This $15 Product Is the Reason I Don’t Stress About My Kids Doing Messy Art Projects at Our Dining Table

Our three daughters (ages 7, 5, and 2) love to create art and can easily sit for hours drawing, coloring, and painting. (Our oldest daughter and middle daughter both recently announced that they want to be either an artist or an art teacher when they grow up!) Our dining room table is their favorite place to create. It is large enough for them to spread out all of their materials and sit around the table together.

But while the process of creating art is fun, it is also MESSY and particularly hard on our dining table — which was stressful until I found a solution that has saved our table during craft time and has also made cleaning up much easier.

Before all the art supplies come out, I put down this waterproof, washable elastic tablecloth and fit it securely over our white tulip table. (Here’s a rectangular version.) Even “washable” markers can sometimes leave residue and marks behind on a table, but this cloth acts as a barrier and protects the table when my kids are drawing, coloring, cutting with scissors, gluing, and painting. If the tablecloth gets colored on or painted on, I just take it off and throw it in the washing machine. 

It’s great that the tablecloth is wipeable and washable, but the elastic part is the key: it keeps the tablecloth from slipping or sliding around when my kids are working on their projects. It’s also super helpful when the girls craft with beads or small pieces. Instead of picking up pieces one by one when they’re done working on the project, I just remove the tablecloth and funnel all the pieces into a storage box for next time.

So, carry on crafting, kids! It’s all good.

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