The purpose of this paper is to introduce the construct of creative leisure and explore its implications for both the fields of creativity and leisure. The relationship between the constructs of creativity and leisure has yet to be considered directly, and these fields indeed overlap in significant and important ways. When one has the perception of freedom and the intrinsic desire, creates for the sake of creating, and perceives this to be creative, this is creative leisure. Research and theory that relates to creative leisure is identified. The author proposes why creative leisure should be examined and poses future research questions.

This study investigated change in divergent thinking (DT), an indicator of creative potential, at 2 genderspecific residential summer camps. Additionally, this study examined whether the change in DT varied by gender and by the type of activities campers self-select. Quantitative methods, using a quasiexperimental design was used in order to understand differences in camper scores. A total of 189 youth, 100 girls, 89 boys, between the ages of 9 and 14 years participated in the current study. Participants were administered a modified version of Guilford's (1967) alternate uses task, a measure of DT, in which respondents were asked questions such as name all of the uses for a brick or name all of the uses for a plate before the camp session started, and then again at the end of the two-week session. Results indicate overall mean significant increases in DT across all scoring methods of fluency, flexibility, and originality. Participants who self-selected 1 or more artistic activities (e.g., drama, arts and crafts, dance) had significant increases on the tasks as opposed to participants who did not select any artistic activities (e.g., basketball, baseball, archery). Finally, girls significantly increased across all scoring methods, whereas boys slightly increased in fluency and flexibility but not in originality. These results indicate residential summer camp may provide a creativity "benefit" for youth in attendance, especially those who participate in certain activities. Practitioners should use this study to understand their own programming in terms of creativity, activity offerings, and camp culture.

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