When it comes to toys, kids are always chasing the new and trendy. But as a parent and someone who covers toys for a living, I’m more interested in toys that will stand the test of time and keep being played with long after the hype has died down.
Sometimes, I like to revisit my previous toy recommendations. Last holiday season, I called the Crayola Marker Airbrush Spray Art Kit one of the best gifts for kids. Now, with time, with hindsight, and with extra months of anecdotal data at my fingertips…I stand by my assertion that this is a great addition to the art-supply box. (It doesn’t even take up that much room!)
EXPLORE PRIME DAY DEALS THIS WAY
The premise is simple: Pop a marker into the back of the machine, then press the button to spray the color. It works with any Crayola marker, including the ones you may already have at home, and it runs on batteries, so you don’t need to be plugged into a wall socket. (Four AA batteries are required and not included.) The set also comes with five stencils, or kids can freehand their own designs. It’s for children ages 6 and up.
Best of all: The Crayola Marker Airbrush Spray Art Kit is currently on sale for Prime Day. Right now, it’s 18% off, which means it can be snapped up for less than $20.
When we brought kids to the Good Housekeeping Institute to test toys in our offices, the Airbrush Spray Art Kit was a huge hit. In-person toy testing is just one stage of our multipart toy testing process. Earlier, we mailed toys to kids' homes, carefully pairing our kid testers with toys that matched their ages and interests. For in-person toy testing, though, we set up the toys and just let the kids loose. There's no careful assigning of specific toys to specific children—they all just get free rein. We sit back and observe, noting which toys attract children's attention in a room full of exciting playthings. Every year, the most desired toy is a surprise.
Everyone wanted to play with the airbrush kit. While many toys kept kids engaged, this was the one that had kids lining up, politely (but very pointedly) asking, "Can I have a turn?!" When I saw our testers vying to use this toy, it brought me back to family vacations on the New Jersey boardwalk or bat mitzvahs that gave out airbrush T-shirts. It was so fun to see the spray-art aesthetic captivating a younger crowd that does not remember the '80s and '90s the way I do.
Our at-home testers gave this high marks, too. “You can use most Crayola markers on it, so I got to pick from all of my colors I had already instead of just the ones that came with it,” said one 11-year-old home tester. “I liked that it was just marker ink and not some other type of ink because this was less messy. I liked experimenting with it!”
Since then, I’ve had months with the kit at home, and it’s one we return to again and again for art projects. I made a stencil of a Christmas tree myself—and I am not the crafty mom—and my daughter used it to DIY her own airbrush Christmas cards. When there was a blizzard, we went out and spray-painted our handprints in the snow. (Hey, we had lots of snow-day hours to fill.) It’s really easy to pull out whenever there’s a dull moment.
At $15, it's also an affordable gift for kids—I might pick up a few to keep on hand for birthday parties—but if you want your own Jersey Shore feelings, you have to buy your own taffy.
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