Do you need genuine therapy after a short session involving any kind of glitter or sequins? Your intentions are good, you want to be the crafty mama but even the sight of the craft box is enough to raise your blood pressure.

Meanwhile, Jennifer down the road is living a life of paper-mache and tie-dye and it’s making you feel a bit lousy.

If you don’t share a love for crafting with the kids you are not alone. It really just isn’t for everyone. You know all the benefits and we do too but you can’t pretend you love something when you don’t – surely we would teach the kids to follow their passions?

If the biggest obstacle for you is the state of the house after arts and crafts then you are one of the many parents who feel this way. Think of it as being part of an exclusive club. You can’t deny the fact that the mess takes all of the joy out of the  experience and that is bringing on all kinds of extreme parent guilt. But we feel you - glitter just shouldn’t find it’s way into the sugar bowl, but it does. It really does.

Here are five easy and fun arts and crafts ideas that will not completely destroy your house.

This one can be done from a young age. It has all of the sensory elements without the mess. Simply fill a large sandwich bag with a mixture of baby oil and water-soluble paint and seal all of the edges. You can add buttons, glitter and feathers for extra texture. Tape the bag down to the table or your little one’s high chair and let them make a masterpiece by moving the paint and objects around the bag with their fingers. It’s a no mess but very satisfying craft activity for all ages.

Using an old cereal box or tray of some description use a sharpie pen to draw a list of numbers or the full alphabet in order. On a piece of paper draw and cut out the very same numbers and letters and hand them to your child in a mixed pile that is not in order. The idea is to encourage your child to match the letters and colours in their hands to the corresponding letters and numbers on the tray or board. Using different coloured paper for the letters or numbers will make it even more exciting for little ones.

All you need is an old cereal box/shoe box with a large hole cut out of the middle. Using different pieces of coloured string add the “guitar strings” in a row across the hole. It won’t sound musical but the creativity and novelty factor is 10/10 with this one and it’s mess-free. They can go on to decorate and name their guitars and set up a little band.

Pick up a cheap bag of coloured Penne pasta and a ball of string or yarn. Let each child feed the pasta through the string to make their very own jewellery masterpiece. This one is great for fine motor skills.

You know that TV or Computer you just bought? Save the box. It’s the perfect environment to let your child paint, draw and express themselves. You can do it anywhere in the house and the mess is contained. We like to do it on bath-night and the night before bin-day so it’s a win win all around. There will be evidence of this one tomorrow.