Cool Crafts To Make And Activities To Do With 12-18-Month-Olds
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Keeping a 12- to 18-month-old engaged and happy takes creativity, especially with their growing curiosity and nonstop movement.
Simple, fun activities help little ones explore, learn, and stay entertained while supporting their development. Simple activities like sensory play, colorful crafts, music time, and interactive games help develop motor skills, creativity, and curiosity. With a mix of play and discovery, every day brings new adventures for growing minds!Activities for babies of this age should combine several different skills and learning opportunities, and within the day, play should include exploring, imaginative play, sensory learning, and a range of other crafts and activities, giving toddlers a chance to develop their gross motor skills as well as their fine motor skills.
Sensory play is a favorite with many 12- to 18-month-olds exploring each of their five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound.
Painting and other craft activities are excellent examples of sensory play, but even cleaning, tidying, and washing have elements of sensory play. If you have an outside space, why not set up a little table or wipe-clean mat for them to use as their sensory'studio'?
If not, lay out newspapers, a large sheet of plastic, or even a spare shower curtain on the floor, and then let your toddler make a mess.
Many of the activities that we have found can be quickly and easily set up and then left in place, so that your toddler can return to many different activities throughout the day.
This is suited to 12- to 18-month-olds, as they are typically not able to focus or concentrate on one task for a long period of time, and they tend to enjoy a variety of different activities, so it is a good idea to prepare some activities and crafts ahead of time that they can pick up and put down as they please.
Edible Paints
Edible Paints are a great idea for any 18-month-old toddlers are free to explore - even if that does mean putting paint in and on their face.
What You'll Need:
- A Blender
- A saucepan/steamer
- Broccoli, strawberries and carrots for the 'paints'
How To Make Edible Paints: Prepare and cook the carrots and broccoli, blending each vegetable separately in the blender to make the orange 'paint' and the green 'paint', then blend the strawberries to create red 'paint'.
Then let your toddler get creative, using a large sheet of paper, the tray in their highchair or a plastic sheet - a shower curtain, for example - as their canvas. This will be messy so prepare to have bath time immediately afterwards.
Rainy Day Mum has a great recipe, which you can find below.
Mess-Free Painting For Toddlers
What You'll Need:
- A large, clear ziplock bag
- Child-friendly, non-toxic paints
How To Make Mess-Free Ziplock Paintings: Simply fill the ziplock bag with some different coloured paints, before closing the ziplock.
Make sure to take out the majority of the air from the bag before closing - you want just enough space for the paints to move around freely when pushed and prodded.
Once made, sit your toddler in their highchair, and place the ziplock onto the tray in front of them. They will love moving the paints around - either with their hands or with a spoon or brush - and this is an amazing sensory play activity but without the usual mess and tidy up operation.
If you don't have a clear ziplock bag, then you can substitute this for a clear poly pocket (typically used in a ring binder).
Follow the same instructions as above, but seal the paint into the folder by simply folding over the open end and securing with sticky tape.
Water Painting
What You'll Need:
- Coloured sugar paper
- Cotton buds
- Small container filled with water
How To Make Water Paintings: Simply set out the sheet of paper on a waterproof surface - and then fill the container with a small amount of water. Place a few cotton buds in the container of water, so that they soak up lots of the liquid.
Have your toddler pick out one of the cotton buds, and let them 'paint' on the piece of paper - watching as the paper changes colour wherever they put the water.
Make A Mural At Home
What You'll Need:
- Baking paper
- Masking tape
- Stickers and crayons
How To Make A Mural: Tape up a long section of baking paper onto a wall at child height using the masking tape - perhaps do 2 or 3 levels of baking paper to fully protect the wall.
Once the wall has been prepared, let your young one get creative - pass them stickers one at a time (which is a great opportunity to use up leftover stickers and half-used sheets from sticker books) and then let them create their own 'mural' straight onto the protected wall.
You can use whatever materials you have in the house, such as crayons and post-it notes.
This is an activity that an 18-month-old can return to throughout the day - slowly adding more stickers and drawings until the paper is full - so consider leaving the baking paper taped to the wall for a couple of days.
Tin Foil Presents For Your Toddler
What You'll Need:
- A selection of small toys
- A basket
- A roll of tin foil
How To Make Tin Foil Presents: Put together a selection of small toys from around the house - wrapping each one individually in tin foil.
Put all of the tin foil presents into a basket or bucket, and then let your child unwrap each one. A great example of sensory play, your toddler is exploring the look, feel and sounds of the tin foil - as well as discovering what is inside each 'present'.
Toddlers are surprised and delighted, even when they have seen the toy hundreds of times before.
Set Up A 'Stick Drop'
What You'll Need:
- The cardboard inner tube from a kitchen roll
- Masking tape
- A small bucket or basket
- A selection of colourful pick-up sticks (painted ice lolly sticks or colour pencils or pens will also work)
How To Make A Stick Drop: Using the masking tape, simply tape the cardboard inner tube to the wall - vertically, and at the right height for your child to access the top of the tube.
Gather a selection of colourful sticks - like straws, colouring pencils, felt tip pens or painted ice lolly sticks - anything that will easily fit down the tube. Set up a bucket directly underneath the tube, and then let your toddler drop the different items down the tube and into the bucket below.
This activity will develop your toddler's fine motor skills, strengthening their hand-eye coordination with every straw or stick!
Set Up A Fruit Washing Station
What You'll Need:
- Large bowl or bucket
- Fruit scrubber or spare toothbrush
- A selection of fruits
How To Make A Fruit Washing Station: Simply fill the bucket or bowl with water, and let your toddler scrub, wash and play with the selection of fruits available to them. Choose fruits that don't bruise easily - apples, lemons, oranges are best for this, and hardy vegetables also work well.
This is a great sensory play activity for toddlers - as they explore the different colours, textures and smells - and using the brush will help to develop their fine motor skills.
Baking Tray Magnet Play
What You'll Need:
- A metal baking tray
- A selection of magnets from around the house
How To Set Up Baking Tray Magnet Play: Find a selection of magnets from around the house - making sure they are large enough not to be a choking hazard.
The colourful alphabet magnets that many children have are perfect for this, but fridge magnets and magnetic clips also work just as well. Simply lay the baking tray on the ground in front of your child - this works well for children from one year old and up - placing the different magnets onto it.
Your toddler will develop their fine motor skills by pushing, pulling and lifting the magnets - and it is quick, easy and mess-free to set up.
Toddler-Friendly Collage
What You'll Need:
- Piece of card
- Double-sided tape
- Small bits of paper, tissue paper, feathers, craft items like mini pom-poms and buttons
How To make A Toddler-Friendly collage: Place strips of double-sided tape all the way across the sheet of card, so that the entire surface is sticky.
Prepare a tray of small craft items, like bits of coloured tissue paper, small buttons, feathers and pom-poms, then let your toddler get creative. It can be a good idea to use a little extra double-sided tape to keep the piece of card in place.
A great crafty activity for an 18-month-old, they use their fine motor skills to pick up the little bits and pieces, and they can have fun making a colourful artwork with lots of different textures and shapes.
Fun and Simple Household Activities for Toddlers
At 18 months, toddlers love exploring everyday tasks, often finding joy in sweeping, wiping, and organizing. Household activities become playful learning experiences, helping little ones build fine motor skills, independence, and confidence while having fun.
- Choosing an Outfit 👕👗 Lay out two or three outfit options and let your toddler pick one. This simple decision-making activity encourages independence and confidence.
- Meal Cleanup Fun 🧼🥄 Hand your toddler a clean cloth and let them wipe their hands, face, and highchair after meals. They may need a little extra help, but they will enjoy the sense of responsibility!
- Sweeping Time 🧹 Toddlers love copying their parents! Let them sweep tiled floors, help outdoors, or clean up small messes with their own little broom.
- Safe Stair Practice 🏡 Encourage your toddler to walk up and down the stairs while holding your hand. Practicing at a slow and steady pace helps build confidence and coordination.
- Laundry Helper 🧺 Toddlers enjoy moving clothes from the laundry basket to the washing machine. This simple task keeps them engaged while teaching responsibility.
Household activities offer fun learning moments while strengthening independence and coordination. If you’re looking for more engaging ideas, explore Montessori-inspired activities and other fun, no-mess indoor play options!
If you liked this article and would like more activity ideas, check out our articles on Montessori Activities To Try At Home and 37 No-Mess Indoor Activities For Kids.
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Bachelor of Arts specializing in Fine Art
Rosanna RobertsonBachelor of Arts specializing in Fine Art
Rosanna is a creative and enthusiastic individual who enjoys finding ways to entertain kids through art and crafts, games, and cooking. With a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art from the Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, she brings a unique perspective to her projects, making them both colorful and educational. She is always full of ideas for homemade cards, handcrafted gifts, toys, and decorations that are perfect for children of all ages.
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