What's in a box ?

Image via WikipediaI have noticed lately S and J love to play with everything except their own toys. Like most kids they love cardboard boxes. I think this has always been true you buy an expensive toy and they prefer the packaging .

Here are a few ways to turn a box (or two or three) into even better toys. Great for rainy and cold days.

My boys like empty boxes and containers to open and close.They also like to sit in boxes and tubs.

Cardboard boxes are so much fun. Your imagination and the sky is the limit. Supermarkets are a great place to find large boxes or your local electrical/white goods retailer.

Over the years I have made a few of these things with my eldest now almost 15yrs. Most of the things I did with him pre date the digital camera and blogging LOL

1. Car Garage ( cut a flap for garage door or two doors)

2. Putt Putt golf house / Marble shoot (cut round or arch shaped holes)

3. Drums (up end and bang away with wooden spoon or real drum sticks) or Box Guitar

4. Bean bag / Ball toss (seal box and make a suitable size hole )

5. Cubby House (we used a huge fridge box and stove another time when D was little and it lasted for months - We cut windows in the sides, we made a door that opened and closed. We taped the ends for sturdiness. We then decorated the entire outside)

6. Boat / Train / Firetruck any vehicle and any thing goes (train - by chaining together three or four smaller boxes. Shoeboxes for carriages poke holes and join with string -add a long string to the front of the train, drop in some favourite toys and let your child pull his train and cargo around the house).

7. Dodgem car (like the firetruck for school Easter parade -we painted and used rope to hold over the shoulders - Paint or draw headlights on the front of the car/cellophane, cut a cardboard circle out or use paper plates and paint it black for wheels and the steering wheel. Don't forget to draw doors)

8. Animal Barn

9. Kitchen ( this one is very advanced LOL)

10. Soccer goal

11. Box buildings and box town or maybe an enchanted castle

12. Rocket ship (copy this anything goes)

13. Aeroplane (just waiting to try this out) and one more because I don't like odd numbers (or no.13)

14. Finger Puppet theatre

Older kids still enjoy using boxes to make dioramamas. I remember playing with boxes when I was a child.

Can you remember playing with boxes when you were a child or when you had toddlers / preschoolers? What treasures did you make out of boxes?

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