Planning crafts for VBS can be a daunting experience. Hobbies on a Budget was provided with discounts or products from Oriental Trading to help you plan for VBS Craft Success.

It’s summer! That means many churches and volunteers all across the country are planning or in the middle of Vacation Bible School crafts. To help us all get ready for craft time, I’ve gathered some tips and resources. If you have ever worked in the craft room for VBS, you know that it can be a messy experience with lots of room for fun memories. Here are 7 Tips for VBS Craft Success.

7 Tips for VBS Craft Success

Know your Theme

Craft time is a great opportunity to expand on the theme and message of the Bible School experience. Since most VBS weeks are planned around a specific theme, then take a few minutes to explore the theme. This year our church is doing the Surf Shack theme. That means our crafts are all centered around beach, water and faith.

Tip: A prime place for VBS craft ideas is Oriental Trading. Whether you are going to the beach, exploring caves or doing mad scientist experiments, there are tons of ideas for VBS crafts.

Determine your budget

How many kids do you need to prepare for? Once you know how many kids you typically have, then take a look at your budget. Can you splurge on a bigger craft on one night and do something smaller the other night?

Use What You Have

Before you buy new craft kits, do a little digging and see what you have left over from previous years. Did you do bead necklaces like we did last year? Maybe you can order small sea creatures to add to the leftover beads and have a brand new craft using leftover supplies.

Maybe you have left over projects from previous years? Reuse them for smaller classes.

Plan Ahead

Right now may be the perfect time to plan for next year’s VBS. Oriental has hundreds of VBS craft kits and supplies on discount! Since most church budgets are limited for Bible School, save some money by ordering now and getting ready early!

Provide a way to carry the crafts home

Since our theme this year is Surf Shack, we decided to let the kids decorate little treasure chests. That not only provides a great craft that ties in with the theme, but also gives the kids a way to keep up with all their creations for each night.

You could also contact a local business or bank and see if they have tote bags they would like to donate to your program.

Get Organized

Working in the craft room for VBS can be a bit messy for sure. But there are ways to keep it manageable.

• If you are doing sand jars, then pick up some plastic ketchup or mustard bottles for the different color sand. Now you can use the funnels and fill the bottles with minimal mess.

• Use a cardboard box to hold the plastic bottles while the kids are filling them up with sand.
• Designate one adult to be the “name person”. Have them take a sharpie around to each station and write the child’s name on the craft. That way they won’t get lost in the crowd of other crafts.
• Have plenty of glue bottles and helpers on hand.
  Use baby wipes to clean off the spilled glue.

Get Free Ideas

We found this fun Under the Sea Jellyfish Decor Idea made a few adaptations and created these great jellyfish decorations for our rooms. Did you know you can get craft and decoration ideas from Oriental, for FREE?

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What is your favorite tip or idea for Vacation Bible School crafts? I’d love to hear!