The right time to do kids' crafts...

When I was a kid, I absolutely loved The Little Mermaid, even though I was probably too "old" for a Disney movie when it came out.  I had to have everything Little Mermaid and received many Little Mermaid collectibles.  One of the items I was gifted was a pen set with the characters on them (probably sometime in high school).  They were so precious to me that I hardly used them.  Instead, they sat in my desk at home where I could look at them with my other Little Mermaid things.  Then I went to college and forget about all the stuff in my old room.   Fast forward many years when we got a house and my mom brought me boxes of my old stuff, including all of my Little Mermaid collection.  Fast forward a few more years when I had a daughter who can now write.  Since my items have lost a lot of emotional attachment,  I gave her the pens to write with, to draw with, to play with.  Of course, they don't work anymore!   So, they went in the trash.  Really, it's not a surprise.  Although I wish I had used them when I first got them and really appreciated them. 

So, why this rambling?  I try to remind myself of this with the crafts I have, especially the kid stuff.  Sometimes I like to hoard crafts because maybe I feel I should wait until we have the right moment to work on them or the child is old enough to understand how to work properly with the beautiful set of watercolors.  The problem lies in the fact that I have bought countless crafts with the idea that when my kids get older they will have so much fun doing this!  (Can't wait to show you all the Martha Stewart crafts I bought on sale when my daughter was 6 months old!  Eek!)  And times change, different crafts become the fad and those crafts I bought many moons ago are now too boring or not fun.  And really, did I think that big box crafts stores are not going to continue making crafts or having 40% off coupons or other sales on them?

So, if I shall buy crafts in the future, buy them for their immediate use.   (But not this year - since I am on a craft store spending hiatus)
The right time to do a kid's craft is when they will enjoy it.

Here's one I bought last year and was saving for what?  I don't know.  But we had fun with them yesterday.   Shrinky Dinks - who doesn't love these?  I remember making these as a kid and having such fun with them.  And so did my kids.  And if my son (who is 3) wants to make them when he gets older, well I know that they are still available in the stores...