HBO Max’s New Show ‘Craftopia’ Is The Family-Friendly DIY Fun We All Need

HBO Max just launched, and it gifted families with more quarantine fun: a kids’ crafting competition series

By this point in the coronavirus quarantine, we can probably all agree that we’re starting to run out of things to do. Sure, the country is slowly starting to reopen. But let’s be real: It may be a while still before we’re comfortable out and about, or even before our typical entertainment venues are back up and running. In the meantime, HBO’s new streaming service, HBO Max, has a shiny distraction for those of us who can’t possibly watch Frozen 2 one more time.

Meet, Craftopia — described by the studio as “an epic kids crafting competition show.” And, yep, that pretty much captures the essence of this cute new tween-centric series. Each episode, three 9- to 15-year-olds are given a theme. They then must race to fill up their carts with inspiring materials from the studio “store,” battle through any challenges along the way, and come up with an impressively crafty creation. Challenges in the first season include things like a custom lemonade stand and a puppet theater.

How do we know your kids are gonna love it? Well, it clearly capitalizes on a few of most tweens’ favorite things: DIY, a YouTube connection, a little friendly competition, and the added excitement of a $5,000 prize for the winning contestant. Plus, the victor gets to take home the golden “Craft-Trophia” award.

If you’re wondering what the YouTube connection is, it’s actually a who. Craftopia is hosted and executive produced by leading YouTube influencer Lauren Riihimaki, aka LaurDIY. Just ask your kids — they can probably tell you exactly who she is. But if it tells you anything, she’s been dubbed the “millennial Martha Stewart.”

Of course, you need to access HBO Max before you can get in on the crafty good times. This has added benefits for parents since the streamer is chock-full of incredible shows (think Friends and Big Bang Theory) and movies (hello, all eight Harry Potter films!). If you’re an existing subscriber of HBO, you should automatically have access to Max. You’ll have to download the Max app on one of the supported platforms, but you can then log in using your HBO Now/HBO Go credentials. You should also be able to pick it up if you’re an Xfinity X1 or Flex subscriber.

If you haven’t taken the HBO plunge yet, though, you’ll need to become a subscriber to catch Craftopia and all the other content. It’ll only set you back $14.99 per month, and you get a free seven-day-trial. Get all the deets on that here.