Crock A Doodle Pickering: Family Fun & Baby Keepsakes

As parents, we take approximately 7,482 photos of our children doing completely ordinary things.

Sleeping? Photo.

Eating spaghetti? Photo.

Wearing their shoes on the wrong feet? Definitely a photo.

But every once in a while, it’s nice to create a memory that you can actually hold in your hands.

That’s exactly why Crock A Doodle Pickering caught my attention.

Located right here in Pickering, Crock A Doodle is a paint-your-own-pottery studio where families can spend some creative time together, paint their own pottery and turn those little masterpieces into keepsakes.

And as a photographer — and a mom — anything involving kids, creativity and preserving memories is pretty much speaking my language.

What Is Crock A Doodle Pickering?

Crock A Doodle Pickering is a pottery-painting studio located at 1822 Whites Road in Pickering, Ontario.

Instead of actually making pottery from clay, you choose from ready-to-paint pottery pieces and decorate them however you’d like.

Mugs, bowls, plates, fun children’s pieces and seasonal designs are just some of the options available.

Once you’re finished painting, Crock A Doodle takes care of professionally glazing and kiln-firing your creation. Your finished pottery is then ready to take home and keep.

No artistic ability required.

Which is excellent news for those of us whose artistic talents end somewhere around drawing a stick person.

Baby Handprints and Footprints — Yes, Please!

This might be my favourite part.

Crock A Doodle Pickering offers Baby Print Parties, where parents can capture their baby’s tiny hands and feet on pottery.

And if you’ve ever had a newborn, you already know where I’m going with this.

Those impossibly tiny fingers.

Those wrinkly little toes.

Those little feet that somehow become toddler feet…and then kid feet…approximately five minutes later.

It’s the exact same reason I love newborn photography so much.

Your baby will never be this tiny again.

A photograph freezes what they looked like, while a handprint or footprint gives you something tangible showing just how incredibly small they once were.

Put the two together and you’ve created something pretty special.

A Fun Activity for Toddlers and Young Children in Pickering

Crock A Doodle isn’t only for babies.

Families can visit the studio for pottery painting, and the Pickering location welcomes painters of different ages and abilities.

Children get to choose their pottery piece, select their colours and create something entirely their own.

And here’s something I especially love about activities like this:

There isn’t necessarily a “right” result.

Maybe your child creates a beautifully coordinated mug.

Or maybe every available colour somehow ends up on the same dinosaur.

Both are masterpieces.

Because years from now, you’re probably not going to care whether that little bowl matched your kitchen.

You’re going to remember who made it.

A Screen-Free Family Activity in Pickering

Finding activities that don’t involve a tablet, television or video game can sometimes feel like an accomplishment all by itself.

Pottery painting gives children an opportunity to slow down, choose colours, experiment and create something with their hands.

It’s also an activity parents can participate in alongside them.

That makes Crock A Doodle a great idea for a:

Weekend family activity
Rainy or snowy day
PA Day outing
Mommy-and-me date
Daddy-and-me date
Grandparent outing
Playdate
Creative afternoon with siblings

And because it’s indoors, Ontario weather doesn’t get a vote.

Birthday Parties at Crock A Doodle Pickering

If you’re searching for kids’ birthday party ideas in Pickering, Crock A Doodle also offers pottery-painting birthday parties.

Children choose and paint their own pottery pieces, which are later glazed and kiln-fired so each guest gets to take home something they created.

It’s an activity and a keepsake rolled into one.

The Pickering location offers different ways to celebrate, including hosted birthday party packages, Pottery to Go options and in-studio painting.

And as someone who photographs plenty of birthdays and cake smashes, I love experiences where the keepsake isn’t something that’s going to end up forgotten in the bottom of a loot bag two days later.

You Can Even Paint Pottery at Home

For families who would rather have a creative afternoon at home, Crock A Doodle Pickering also offers pottery pieces that can be purchased to paint at home.

You choose your pottery and colours, paint your creation at home and then return it to the studio for professional glazing and kiln-firing.

This could be such a cute family activity during school breaks, holidays or one of those weekends when everyone desperately needs something different to do.

Why Little Keepsakes Matter So Much

Maybe this is the photographer in me, but I have a weakness for anything that preserves a particular stage of childhood.

Because children change ridiculously fast.

The newborn curls disappear.

The chubby toddler hands stretch into little kid fingers.

The mispronounced words suddenly become perfectly pronounced.

And somehow the child who once needed you for absolutely everything is pouring their own cereal and informing you that they can do it themselves.

We can’t stop any of it.

But we can preserve pieces of it.

That’s why I think photographs, handprints, footprints, artwork and little handwritten notes become so precious as the years pass.

They’re tiny reminders of exactly who our children were at that moment.

More Than Just Something to Do With the Kids

There are plenty of ways to entertain children.

What I especially like about an experience such as Crock A Doodle is that you’re not only filling an afternoon.

You’re creating something together.

Your child gets the experience of making it.

You get the memory of watching them make it.

And at the end, you have something to bring home that reminds you of that particular stage of their childhood.

That’s a pretty good afternoon in my books.

Looking for Family Activities in Pickering?

If you’re searching for things to do with kids in Pickering or Durham Region, Crock A Doodle Pickering is definitely one to add to your list.

They offer pottery painting for families, baby and toddler activities, birthday parties, special events and other creative programs throughout the year.

Reservations are recommended, particularly during busy periods and weekends, although drop-ins may be available when space permits.

And if making those tiny handprints suddenly makes you realize just how quickly your little one is growing…

I know a photographer. 😉

Memories by Alexa Photography specializes in newborn, maternity, baby, cake smash and family photography for families throughout Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Durham Region, Toronto and the GTA.

Because whether it’s a tiny handprint on a piece of pottery or a photograph of those little fingers wrapped around yours, these are the details we’re going to want back someday.