The Woman Behind 5 Million Kid-Approved Ideas

With a global community of over five million followers and features on TODAY and Good Housekeeping, Kimberly McLeod has become the go-to source for creative, affordable, and sanity-saving ideas for kids. As the founder of The Best Ideas for Kids and the author of The Ultimate Book of Would You Rather Questions, McLeod has mastered the art of turning everyday moments—holidays, car rides, rainy afternoons—into opportunities for connection and creativity. From recycled crafts and festive slime recipes to screen-free family fun, she shares ideas that are as practical as they are joyful. We caught up with the Toronto-based mom to talk crafts, creativity, and why imagination still matters more than ever. —Noa Nichol

You’ve built a creative community of more than five million parents, teachers, and caregivers—what was the moment you realized The Best Ideas for Kids had become more than just a hobby blog?

I started The Best Ideas for Kids by sharing easy activities I was doing with my son when he was just a toddler. A few of those crafts went viral on Pinterest, and that got me thinking, maybe this could be something more. This was over 10 years ago, so Pinterest was very different back then, but after a few crafts went viral, I realized I might have a knack for creating crafts and activities that people enjoy. And the community blossomed from there. Seeing families and teachers create and share their own versions of my crafts has been the most rewarding part creating this platform.

Busy parents love your ideas because they’re affordable and realistic. What’s your golden rule for creating crafts that kids actually enjoy—and parents don’t dread?

Crafting doesn’t have to be messy. Paper crafts are a fun way to get started if you’re looking for a mess-free way to start. Using paper and a glue stick doesn’t require a big clean-up after. Another struggle I find parents always tell me is having the right supplies on hand. I love to collect recycled materials for this reason. For example, using paper rolls for stamping or turning into characters, bubble wrap for painting, or turning cardboard into anything you can imagine. If you start to collect these materials, you’ll be amazed at what kids can turn them into.

During the holidays, families often feel pressure to do “more.” What are your go-to Christmas crafts that look impressive but can be made with items already at home?

It’s such a busy time, so I find the simple activities always work better this time of the year. You can also do a lot with salt dough, which only requires flour, salt, and water. They also make great gifts if you turn them into handprints or customize them with names, painting ornaments, or using cookie cutters to make different shapes. Just make sure to keep salt dough out of reach of pets.

One of my favorite easy crafts for winter is making paper snowflakes (just fold and cut!). They look beautiful hung or placed on windows this time of the year. You can even add them to a string and make your own garland. I also love printing out coloring pages, and kids can cut out what they color and turn them into cards.

Recycled and household-item crafts are a huge hit on your platforms. Why do you think kids are especially drawn to creating with everyday objects like Q-tips, paper rolls, or pinecones?

I think it’s fun to create with different items, and recycled materials gives you so much range – cardboard, egg cartons, bubble wrap, etc. allows for so much creativity. Kids can get creative with things you already have on hand. Cotton swabs are great for printing dots, or I like to cut them up and turn them into snowflakes. Nature items are especially fun because you can go out looking for them on your own scavenger hunt. Leaves, pinecones, and acorns are some of my favorite items to craft with. And the possibilities are really endless with recycled materials.

Slime is still a fan favourite! What makes your Christmas Tree Slime recipe so popular—and do you have any tips for parents who are slime-hesitant?

Keep some vinegar on hand! Vinegar is my secret ingredient for getting slime out of anything. I also have a rule that we only make and play with slime in the kitchen. That way, it’s an easier clean-up and no risk of getting it accidentally on the carpet. Slime can be a calming activity and it’s also a fun science experiment to learn about polymers. Of course, always make sure to supervise little ones with slime.

You’ve created content for families celebrating many traditions. How do you approach inclusive holiday crafting, from Christmas to Hanukkah and beyond?

I love hearing suggestions from my readers and trying to incorporate as much of these suggestions into activities that will meet their needs. I get recommendations all of the time on things they would love to see for different holidays and I’m always happy to incorporate their suggestions and create these new activities for them.

Your new book, The Ultimate Book of Would You Rather Questions, is all about connection without screens. Why do you think simple question games are so powerful for families today?

Would you rather questions are a fun way to start conversations with kids any time of the day, but my favorite is during dinner time or long car rides. Often a simple would you rather can turn into a deeper conversation about their choice and why they would choose one over the other, sparking more conversation and learning about one another. And they can be silly, funny, and sometimes outrageous, which also gets a few laughs out of everyone.

You’ve tested hundreds of activities—what’s one “Would You Rather” question from the book that always sparks the best family debates?

That’s hard to choose… but I do have a hard to choose section and one of my favorites in this section, that we always have a good time discussing is: “Would you rather cut the grass with a pair of scissors or shovel snow from the driveway with a spoon”.

As a mom of two, how do you balance encouraging creativity without turning every activity into something Pinterest-perfect?

I always say let the craft idea be a starting point for inspiration, but encourage their own creativity in their version. My daughter wanted to make the toilet paper roll frog from my site, and instead of being green, it turned into a purple frog and had its own unique face. I love that kids will always put their unique spin on things. And if they want to make it exactly the same, that’s great too, because it teaches them how to follow directions and steps, which is also a really great skill to work on.

For parents who want to bring more creativity into everyday life—beyond the holidays—what’s the easiest place to start this week?

One of my best tips is to put together your own art cart. The biggest struggles I hear from parents is they don’t craft or do art because they don’t have the right supplies on hand. Building your own art cart can take away this struggle because everything is out and accessible. The art cart can also wheel away into storage! You can find these rolling carts online or at any craft store. Then I like to fill it with different supplies that you’re comfortable with kids using on their own.  For younger kids, you may want washable markers, stickers, and other washable, mess-free supplies. For older kids, you can include paint, paint sticks, and some more complex supplies that they can manage. That way, they can go to their art cart any time and independently create whenever they want to.