Art and childhood? A perfect combination, even when it comes to gifts! Games, books, and objects can help young ones learn about and recognize works and artists, memorize dates and historical facts, discover past lifestyles and diverse cultures, all while having fun. It’s a stimulus for learning and creativity.
Our shop offers many gift ideas for those who want to encourage their children and teens to love art.
7 ideas for young (and older) art lovers
Visiting a museum with children can be a valuable experience for the whole family. You learn, you get excited. A thoughtful gift, given before or after the visit, can certainly strengthen the memory of the experience. Here’s our selection of 7 perfect gifts.
1. Art books
Raise your hand if you’ve never wanted to be, even for a day, in the shoes of Leonardo or Michelangelo, or some other great artist, to understand what it’s like to create an immortal masterpiece. With Uffizi da colorare, that dream becomes reality: in addition to exploring the museum’s most important works, children can have fun recreating them, personalizing them as they wish. It’s a book where art is not only learned but made. So, grab your markers and colored pencils and let your imagination run wild!
Following in the footsteps of the great Masters – and the places that preserve their traces and legacy – the volumes created by the Sezione Didattica del Polo Museale Fiorentino in collaboration with the Fondazione Ferragamo bring us a series, Musei da Favola, designed to bring families and children closer to Italian cultural heritage. The book Giardino Di Boboli. Una Passeggiata Incantata is a guide to the magnificent open-air museum with tree-lined avenues, monumental sculptures, grottos, and fountains; while Palazzo Pitti. La Casa Del Principe is dedicated to the ancient Medici residence, a true institution in the national museum panorama.
The language used to tell the stories of these historic places and their beauties is both simple and engaging: the magic of the tale will captivate the little ones and intrigue adults too.
2. Wearable art: T-shirts with artworks in smile version
Made from 100% organic cotton, the Uffizi Kids collection T-shirts are an original idea. You can choose between the personalized version with all nine smiles created by the Galleria degli Uffizi or just one: the smile of Venere by Botticelli or Medusa by Caravaggio smile. Cheerful and colorful, they are perfect for children who love to move and play: the combed yarn makes the fabric durable, compact, and pleasant to wear, as well as completely natural. Sizes range from 5 to 12 years old, and the models are unisex.
The extra idea? The T-shirt and pin set, including a T-shirt and three pins to collect or apply to other clothing, hats, backpacks, pencil cases…
3. On the go with Uffizi backpacks
Carrying art with you is possible with backpacks featuring Uffizi smiles. They are part of the official Uffizi Kids line, along with the T-shirts, and offer two subject alternatives: Venere by Botticelli or Medusa by Caravaggio, both stylized yet unmistakable. The drawstring backpacks, made of soft but durable cotton fabric, have a drawstring opening and closing system, without buttons, zippers, or buckles. Just wear them to seal the backpack. This keeps them light, safe, and easy to handle, ideal even for the youngest children. The drawstring shape also ensures capacity and adaptability to the content.
4. Artists for a day with puzzles and pixel art
With pixel art, recreating images of famous artworks has never been so fun. Just overlay the cards on the perforated squares and insert the provided pegs in the six primary colors according to the scheme. Once completed, stepping back from the composition reveals the artwork in its entirety. The principle is the same as computer graphics, which, thanks to a system of tiny dots/pixels, creates even very complex images that the human brain perceives as uniform: thus, Nascita di Venere by Botticelli, David by Michelangelo and the Medusa by Caravaggio take shape. Guaranteed wonder and satisfaction for children aged 6 to 99 years!
A classic for relaxing afternoons, puzzles to share with friends and family. In our shop, you’ll find two alternatives, different in style and difficulty: Ponte Vecchio with 300 pieces or La Nascita di Venere by Botticelli with 1000 pieces, both recommended for ages 14 and up.
5. Author’s pencils to stimulate creativity
Artworks are a great source of inspiration even for young budding artists: why not then practice drawing with a real Master’s tools?
The Perpetua pencil is one of these: made from 80% recycled graphite, without glues, wood, or paints, it is itself a unique piece, extremely versatile. It comes with an eraser and can also be used as a capacitive stylus for writing on tablets and smartphones. Not only that: it lasts 22 times longer than a traditional pencil, for truly tireless talents. The design is by Marta Giardini Studio, honorable mention Compasso d’Oro 2016, and it’s available in three different variants: with Medusa by Caravaggio eyes, the Angiolino Musicante by Rosso Fiorentino, or the Uffizi profile.
For those looking for a complete palette, we suggest the set with 12 double-color pencils in a practical metal case, decorated with the skyline of Florence’s main monuments. And to remedy mistakes and changes of mind, nothing beats a high-quality eraser, like those offered in the set inspired by the Gallerie degli Uffizi: two oval erasers, one with the museum’s profile, the other with the famous horned cerastes (snakes) in battle, drawn in 1577 by Jacopo Ligozzi. Erasing has never been so creative!
6. Notes, sketches, and memories to browse and re-browse
Travel memories, sketches, and notes: a notebook can be a companion of a thousand adventures and a keeper of thoughts and ideas or an art object itself, as demonstrated by the collection of author’s notebooks from Moleskine. Moleskine, an institution in the sector, also produces the notebook with the official Uffizi logo (winner of the Compasso d’Oro in 2020).
The design is unmistakable: rounded corners, hard black cover, lined or blank pages, elastic closure, and coordinated bookmark. Available for purchase alone or in magnificent sets: the notebook and Perpetua pencil, the one with the pencil and eraser, or the pencil and magnets.
Those who want art on the cover can choose between the notebook with Florence’s skyline, in white or black version, and the one with Medusa by Caravaggio, also available in a set version.
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7. Magnets, gifts that attract
The quintessential souvenir, magnets are perfect for a small keepsake, to keep on your fridge. Different shapes, subjects, and styles will also entertain young collectors. Some examples? The portraits of the Duca e della Duchessa di Urbino by Piero della Francesca, made of plexiglass and printed front and back: the diptych on the front, a brief summary of the work on the back.
Or the trio of round magnets with Tondo Doni by Michelangelo, the Tre Grazie of the Primavera by Botticelli, and Medusa by Caravaggio. Or, more unusual, the three-dimensional ones inspired by David by Michelangelo: the beautiful buttocks, the fleshy mouth, or the perfect head. All made in Tuscany, in resin and marble powder, and finished by hand. Impossible not to love them!
These are our suggestions to get children and teens passionate about art. If you’re looking for ideas for adults, don’t miss our guide to gifts for art lovers.
Visit our shop, the catalog is always updated for new inspirations!
