What Is the Best Shrink Art Kit for Kids This Christmas?

A shrink art kit is a craft set where kids draw or colour on special plastic sheets, then bake them in an oven so they shrink into small, hard charms. The best shrink art kit for kids this Christmas is the Christmas Shrink Art DIY Craft Kit — the only kit here built for December, so the charms your child makes become tree ornaments, gift tags, and stocking stuffers instead of another drawer of plastic. If you want the cheapest classic or a no-mess kit for a younger child, the runners-up below cover those cases honestly.

The five kits at a glance

Kit	Ages	Pieces	Price	Best for
Christmas Shrink Art DIY Craft Kit	5+	Christmas charm set	$27.99	Christmas ornaments and handmade gifts
Shrinky Dinks Jewelry Kit (Just Play)	5+	68	~$16 list	The cheapest classic
Ooly Shrink-Its! 28-Piece Kit	6+	28	varies by retailer	No-mess crafting for younger kids
Bright Stripes Shrinkadoo	6+	90	~$22	A kid who wants lots of shapes fast
Kid Made Modern Shrink Art Charms	6+	180	varies by retailer	Parties and classrooms

Prices checked 8 November 2026. Shrinky Dinks list price $16.33 per CamelCamelCamel (Amazon prices typically run $8–$16); the Ooly Peanuts edition of the same 28-piece format sells for $16.99 at World Market.

Why our pick wins at Christmas

Every shrink art kit does the same magic trick: a child draws on shrink plastic, an adult bakes it, and the drawing shrinks to about a third of its size and hardens into a glossy charm. What makes the Christmas Shrink Art DIY Craft Kit the best choice in December is what happens after the oven — the charms become things the family uses. The kit is themed for the season, so the charms your child draws — a tree, a star, a snowman — come out as things the family actually uses: ornaments, gift tags, keychains, and little handmade gifts for grandparents.

That matters more than it sounds. Most craft kits produce an afternoon of fun and a pile of output nobody knows what to do with. A Christmas shrink art kit produces the decorations and the gifts at the same time, so it survives past Boxing Day. One box covers the ornament-making afternoon, the gift-tag job, and a stocking stuffer in a single session — and at $27.99 it costs less than most of the "experience" gifts parents buy to fill the same weekend.

The kit is a draw-your-own set, not a pre-cut one. Your child starts from a blank sheet, so the charm is genuinely theirs — their drawing, their colours, their joke. The baking step needs an adult in the room — the product page says so plainly. An adult handles the oven while the child watches the shrink happen through the oven window — the best thirty seconds of the craft.

The four alternatives, one by one

Shrinky Dinks Jewelry Kit (Just Play) — the classic

The kit most parents remember from childhood, and still the cheapest way into shrink art: 42 pre-printed designs plus beads, pencils, barrettes, and earring hoops in a 68-piece set — the best value per piece here, from a brand whose replacement sheets are easy to find.

• Pros: Lowest price in this roundup; the original brand, widely stocked; plenty of pieces for repeat sessions.
• Cons: The designs are pre-printed, so less "I drew this myself" pride; the jewellery focus means fewer ideas for ornaments or gift tags; colours can look washed out if a child presses too lightly.

Ooly Shrink-Its! 28-Piece Kit — the no-mess pick

Ooly's kit is the one an art teacher would hand to six-year-olds: 20 pre-cut charms, so no cutting, no scissors, and no scraps — a child colours a charm, an adult bakes it, and it is done. Parents.com's art-teacher reviewer singled it out as mess-free and ideal for small groups.

• Pros: Zero cutting means zero mess and no scissor risk for younger kids; pre-cut charms make a first session almost impossible to fail; small enough to be a stocking stuffer.
• Cons: Only 20 charms, so a keen child finishes the box in one afternoon; pre-cut shapes limit creativity; the price was not reliably verifiable today, so check before you buy.

Bright Stripes Shrinkadoo — the volume pick

Shrinkadoo is for the child who wants to make a lot, fast: ninety pre-cut shapes a child can colour and bake in one session, with enough variety to keep a younger sibling busy too — a good party activity rather than a one-child project.

• Pros: Ninety shapes is the most pre-cut variety here; good value at about $22; works well as a group or party craft.
• Cons: Pre-cut shapes mean less original drawing; the small, light charms suit keychains better than tree ornaments; no Christmas theme, so the output is generic.

Kid Made Modern Shrink Art Charms, 180-Piece Set — the party pack

The bulk buy: 180 pieces in one box for classrooms, birthday parties, and families with more than one crafty child. If you need enough material for ten kids at a table, this is the only kit here that does it without a second purchase.

• Pros: By far the most pieces per box; good for classrooms and parties; the brand's art supplies are generally well made.
• Cons: A bulk set means no curation — quantity, not a guided project; the price was not reliably verifiable today, so compare before you buy; with no theme, the charms need an adult to give them a purpose, like a gift-tag afternoon.

Draw-your-own vs pre-cut: which is right for your kid?

This is the real buying decision, and it comes down to age and patience. Pre-cut kits (Ooly, Shrinkadoo) are faster, tidier, and almost impossible to fail — right for a child under seven, a classroom, or a party where you need twenty finished charms in an hour. Draw-your-own kits (our Christmas kit, and blank sheet packs like Grafix Shrink Film) are slower and messier, but the finished charm is the child's own drawing — the whole point of a handmade gift. If the charm is going on the tree or onto a present for grandma, draw-your-own wins; if the goal is keeping ten kids busy at a party, pre-cut wins.

What to know before you bake

Four things to know before the first sheet goes in the oven. First, an adult handles the oven — shrink plastic curls and flattens in the heat, which is startling the first time you see it. Second, colours darken as the plastic shrinks, so light strokes come out stronger than they look. Third, punch the hole for a keychain ring or ribbon before baking, not after — hardened shrink plastic is tough to punch. Fourth, bake on a flat tray lined with parchment, and let the charm cool for a minute before anyone touches it. A session takes about half an hour — short enough for a young child's attention, long enough to feel like a real project.

Frequently Asked Questions

What age is shrink art for? Most kits are labelled 5+ or 6+, and the drawing part suits a five-year-old. The baking step always needs an adult, so treat it as a parent-and-child craft.

Do you need a special oven? No. A regular home oven works — the plastic shrinks in a few minutes at the temperature printed on the kit. A toaster oven works too, but watch it closely; the pieces are small.

How long does a shrink art session take? About thirty minutes from the first drawing to a cooled, finished charm. The drawing is the slow part; the bake takes only a few minutes.

Can kids make Christmas ornaments with shrink art? Yes — it is one of the best uses for it. Draw a tree, a star, or a name, punch a hole before baking, and thread a ribbon through when it cools. The charm is light, hard, and hangs well.

Is shrink art a good stocking stuffer? The small kits are. A 28-piece set fits in a stocking, and the finished charms make good gift tags and keychains — but the kit needs an oven, so it is a gift for a crafting afternoon, not a toy for Christmas morning.