess is the activity rather than a side effect. An old sheet or a muslin under the table, sleeves rolled, a bib on, and everything laid out in advance so you never leave the table mid-craft — which is when paint gets eaten.
A silicone bib with a catch pocket is as much a painting garment as a mealtime one, and it rinses under a tap in ten seconds. A stack of wash cloths within arm's reach saves the trip to the bathroom that ends the activity early.
What do you do with it afterwards?
Put it up at their height and leave it up through the ninth. The object was never the point — the ten minutes of making it were, and then a week of pointing at it and telling every visitor that they did that one.
Photograph the two best, keep one for the box, and quietly recycle the rest once the flags come down. This has never once been noticed.
Questions parents ask
What National Day crafts can toddlers do?
Handprint flags, cork stamping in white on red card, tearing and gluing tissue paper, and a paper plate Merlion. All work between one and three with washable paint.
What craft can a baby under one do for National Day?
A handprint flag, with washable non-toxic paint, one hand at a time and close supervision. Everything else at that age is an adult craft with a baby present.
Are flags on satay sticks safe for children?
Not under four. A stick at eye height on a running toddler is a real injury risk. Use a cardboard tube or a lolly stick instead.
Is coloured rice safe for sensory play?
Not for a baby who still mouths everything — rice is a choking hazard and food colouring is not meant to be eaten in quantity. From about three, with close supervision.
Is craft paint safe for a two-year-old to use?
Washable, non-toxic paint carrying a toy safety mark. Check the label rather than assuming, since much bulk craft paint is not tested to that standard.
Sources
This guide is general information, written to help you understand a topic and ask better questions — it is not medical advice and does not replace your own doctor, midwife or paediatrician. Anything that worries you about your baby belongs with them.