Oriental Trading Craft Kits, Stickers, Games

 

Oh the fun you'll have! With the company motto "We make the world more fun", and a pink flamingo as a business mascot, how can you not at least check them out. I used Oriental Trading even before I became a therapist, and much more afterward. It is where I buy inexpensive kids craft kits, sticker scenes, jewelry kits, lacing strings, and even an occasional game.

In this day and age, where the cost of shipping can exceed the cost of an item, I usually wait for a free shipping on any order special to drop into my email before I order. Oriental Trading always offers free shipping, usually on orders of $39 or $49, so if your order is bigger, no need to wait. 

UPDATE: I wrote this in 2016 and today it is 2020. In the interim Oriental Trading has been sold and things have changed. They have less variety of the things I look for and the prices have gone up. Because I have a small caseload now, I have taken to shopping at Hobby Lobby for my craft kits. However, the past couple of years they have come out with the same seasonal crafts, so less option there too. Oriental Trading seems to have a much higher percentage of Christian crafts now too, which can be good for vacation Bible school, but less so for therapy.

Here are some of the items I have purchased from Oriental Trading in the past and found beneficial:

Craft Kits - My favorite. A great way to work on fine motor as well as visual perceptual skills. Craft kits are typically sold in quantities of a dozen, and each kit is usually packaged separately. In quantities of a dozen, the kits usually range anywhere from 50 cents to $1 each. Make sure you check how many you are getting before you buy. Recently I have seen some of them being packaged in threes. If I have extra kits, I like to leave them for all the kids in the family. Hopefully this gives the family a chance to spend fun time together. Yes, I do shop at Michael's too, and while you can pick up just one or two at a time, it is usually a more expensive option for me. And Oriental Trading has so much more to choose from.

Craft kit themes include all major holidays, special occasions, seasons, animals, sports, Charlie Brown and the gang, Christian, vacation Bible school, you name it. Some of the pieces that come in a kit are self-adhesive and some need your glue. Make sure you read the description so you know exactly what you are getting. Here are two of the many I have used myself.

Sticker Scenes - I have blogged about this so you can click the link and go to that blog. Scenes for everyday life, seasons and even holidays. I have also purchased sticker calendars and sticker Christmas books. They stick good but not so good that you can't pick them up and reposition if you have to. Most kids love stickers.

Simple Games & Toys - Over the years I have bought things like a ZOOM ball, sand tray, several memory games, and large beads with pattern cards. The items they carry vary over time. Here are a couple more I own.

Kids Jewelry Craft Kits & Enamel Charms - Nothing fancy, just a chance to work on stringing beads, patterning, pincer grasp, sequencing. And then, because they are inexpensive, you can leave the creation for the individual to keep and wear.