Let kids decorate a play castle and combine art with pretend play.
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I was thrilled to find this unfinished play wooden castle at Michael’s before Christmas! The list price was $19.99, and I paid a lot less than that thanks to a coupon. It became Johnny and Lily’s Christmas present together with these knights and fairies – also purchased at Michaels with a coupon, thank you Ticia for giving me that tip about where to affordably purchase Toob sets! I contemplated painting the castle, but of course didn’t really have time – and I’m so glad I didn’t! We’ve been decorating it together ever since!
Child-Decorated Play Wooden Castle – Imaginative Art for Kids
I love all the little details, from the heart on the drawbridge door to the climbing vine, and flowers.
More flowers inside, and colored stairs. Most of the decorating has focused on the exterior, mostly because it is easier to color, especially since Lily only lets us color the wooden castle upright!
The kids have also assigned one wing of the castle per child – although they (thankfully!) aren’t territorial about it in practice! Maybe the baby will get the other half of the castle?
We’ve been coloring the castle with Crayola Washable Pip-Squeaks Markers – low stress because they are washable, and they don’t seem to bleed in the wood grain much. Love that marker set, even though our tower refuses to stay up (seems to be a common problem based off of Amazon reviews).
Once the kids are done decorated, we plan to seal it with Mod Podge for a little extra durability.
Do your kids play with castles?
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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
This is a fantastic idea! I love it! I hope I can find one at my local Michaels. Decorating will be so fun :)
I hope you do find one – we love our castle!
Love how that turned out. I bet the play with it more because they made it themselves. Great job letting them unleash their creativity. Vicky from Mess For Less
Hi, the castle is such a great idea and I see your kids are not that old. My grand daughters are about the same age and you are giving me such great ideas! I am sure they would love a castle to play with. thanks
That is one impressive castle which looks beautiful. What a find!
I love Michaels. LOVE. I seen that exact castle and fell in love with it! I need to get it! I adore wooden toys. Oh man. It’s great that they decorated it themselves! That adds to the fun! That’s what I imagine R doing with this rock playground. It looked kind of bland color wise when we first made it, but I figured it’d only be a matter of time before he decorated it. I bet they love their castle even more after all their hard work. :)
I’m hit and miss on the tower staying up with both of the sets we have. Either way we love those markers.
It looks just like the Melissa and Doug castle I have, at first I thought you’d painted over one to do that. What an AWESOME find! That is seriously one of our most played with toys.
I’d been eying that M&D castle, and when I found this I couldn’t believe my luck!
Beautiful castle!
I almost bought my kids a house they could color on for Christmas. Though the one I was looking at was a lot more money. Your kids did a great job decorating!
This present really looks like a lot of fun and so nice that they can do it together. I love Michael’s coupons!
Looooove the decorations. Very personal!
The inside of the castle is great with all of the levels and rooms. What a make-believe blast.
The great price makes it even that much better. :)
So cool! Abby would love a castle like that!
What a cute castle! I love the decorating the kids did!
What a wonderful present. I am glad we finally get to see the pictures of the castle. Lars made a castle for Anna, but it’s a one story and already painted. I bet Johnny and Lily have hours and hours of playtime with it.
It’s been a fun addition to their toys – and they are nice enough to share it with Emma, also =)
I saw this exact castle at Michael’s, too! I think it was on clearance. Now I’m wishing I would have bought it. Looks like your kids are really enjoying it. Love that they have assigned each other separate wings. :)
Great price for a great present…what kid wouldn’t go nuts for this??? :)
Kids artwork is the best. There is no way to duplicate their sweet forms and messy lines. My kids love playing with doll houses and dressing up all the rooms. Just this past weekend they turned it into a hotel and it is precious.
Your castle is BEAUTIFUL! I love it! Fab that you let her decorate it herself. Just perfect.
Thank you for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!
Maggy
What a great idea – my kids love castles – I might have to borrow this one!!!
Wow, what an amazing deal! Is this a common type of thing at Michael’s? I may have to have my mom try to grab something like this for us!
I’ve definitely seen it there since!