Looking for fun yet mess free ways to keep your twins occupied while on the go or at home? Here are some great ideas for road trips or just needing to step away to make dinner and not have to worry about a mess!
We’re coming up on road trip season and many parents will be looking for mess free coloring activities to keep their children occupied in the back seat. I’ve got some great options that we use not only on the road but also in our home during individual playtime.
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Melissa & Doug No Mess Coloring Pads
Melissa & Doug has so many amazing products for children. These are no mess coloring pads that even have an area in front to hold the marker. They have many different varieties sure to engage any child! These markers ONLY mark on the actual activity book, not on their clothes or anywhere else.
NO-MESS COLORING BOOK 3-PACK: The Melissa & Doug On the Go ColorBlast activity books feature 24 pages of color-reveal pictures and seek-and-find activities.
MAGICALLY COLOR WITH INVISIBLE INK: Color in pictures with "magic" invisible ink to reveal patterns and vibrant colors.
VEHICLES-THEMED, NO-MESS COLORING BOOK: The Melissa & Doug On the Go ColorBlast activity books feature 24 pages of color-reveal pictures and seek-and-find activities.
MAGICALLY COLOR WITH INVISIBLE INK: Color in pictures with "magic" invisible ink to reveal patterns and vibrant colors.
CONVENIENT MARKER STORAGE: Marker stores in cover and only marks on the pages (not clothing or furniture!); great for travel.
ANIMAL-THEMED, NO-MESS COLORING BOOK: The Melissa & Doug On the Go ColorBlast activity books feature 24 pages of color-reveal pictures and seek-and-find activities.
MAGICALLY COLOR WITH INVISIBLE INK: Color in pictures with "magic" invisible ink to reveal patterns and vibrant colors.
Melissa & Doug Water WOW!
Another great Melissa & Doug product is the Water WOW! water reveal reusable pads. Our boys LOVE these. The other night they had them strewn about the room, each nicely “coloring” on their own quietly. There are very few things that they do quietly while near each other, and this is one of them.
We have one for each boy of some of the more exciting ones such as vehicles, and 8 or so other various ones. It’s wonderful that they’re reusable after they dry and the colors seem to magically appear. Just one water-filled paintbrush will work for all the different reusable pads and all of the colors. The pigment is actually on the pad, the water just makes it show up. Once the water is dry, the pigment disappears.
3-PACK OF WATER WOW! ACTIVITY PADS: This 3-pack of Melissa & Doug Water Wow! reusable water coloring books for kids includes Farm, Safari, and Under the Sea.
4 REUSABLE PAGES: Each of these coloring-with-water books is a spiral-bound pad that has 4 reusable pages and a refillable water pen that stores in the cover, making it a great take-along activity for travel.
Not gonna lie…I’ve been known to use them as well, they’re calming and fun! You’ll also notice that as you’re coloring, some pictures show up that weren’t visible when dry. There are also activities that are opposite of each page asking the child to find hidden or visible objects so it’s more of an activity than just coloring.
3 Melissa & Doug On-the-Go Water Wow! Reusable Water-Reveal Activity Pads (Jungle, Safari, Farm) that each include 4 reusable pages and a refillable water pen
Each 4-page spiral-bound activity and coloring pad includes a refillable chunky-sized water pen designed for smaller hands to easily grasp and use
If you are on the go, be sure that you fill-up the paintbrushes with water before you leave home. I also suggest keeping the brushes upright because I have noticed they leak if on their side. A perfect spot to rest them when not in use would be a cupholder of either a car seat or vehicle cup holders.
Also, be sure that you empty the water from the paintbrushes if you’re not going to use them for a while. I’ve had one that we forgot about and it ended up moldy. Only that one though, as long as you empty them on a regular basis they should be just fine, as the rest of ours have been.
Here are some of our favorite Water WOW Pads
ALPHABET-THEMED ACTIVITY BOOK: The Melissa & Doug On the Go Water Wow! Alphabet Reusable Water-Reveal Activity Pad features reusable pages that come to life when wet.
4 REUSABLE WHITE PAGES: Our alphabet coloring book with water pen for kids features 4 reusable white pages that include uppercase and lowercase letters to trace, alongside pictures of familiar objects to illustrate each sound.
6-PACK PAINTING ACTIVITY BOOKS: The On-the-Go Water Wow! Reusable Water-Reveal Activity Pads feature a 3-pack of sports-, occupations-, adventure-, safari-, ocean-, and animal-themed watercolor books that each include 4 reusable pages and come with a refillable water pen.
4 REUSABLE WHITE PAGES: Our activity coloring books with water pen for kids each feature 4 reusable white pages that include simple line drawings when they are dry, then are filled with color when wet.
3-PACK PAINTING ACTIVITY BOOKS: The On-the-Go Water Wow! Reusable Water-Reveal Activity Pads feature a 3-pack of sports-, dinosaur-, and vehicle-themed watercolor books that each include 4 reusable pages and come with a refillable water pen.
4 REUSABLE WHITE PAGES: Our activity coloring books with water pen for kids each feature 4 reusable white pages that include simple line drawings when they are dry, then are filled with color when wet.
Crayola Mess Free Coloring and Drawing
Another great mess free option are the Crayola Mess Free Drawing sheets and markers. These markers only color on the actual paper, not on clothes or anywhere else. There are multiple colors that come with each set.
One thing to be aware of is if you get the character packs, they are mainly loose papers. I suggest using a 3 hole punch on the coloring pages and put them in a 3 ring binder with a pouch for the markers. As you can see below, we have them loose leaf but we aren’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon.
I also haven’t put them into binders because I have noticed that my 2-year-olds will go through coloring pages at record speed since they will color the whole page one color and move on. Due to this, I just give them one page at a time.
As you can see below, my almost 5-year-old has the art desk, which is great for on the go or anywhere.
Here are some of our favorite Crayola Mess Free Drawing Packs
- BEST FOR: Beginner child ages 3 and up will enjoy this coloring set
- CRAYOLA COLOR WONDER: This Crayola Color Wonder set includes a 24-page coloring book, ink pad, 4 stamps, 3 sticker sheets, 5 colored markers
- QUALITY: Safe and non-toxic with quality you can trust with Crayola
- COLOR WONDER SET: Contains 18 Frozen Coloring Pages and 5 Color Wonder Markers.
- MESS FREE COLORING: Colors appear only on special Color Wonder paper, not on skin, clothing, or carpets!
- ORGANIZED & TRAVEL FRIENDLY: Folder style packaging works as reusable storage for your coloring pages and markers.
- COLOR WONDER SUPPLIES: Works with all Color Wonder Paints, Markers, and Stamps.
- FROZEN CHARACTERS: Pairs well with other Frozen toys, letting them play with their favorite characters even more!
- SAFE & NONTOXIC: Gift for girls and boys ages 3 & up.
CRAYOLA LIGHT UP TRACING PAD: This set includes 1 LED Light Board in Red with removable tracing panel, and 6 Gel Markers. Please note: requires 3 AA batteries (not included). Features built-in marker storage for easy organization and portability.
DRAWING LIGHT BOX: Create amazing art and display it in a big, bold way Just draw your masterpiece and turn on the light board to watch your designs shine. Easily wipe away old drawings when you're ready to start anew.
COLOR WONDER SET: Contains 18 Blippi Coloring Pages and 5 Color Wonder Markers.
MESS FREE COLORING: Colors appear only on special Color Wonder paper, not on skin, clothing, or carpets.
We also really love the Mess Free Paint Brushes!
- COLOR WONDER PAINT SET: This mess-free paint set for kids includes 24 Color Wonder Painting Paper Pages and 5 Painting Pens.
- NO DRIP PAINT PENS: Color Wonder Paints are now inside the no drip paint brush pens, making them convenient, easy to use, and travel-friendly.
- PAINT PEN COLORS: Paint Pen colors include Red, Orange, Green, Yellow, and Blue.
- TODDLER ACTIVITIES: Keep spirits high with creative art supplies! Color Wonder Crafts are a great way for young kids and toddlers to stay engaged and inspired.
- MESS FREE PAINTING: These magical paints are nontoxic and only show up on Color Wonder Paper - not skin, clothes, or fabric.
- TRAVEL FRIENDLY: Ease road trip boredom with entertaining and portable Color Wonder activities.
- GIFT FOR KIDS: Give this set as a great gift idea for toddlers and kids on birthdays and holidays.
Aqua Magic Doodle Mat
This obviously wouldn’t work in the car BUT it’s awesome mess free play for at home. This Aqua Doodle Mat just needs water to create colorful designs. It comes with pens to be filled with water, a paint brush to be filled with water, stencils to trace, stamps, and paper. When the water dries the picture disappears and kids can start creating all over again!
- Magic Doodle Mat Boys Girls Toys - Large Area for Doodle - Size: 40 x 32 inch with letters printed on side, leaving more room for your kids' doodle art. Great learning art toys for 2 3 4 5 6 year old girl boy
- Water Doodle Mat - Reusable - Toddler toys age 2-4 5 6. Fill the magic pen with clean water and draw on the magic drawing mat. After 3-10 minutes, it magically disappears, and kid can doodle on it over and over again. 2 3 4 5 year old girl gifts toys
- Aqua Mat - Safe & no mess & easy to clean storage --- No paint, Non-toxic, Non-polluting. No mess with water proof backing. Easy Storage, can be folded into a compact size. Perfect art activities gifts for 2 3 4 5 6 year old girls boys
- Water Drawing Mat Doodle - Doodle on Floor Table or on Smooth Wall or Window - with 4 suction cups. It also comes with water Doodle mat x 1, Magic pens x 5, design booklet x 1, stamps x 6, Storage box x 1, drawing template x 6, drawing mold x 6
- Educational Kids Toys - Bonus 6 Stamps -- Educational art toys for 2 3 4 5 6 year olds. Your little ones will love to stamp and make the doodle beautiful.
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.