Artistic Do-it-Yourself events (DIY Art Events) offer college students a unique and engaging activity to do with their friends or with potential new friends to enjoy throughout the semester. Students don’t have it easy! Balancing their school work, with life’s responsibilities, the world’s changes & challenges, and of course a social life..
Students deserve opportunities on campus that offer a new and fun way to meet people, and take their mind off stress and obligations. DIY can offer a perfect solution as a standalone event, an add-on to a bigger weekend or celebration, or just a nice rainy day activity for a backup in case your outdoor event gets rained out.
Today on the blog, we want to break down a few of some of the top reasons we see colleges nationwide continue to book DIY events for their students.
So, Why Do Students Love DIY Art Events?
We’ve found that DIY is one of the most rewarding programs for activity directors because it helps to check a lot of boxes. These events are always a blast with students. On the surface, they may seem simple to organize, but they have much deeper benefits for a student and for a campus community!
Students Get a Take-Home Memory
These events are a lot of fun to participate in, but students also just love getting something for free. All DIY art events provide students with a fun item that they can take back to their dorm, use as a gift, show off their campus spirit with, or share on social media. Ultimately, the object means more because it was a part of their college experience!
Decreases Stress on Campus
Based on the 2024–2025 Healthy Minds Study, over one-third (37%) of college students report moderate to severe depression symptoms, and 32% experience moderate to severe anxiety. This demonstrates a need for some attention to students having events like this. Artistic events are therapeutic for students; doing something tactile and creative significantly reduces stress and calms the brain. These artistic events can even lower a student’s depression levels. In today’s world, college students are more stressed out than ever before, and therapeutic events like these are becoming rarer. These events are perfect for giving students the much-needed chance to take a pause and relax for a bit in their stressful lives.
Sharpen Up Students’ Focus Level
The nature of these DIY events improves the focus of a participant’s mind. The meditative creation process helps students escape negative and overwhelming thoughts. This can improve their attention span for academic and non-academic tasks. That means happier, healthier students, who can perform their best more often. Practicing alternative artistic methods of creativity, it can help students practice finding a flow state and help in other areas of study.
Gives Students a Moment to Relax & Create
Depending on what classes a student may be taking, they may lack a way to express themselves creatively throughout the day. Getting the opportunity to create something is always satisfying and fun, and when students are so overwhelmed with midterms, exams, homework, and life, they often miss having a creative opportunity. Providing students with the chance is precious to them, even when they don’t say so. Science says art can legitimately help to reduce cortisol after just 45 minutes!
Helps Build New Relationships on Campus
These DIY arts and crafts events have fostered a community and connections between participants. Even if you don’t know the person next to you, creating and watching them create something unique forms a bond that gets strangers talking. Not to mention, these artistic events are amazing fun to do as a group of friends.
Having similar but unique final products gets students interested in what other students can do with the project. Comparing and contrasting fun designs and appreciating each other’s creativity.
What are a few examples of DIY Art Events for College Students?
Artistic DIY events can offer an endless amount of immersive entertainment and ideas! Here are some examples that we have found to be most popular amongst college students:
DIY Paint Social
DIY Paint Social offers a great solution for a fun event at any time of the college year. This event is highly customizable but centers around hosting a paint class and providing the materials and the space for students to express themselves on canvas. The challenge with these types of events is procuring all the supplies. Well, we ship everything you need!
Custom College Create-a-Creature
An immensely popular DIY Art event. Create-a-Creature has college students pick a creature, stuff it, dress it, and name it, and then they can take it home! We also offer small custom T-shirts for the creatures that can feature your college or brand!
DIY Color Totes- Students Keep Their New Tote Bag!
DIY Color Totes is the ultimate blend of fun and functionality. Creating these totes is a great experience for students! However, these personally colored tote bags are also the perfect thing that a college student will use for years to come! There are plenty of pre-selected templates we’ve found popular, but ask us about a custom bag for your event!
Zlippers- Color Your Own Slippers!
Zlippers are one of the most unique creative events you can have. Made by Happy Feet, Zlippers, are slippers that can zip up with interchangeable patterns. Students can choose their favorite design and then color in their Zlippers to create a fun and engaging fashion statement! Once again, we have pre-selected options that students love, but ask us about a custom design for your event!
DIY Tie Dye T-Shirts
DIY Tie Dye T-Shirts is a classic and beloved art experience, where students can create their own fashion by dying their T-Shirts. We can also put your logo or a design of your choice on the T-Shirts so your students can all have matching spirit! With the 90s coming back in full swing, tie-dye never dies! We can supply you with everything you need to be a tie-dye expert!
See even more DIY Events!
All these events are amazing on their own, but when you start combining them together, you’ll find they create a much more engaging and artistic experience with options and creativity all around! Get in touch with us today to get linked up with your personal regional agent, who will help you facilitate the best DIY options for your event and your budget!
How can I bring a DIY Event to me?
At Neon Entertainment, we provide you with all the tools and resources to get one of these events shipped to you, no matter where you are in the USA. We have lots of DIY Events, but we also have many More Events and talent that you could use in combination with your art event.
So if you are interested in bringing DIY Art to your next big event, contact one of our booking agents today!
