Of course we would all be thrilled if our kids were budding Renoirs or Warhols, and we all agree exposure to the arts is a fabulous thing. But sometimes we need to talk ourselves into a Zen place when the finger-paints come out and their favorite canvas seems to be that stunning Persian you picked up at auction.

That's where Paint the Town comes in: All the colorful, painty goodness your kids desire, but none of the mess is yours! At this do-it-yourself ceramics studio, crafty staff provide all the materials — including a rainbow of paint and a range of ceramics to choose from (from bowls to mugs, piggy banks to animal figurines) — and you provide the imagination. Paint the Town, located in Seattle's University Village, also offers birthday parties, camps, and handprint and footprint memory projects!

And our lucky Big Gift Giveaway winner will receive a $250 gift certificate (valid for one year).

How to enter the giveaway:

Step 1: You must be a ParentMap eNews subscriber in order to be eligible to enter and win prizes in the Big Gift Giveaway. If you already receive email from ParentMap, move on to step 2. If you don’t, sign up now.

ParentMap eNews is your ticket to family fun, must-read parenting news, and amazing giveaways (like this one, friend!).

Step 2: Leave a comment on this post answering this question: what is your child's favorite art medium or activity? by 12 a.m., midnight, on Thursday, December 13. Include your email address in DISQUS (not publicly) so that we can contact you if you are the winner!

(If you are the winner and don't include your email in DISQUS, your win will be invalidated.)

Step 3 (optional):  Earn up to six additional entries for the following (leave an extra comment on this post for each action to let us know):

1. Follow ParentMap on Pinterest

2. Like ParentMap on Facebook

3. Follow ParentMap on Twitter

4. Follow Paint the Town on Facebook.

5. Share this post on Facebook

6. Tweet this post on Twitter

This giveaway ends Thursday, December 13, at midnight. We will leave a comment reply for the winner before noon on December 14.

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!

Next up in the Big Gift Giveaway: Come back December 14 to enter for your chance to win our next prize, a $50 gift certificate and stack of belly mommy tees from Bump Urban Maternity Wear.

Pssst...! You really should come back every day to enter the Big Gift giveaway du jour — each eligible daily entry you make during the promotion period (December 1–25) will qualify as an entry in our final grand prize giveaway for a $2,500 Mexico resort credit.  The more you enter, the greater your chances to win! And you did hear it from us.

Good luck!