Illustration by Aron Rook

If my first love language is quality time, then my second is handmade crafts.

Because my husband liked to have a child every nine years, and our grandchildren are arriving even more quickly, we entertain all age groups for the holidays. Finding activities to keep everyone simultaneously engaged has taken trial and error over the years.

Out of hundreds of crafts we’ve tried over the decades, only one appeals to everyone: rock painting.

Crafters can paint rock after rock, creating multiple free-form masterpieces. While a typical crafting session can last a few minutes, rock painting sessions can occupy all ages for days. And then the scavenger hunt afterward keeps the game and the conversation going.

For more free-form craft ideas, I consulted expert Karen Whiting, a prolific, award-winning author of craft books, whose professional credits tie her to Gettysburg, Montrose and western Pennsylvania. Whiting’s crowd-pleasers include paper crafts and greeting cards.

“To build kids’ confidence,” Whiting said, “choose projects with just a few steps where success is easy to achieve.”

With free-form art, all crafters need are a few beginning instructions. All results are successful, with no such thing as failure. If the craft allows self-expression, the bigger the chance is of it being a crowd-pleaser.

Hide & Seek

Rock painting has a little game and an entire community surrounding it.

The Kindness Rocks Project went viral during lockdown to remotely encourage strangers through found art. Once you have painted your rock masterpieces, you leave them somewhere for kids to find. The more sophisticated rock painters host social media sites for their painted rocks, with codes mapping back to the artist. It’s the most robust sort of scavenger hunt because you’re on both ends—both planting and finding—and your family is connecting to a larger community.

I learned about the Kindness Rocks Project from my mother. Mom still carries a few painted rocks in her gigantic purse for planting. She didn’t want me to tell this story, but I enjoy embarrassing her, so here we go.

Years ago, rather than purchase rocks from a hardware or crafting store, Mom stole rounded rocks from people’s landscaping, helping herself to dozens of perfectly shaped rocks with the smoothest finishes. When Mom told Nanny about harvesting rocks, Nanny encouraged Mom to get right with the Lord. To this day, Mom insists you cannot steal what nature already provides, and Nanny prays for Mom’s soul.

From whatever location you source your rocks, I won’t judge. I’ve “borrowed” from neighbors, too, but I’m not telling Nanny. Porous rocks soak up paint unevenly, and they tend to have duller finishes. Paint will adhere predictably to rocks with smooth finishes. Whichever surface you prefer, be sure the rocks are clean and dry, and provide lots of them to your crafting crew.

Choose an area in your house where mess is allowed, grouping several tables and chairs together. Whiting recommends moving tables away from walls, spreading out a plastic sheet or thick tablecloth, and having plenty of wipes. Buffet wrap is available at restaurant supply stores or Costco, or even cheap tablecloths from dollar stores. I use old fitted twin sheets that naturally wrap around table corners.

When you set up workstations, keep the personalities of your crafters in mind. For little kids, Whiting recommends putting supplies in individual baggies. If each baggie has the same contents, this eliminates the inevitable complaints of comparisons, and fights over supply ownership. In our basement craft room, we craft family-style, encroaching on each other’s spaces at our oversized table.

Keep a snack station nearby. Serve hearty finger foods that kids can eat with one hand, like chicken nuggets, tater tots, pre-sliced fruits and vegetables, pretzels and drinks with lids.

Acrylic paint works best for painted rocks. I don’t allow glitter, but you can find glitter paint already mixed. Whether you bag supplies individually or spread them across tables, provide paintbrushes, water cups, paper towels and a separate area for drying finished projects. We use our bar because it’s high up, away from curious dogs and kids.

For Everyone

In understanding children’s personalities in group dynamics, Whiting said, “Some are introverted and want to watch before they start, and they want their own space. Others are impulsive and want to start without listening or understanding the process. They make the biggest mess and take the most space.” I felt that.

Having one adult “floater” keeps littles of all personalities on track. A good floater will allow kids to go at their own pace, to make their own choices, to interact nicely with fellow crafters, and to make mistakes gracefully. Most importantly, a good floater must be encouraging no matter what that rock looks like when kids yell, “I’m done!”

To help inspire ideas, provide worksheets of simple line patterns or templates. Either print from an online source, or find coloring books at dollar stores. I like themed sticker books. The cartoonish line figures are easy to copy, or kids may opt to stick them on the rocks, paper, my fitted sheet, whatever.

When the paint is dry, have an adult take the rocks outside, place them on a tarp, and apply a clear coat of epoxy spray. (Take extra care if that rock is double-sided.) When the clear coat dries, you can enjoy being on both ends of the painted rock scavenger hunt.

Rock painting has something for everyone. Even my husband, who does not care for the actual painting part, has a more action-oriented role before and after everyone else paints. Beforehand, he gets to visit the hardware store for a bag of rounded river stones. And later, he walks the gang around the neighborhood to help plant the rocks for other kids to find.

Find out more about The Kindness Rocks Project at www.thekindnessrocksproject.com or on social media.

For more painted rocks inspiration, visit www.paintedrocksapp.com and www.ilovepaintedrocks.com.

Find out more about Karen Whiting at www.karenwhiting.com.

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