VBS Crafts

Crafts have long been a part of VBS and publishers provide craft directions which use everyday types of supplies and/or craft kits for you to use in your VBS. Some of these are excellent ideas and are priced affordably; others, not so much. When it comes to crafts I encourage you to look at the ideas and resources in your curriculum and then take a look at sites like Oriental Trading to see if you can find ideas which might be a better "fit" for your church. 

When I think about VBS crafts, I like to have children make things which they will want to keep so when they see them, they can be reminded of the lessons they learned. I also like to have them make things they can give away to share the message of the lessons they are learning. It is for these reasons I like the wide variety of craft supplies and kits you can find on Oriental's website and how many of them are priced very affordably. They sent me a few ideas to share with you . . . 

• Mini Flying Disks - some already come with a "big top" sticker on them which would work nicely with LifeWays and Cokesbury's VBS themes and you can have kids decorate them as they like. These are very affordable and are something which you could have kids make extra flyers for you to give out at summer events in your community or on youth group mission trips.
• Design Your Own Snow Globe Jars - these are great fun and you could have kids add items to remind them of the lessons they are learning.
• Design Your Own Slap Bracelets - again, have children decorate according to a daily point and make extras to give away!
• Design Your Own Inflatable Swords - with all the castle settings this year, these swords could be great fun! Have kids use permanent ink markers to decorate and make extras to give away.
• Design Your Own Kaleidoscopes - I love kaleidoscopes and design your own allows you to have kids connect them with a daily point - again, make extra to give away!
• Design Your Own Wood Wind Chimes - I love wind chimes - again, have kids decorate to match with a daily point
• Design Your Own White Cowboy Hats - with a wild west theme VBS, these hats are a fun idea! My grandsons thought these were great fun!
• Design Your Own Wood Cross Note Holders - most VBS resources focus on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus on Day 4, so these make a great craft - finished items can be used as picture holders!
• Self-Adhesive Foam Shapes - Wild West, Carnival, Fruit and so many more shaped stickers are available from Oriental and add a fun touch to crafts

Obviously these are just a few of the hundreds of craft items you'll find at Oriental.com . . . before you settle on crafts, take a few minutes to check their site out to see if you might find something which will work well for your VBS!