There is nothing quite like a toy that keeps them happy for hours. The only thing that rivals it is a toy that keeps them happy for hours that is probably already in your house and therefore FREE! With the boys breaking up for Easter in about 90 minutes, here's my top free toys you already have in your house to entertain the kids with over the holidays. Please add more in the comments, I'm going to be needing all the inspiration I can get over the next 2 weeks.
5. Cardboard Boxes: Genius these. Can be used for almost anything including making tunnels, doorways to intricate camp systems, cars and/or boats. We also love them for their ability to be used in obstacle courses and to be painted. Wine boxes work particularly well as multi story garages. The Internet shopping bonanza which always precedes the arrival of a pile of cardboard boxes is also great, but according to Dave not absolutely necessary.
4. Pots, pans and wooden spoons: Nothing like seeing the bottom of some pans to release Luke's inner drummer. It isn't good for noise levels, not great for the bottom of the pans but he LOVES it.
3. empty shampoo / bubble bath bottles: In this Octonauts mad household they make great 'Gup A' 'Gup C*' boats. Occasionally they are submarines or rocket launchers and they have the added benefit of also squirting water! Genius although my washing doesn't get dry all that often.
2. Hand whisk, washing up bowl and washing up liquid. Oh, the bubbles. Oh, the fun. Oh, the mess!
1. The bottom of the toy box. All those toys you thought they'd grown out of? Suddenly incredibly exciting and must be played with / taken to bed / whatever small boys do with toys. I keep trying to put toys away (so I can give them to Sam in years to come, hoping that the bigger boys will have forgotten that the toys used to belong to them), but am being thwarted at every turn. We now have all the toys strewn over the house and not one can possibly go into a box.
*I have no idea what these boats are either, but that is what the various shampoo bottles are now called and who am I to question?
Glad we're not the only octonauts obsessed household (btw do you think Peso is gay or just a very caring penguin?)
ReplyDeleteWe had a cardboard box cave last weekend which kept them busy hiding and being wild beasts
Don't forget the kitchen broom - ours is either a balance pole for a high wire or a rock guitar at the moment...
Ours spent the whole of last weekend playing with paper aeroplanes. They were so popular they had to go everywhere with us, including in the car and to the supermarket. Something so simple.....
ReplyDeleteFor some reason my Gran always used to have loads of boxes of washing powder in storage. I used to spend days building castles out of them for my toy soldiers!
ReplyDeleteI tried your tips today, and got some empty boxes and pots and pans out for my girls. For some reason they laughed at me!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, but they don't work on teenagers. Sadly.
Btw, hope you are staying alert...you never know when I'm going to strike like a ninja.
Bits of old rope seem to work well in this house, and when you are tired of all the crap lying around, they do a passable job as restraints, especially when used in conjunction with the tree outside.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes. All these work in our house too. Please can I add stones? This week they've been all round the house including the bath where they were being caught with a tea strainer (another easy toy). My 2 year old took his stones to toddler group where another child had the audacity to pick them up so my 2 year old screamed the place down. I had to say to the other mum, 'I'm very sorry but he does love his stones'. As for the 'Pants Household' - love that description!
ReplyDeleteLow-sided cardboard boxes and wooden spoons make brilliant boats for sailing on carpet oceans
ReplyDeleteThe bottle tip is great, thanks for that. Don't forget the old sofa-cushion/blanket/diningroom-chair-fort option. Or turn the coffee table upside down and make it into a boat? Wooden spoon oars, tie a towel to a broom for a sail (although this is prob best avoided due to head-whacking potential and the trouble you get trying to prop it up).
ReplyDeleteActually often the best is just to clear the floor and let them at it... amazing what boys can do with some open space...
Yes to all these. I bought millions of lego and our eldest just threw them across the room, but give him a box and he's quiet for hours..
ReplyDeleteGenius!
ReplyDeleteOurs used to use videos (in their boxes) a lot, for constructing race tracks, buildings, cities, mazes, etc
MAM - Very caring. Asexual definitely. Loving the electric guitar kitchen broom combo. Team it with a hairbrush mic and your girls will be away!
ReplyDeleteNVG - We love a good paper aeroplane too. Had to teach Adam how to make one, now it requires a lot less effort on my part!
Gary - boxes and toy soldiers. Love them.
notSuperMum - you mean teenagers aren't going to find the presentation of a washing up bowl and liquid acceptable entertainment? Yikes!
Legend - Restraints.. excellent plan.
Emily O - STONES! How could I have forgotten stones? Also forgot Argos catalogue. I'm hopeless.
ReplyDeleteOwen - they do indeed. Add brooms for a mast and a blanket for a sail and you have the ingredients of many an afternoon spent in Tuzla.
Sparx - Boys and space. Ideal combination. Shame the house is so small.
About Last Weekend- Lego is just great, but the boxes are always just as good.
Iota - Race track construction, combined with train sets. Brilliant stuff.
A bit late to this (trying to catch up on my g-reader!) but our current fave free toy is clothes pegs.
ReplyDeleteC is loving playing with them. She pegs them together, on other toys, on me (I found one on mt cardigan when I got to work this morning!), just on anything she can find really!
I soon won't have enough left to actually peg my washing out
I would have to warn you about using empty shampoo bubble bath bottles as toys. Make sure you wash them thoroughly before letting them near your children, because shampoo and soap aren't meant for oral consumption.
ReplyDeletetoy stores online
I think containers and bottles are a great idea. I remember my nephew loved them loads more than fancy toys.
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