The good 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 comfortably within the reach of a one-year-old holding a paintbrush, which is a great deal more than can be said for most themed crafts.
The list is sorted by what a child can do, and how the finished thing looks came second. Those turn out to be very different lists, and I've made the mistake of confusing them.
By age
The gap between eighteen months and five is enormous, and most craft lists carry on as though it isn't.
| 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
A handprint flag is the obvious starting point and works from about eight months with washable paint, one hand at a time: a red palm on the top half of white card and a white palm below it. Cork or bottle-top stamping, dipped in white paint and printed as a crescent of dots onto red card, is within a fifteen-month-old's reach and looks good on a wall. Tissue paper collage is really a tearing activity with somewhere to put the pieces: tear red and white tissue and glue-stick it onto a flag outline. A paper plate Merlion, made from half a plate as the head, a paper cone as the body and cotton wool for the water, is something three-year-olds find extremely funny. Flags on satay sticks are for over-fours only and outdoors only. For anybody younger use a cardboard tube in place of a stick, which removes the eye-level problem entirely. A red-and-white sensory tray of coloured and plain rice with a scoop and a cup works under close supervision, and never with a baby who still mouths everything. A skyline of torn black paper strips at different heights on a red background is simple and looks like something. Paper chain garlands in alternating colours can be made endlessly by a four-year-old and will decorate the corridor for a week.
More making things
What to be careful about
Craft supplies are the least regulated things in the house, and festive ones are sold as decorations, so nobody has tested them as toys.
Satay sticks and skewers are exactly eye height on a running toddler, so use cardboard tubes or lolly sticks under four. Glitter, sequins and small foam shapes are choking hazards that end up on the floor, which is where the baby is.
Check craft paint for a toy safety mark and never assume, because a lot of bulk paint has never been tested for children. Skip coloured rice trays with a baby who still mouths things, since rice is a choking hazard and food colouring isn't meant to be eaten in quantity.
Put away string, ribbon and bunting cord long enough to loop around a neck between sessions. No sparklers under about eight and never indoors, because they burn at well over a thousand degrees.
Keeping the mess manageable
Decide before you start that the mess is the activity. An old sheet or a muslin underneath, sleeves rolled, bib on, and everything laid out in advance so you never have to leave the table halfway through, which is exactly when the paint gets eaten.
A silicone bib with a catch pocket is as much a painting garment as a mealtime one and rinses under a tap in about ten seconds. A stack of wash cloths within arm's reach saves the trip to the bathroom that ends the activity early. I think we've lost more crafts to that trip than to anything else.
What to do with it afterwards
Put it up at her height and leave it there through the ninth. The object was never the point. The ten minutes of making it were, and then a week of her pointing at the wall and telling every visitor that she did that one.
Photograph the two best, keep one for the box, and recycle the rest once the flags come down. Nobody has ever noticed.
Asked at the playground
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 isn't 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 every time, since much bulk craft paint isn't tested to that standard.
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.