Perler Bead Kits for Kids to Craft With

There's no doubt in my mind that fused bead kits and sets like those of the Perler brand, Hama for Europe, are a fun activity for kids to enjoy from as young as age 3. I know since that's the age that my daughter really took to this creative craft. As they get older, kids can move on from those larger Biggie beads and use the standard size Perler bead kits instead.

You'll see a selection of Perler bead kits for kids that I've picked out on this page. These make great gifts for children who love crafts. They are also good activities to improve concentration, hand-eye coordination, color matching and many other skills.

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Perler beads are safe to use and, in case they are accidentally swallowed, are made of a food-grade type of plastic and contain no harmful chemicals. Once a child has completed a design then an adult needs to iron it using the special paper provided with the set and this will fuse the design together with the heat of the iron.

1) Perler Bead Kits for Kids Age 6+

Most children from ages 6 and over should be able to use the classic sized Perler beads which are just 5mm in width. Some of the kits say 5+ but, from my own long experience of using this product, I would say that 6 is a more realistic age.

At age 6, children are much more likely to have the necessary hand-eye coordination and fine control over their fingers which is required for picking up and placing the individual beads. My daughter only just managed to use the classic beads from around 5 ½ and that was after being used to the larger sized variety from the age of 3. So, if you're buying these as a gift, I would go with the kits I'm recommending for the age groups listed. Scroll down to see Perler bead kits for younger kids.

The handy tub called Sunny Days contains everything that a child needs to start off with fused bead crafting: over 5000 summer colored beads, 3 different pegboards including a butterfly and two flowers, tweezers for picking up the beads, some kids prefer to use their fingers, and special ironing paper for an adult to melt and stick the finished designs together.

These shaped pegboards are great because children can add the colored beads however they like using their own imagination to make different patterns. The butterfly board was definitely a hit with my little girl.

I love the fact that this tub has some very cute summery colors with pinks, greens, blues, lilac, yellows and white. Having more than 1 pegboard and all those beads means that more than one child can use this and have fun at the same time.


For a sweet birthday gift, the Party Bucket is ideal. It’s a bucket based on birthday parties and children can create cupcakes, balloons, gifts, candles, cakes and more with this kit. It is full of over 5000 pastel colored Perler beads, 3 pegboards, ironing paper and 20 self adhesive sparkling gems too.

Children interested in creatures from the sea may enjoy the sea life themed bucket, not shown. There are over 5000 beads in shades of blues, greens, purples, sandy shades, black and white. There are 3 shaped pegboards, a pattern sheet with ideas and the special ironing paper.

We got the Multi Mix tub since it contains 5 shaped boards that come in useful for lots of other projects, they are: small square, circle, hexagon, star and heart. 6000 beads in bright and dark shades. This one is especially ideal when children are ready to start making up their own patterns or using pattern pages on the Internet as ideas.

My daughter and I are big fans of the tubs because they have everything you need in one handy storage bucket. It’s also a relatively inexpensive way to start building up lots of different colors and shades which is perfect for older kids and adults when they start creating their own designs or larger pieces. I ended up making lots of cute party favors this year from the fused beads and turned them into keychains, magnets and pin brooches. There are tons of ways to enjoy the finished designs.
Pet Parade is a really fun kit based on popular pets. Included are 5 shaped pegboards of the following animals: dog, cat, horse, fish and tortoise. There are a great color assortment of beads to complete the animals, a pair of special tweezers and instructions along with the special ironing paper. It’s a great ‘quiet time’ craft activity. I like using tweezers to pick up the Perlers but my daughter prefers to use her hands.

2) Fused Bead Kits for Very Young Kids

My daughter first started to use the larger sized Biggie beads from the age of 3. The Biggie bead sets say 4+ but I personally know that a 3 year old can enjoy using them providing that an adult is prepared to supervise properly.

At this young age, kids can still be prone to putting things in their mouths. Biggie beads are 10mm in size which could potentially cause a choking hazard, especially if lots of the beads are placed in the mouth. It is essential that a child is properly watched and supervised for playing with these.

Perler beads are not coated in chemicals and they are non-toxic. Being made from a food-grade plastic, they are perfectly safe for children to handle and use in the manner for which they are intended.

A child can definitely improve concentration skills and hand-eye coordination from putting patterns together. And it's a fun way to learn colors and counting too. You'll see lots of great sets below that make brilliant gifts for birthdays and Christmas too.

A Melty Beads book is what started my daughter off with her fused bead crafting at the age of 3. The recommended age is 4+ but I thought it was a good activity to help to improve her hand-eye coordination as well as getting her to grips with colors, patterns and counting too. So we did this book as an activity together with me making sure that she didn't put anything in her mouth.

The book was great (bit harder to get hold of now but look for Melty Beads book) and full of easy patterns that will appeal to a young child. Even easier is the fact that you place the clear peg board over the top of a design and the child learns to place the correct color bead over the top of the pattern.

It comes with larger beads that younger kids can use much more easily and the special ironing paper for an adult to set the patterns together. Sometimes we made a pattern and just tipped the beads back when done. So you don’t have to iron every finished piece if you don't want to.

This large bead kit works in much the same way except that you get 32 pattern projects that fit inside a little tray. Pop the clear board on top so the child has a pattern under the board that they can use to place the corresponding beads on top. This one comes with lots of colorful and fun designs to appeal to a younger child.

There's a bucket full of those bigger beads which younger kids can use to create fun patterns. This set does not come with any boards so you'd need to get those separately. Look out for themed sets and kits in this range too.

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Page Last Updated: January 29th, 2018