We have loads of them!  Tins of pencils, drawers of crayons and felt tips.  I have just gone through the lot and thrown out the ones that don’t work, or are too small to be able to hold properly, and we still have loads.  What would you say is a reasonable amount to have, considering really there is only DD at home during the week, and the boys have their own stuff for school anyway. 

Any ideas on how to rehome the ridiculous amount that we do have?  I’m keeping the pencils in those flat art tins, but crayons and felt tips, I’m stuck with.  In fact, anyone want any?

I donated a huge box of crayons to Eve’s old nursery when we left the UK.  I think I might’ve given them the felt tips too….  Felt a bit bad about that though as they weren’t the washable ones…. (But squashed my feelings as she’d used unwashables on her clothes and stained them a few times when she was there.)
We only ever use the crayola washables - if you are giving away any of those we’d love them! (I have a UK addy you could send to.)

So - yeah, donate to school / nursery / local children’s ward, I reckon - I’d just phone first and make sure they’ll take them, so you don’t waste a journey.

Unfortunately there aren’t any washable ones at all!  You say you only use washable ones, how do you avoid all the additional ones that arrive as gifts? Or, the offspring of the ones you already have (I’m sure they must breed, where else do they all come from?!)

Haha - yeah - like rats!
Um - I’m just a bit ruthless at swiping them as soon as I can get away with (if they are part of a craft set or something I get the Crayola ones out and literally pickpocket the naughty ones away into the pockets of my hoody while they aren’t looking - or if I think they’ll listen, I explain why I’m swapping them - I’m pretty good at judging how biddable they are at any given time….), then stashing them on a high shelf and gifting/inflicting them on once I have a biggish stash.
Eve once coloured her entire face green (with washable felt tips) - we laughed, so she went off and went over it all in purple!  There is no way my rascals are getting their mits on ‘normal’ felt tips!

You can melt the crayons into moulds and make brand new crayons, like little heart shaped ones and things.  Then you can save them and give them away as gifts/party bag treats etc.  Just break them up (either same colour together or make rainbow ones) and fill up little silicone moulds (oven proof) put them in the oven and then when melted take out and leave to set.

From a personal view point our toddler group can always do with new felt tips, crayons andthe like (we canonly accept felt tips with ‘childsafe’ lids though, the type with holes in top, so they don’t choke the poor kids straight away, but can be roughly inhaled through while performing the heimlic manover!

Ask a local playgroup, or a sure start centre if you’ve got one nearby. We must spend about 20% of ourquaterly budget on pens, crayons and pencils and similar…

I would say keep a tin of each … any you have spare offer them on here maybe?  I could always do with some as no matter how many I buy or we are given they disappear never to be seen again in no time.  I prefer mine not to have felt tips as the rest of the house soon becomes permanently decorated if I take my eyes of them for one minute.
I was going to suggest melting crayons down too!  Cheaper than buying wax for crafts.
Much love X