“Do you think if I paint it really bright colors, the fairies will come to visit me?” That was the question my 8-year-old daughter asked right before we opened the box to the Creativity for Kids Enchanted Fairy Garden Craft Kit, a kid-appropriate DIY fairy garden that kids can paint, decorate, and then watch as it grows. My child loves gardening, creating, and reading about mystical creatures, so I was excited to try out this kit with my daughter, which combines all three. We spent an afternoon planting, painting, and pretending with the Enchanted Fairy Garden Craft Kit to see what we could create from it. Read on to see if this kit lived up to our expectations.
Packaging: Neatly organized
The Enchanted Fairy Garden Craft Kit packaging was simple. It had an exterior cardboard box. Inside was a plastic flower pot, a tiny fairy, and individual packages of ceramic mushrooms, fabric flowers, sand, paint, rhinestones, dirt, and seeds. I wasn’t expecting anything fancy, and this packaging did its job and protected the pieces.
Design: A kid-friendly DIY project
This kit’s design is pretty basic: it’s a flowerpot, dirt, seeds, and cute little figurines and flowers to add to the pot. The figures and the fabric fairy “live” in the dirt as the seeds sprout and grow around it. The cool thing is that while this garden may look basic when it comes out of the package, the whole point is that it’s up to the fairy garden creator to make it special. My daughter was really excited to get to paint the little mushrooms and wanted to make sure that each one was done just right so she could attract more fairies to her garden. She used bright colors and painstakingly painted each spot on the mushrooms to make sure they looked as alluring as possible. Painting mushrooms is just the beginning. Another essential part of the design is painting the pot, and kids can add rhinestones and glue to it once the paint is dry. My child loves anything that shimmers, so she was heavy-handed with the sparkles to create a design she was proud of. After everything was painted and glued, it was time for her to add dirt and seeds to the pot. It’s important to note that every step was kid-friendly. She could decorate and plant by herself, which is not always the case with DIY projects for kids. Planting the dirt and seeds was a lot messier than the painting and gluing, but it was nothing a sponge and some paper towels couldn’t tackle. I was really impressed by how easy this kit was. My child often needs a bit of help with craft kits, but this one was geared toward a child’s skills. On the downside, there were a couple of minor issues. Some of the pieces feel cheaply made, the flower pot in particular. It’s made of flimsy plastic, so a young child could easily break it while decorating it, which is not ideal. As expected, it’s pretty messy, but we were able to keep the acrylic paint off of the kitchen table by placing some paper under the workspace. The dirt gets everywhere, and the acrylic paint will adhere to surfaces other than the ceramic figurines if it spills. The final issue is minor, but it’s something to keep in mind. The kit does not include enough paint to cover the entire pot and figurines. I had some old acrylic paint lying around that my child used to finish her pot, but it could be disappointing for kids whose parents don’t have a ton of art supplies on hand.
Entertainment Value: Hours of DIY fun
My daughter had a blast painting and creating her own fairy garden. She spent several hours creating the garden on the first day. She’s also been checking the pot every day to see if her plants have sprouted, so it continues to be a source of entertainment, which I would not have expected from what is essentially a potted plant with some painted figurines in it. She loves the idea that fairies may come to visit.
Age Range: 7- to 12-year-olds
The recommended age range for the fairy garden is 7 to 12 years old. My daughter is only 8, but she was able to conquer this project by herself, so I’d imagine it could be handled by someone a couple of years younger with some parental guidance (mostly to keep the mess under control).
Care: Just add water
The garden has to be watered after the seeds are planted, but I’ve given that responsibility to my child, so there’s really nothing to care for on my part. She gladly waters the soil in hopes that her plants will grow, and I love that she’s learning about the growth cycle of plants in the process. So, other than the watering and a couple of minor dirt spills from her trying to play with the fairy it came with, we’ve had no issues with caring for the garden.
Price: Under $20
The Creativity for Kids Enchanted Fairy Garden Craft Kit retails for under $20, which is a great price point if you’re looking for a present for a birthday party or a smaller gift during the holidays.
Creativity for Kids Enchanted Fairy Garden Craft Kit vs. Little Growers Fairy Garden Craft Kit
A few other fairy-related DIY projects are available for kids, including the Little Growers Fairy Garden Craft Kit with Enchanted Unicorn and Light-Up Fairy Lights. This garden has a similar premise to the Creativity for Kids kit, as kids can plant and decorate it. The figurines with the Little Growers kit light up, and there’s a unicorn that the Creativity kit doesn’t have, but the Little Growers kit is about $5 more expensive. Unless you have a unicorn and fairy lover, the cheaper kit is probably sufficient. If you have an amateur artist or a fairy lover on your hands, this kit is worth the $20 investment. It’s cute and kid-friendly, and it incorporates some basic lessons about the growth cycle of plants. It’s a win all around.
