Cheap Home Made Toys for Kids

By brooke, June 18, 2010, Family & Kids, For Moms, Special Offers

Our daughter loves playtime, but the interesting thing is no matter how many toys she has, it seems that she is always more interested in playing with random items around the house. So to quote the saying, “if you can’t beat em, join em”, I did just that. I found a website that listed toys to make from some of the household items that seem to catch her eye. Best of all, I tried one, and it was a success! Not only was she entertained by it, but it was free! Since then I’ve tried a few more, and she has enjoyed them as well. Since we had a positive experience, I thought I would pass the information on to you. eHow.com is the website and here are just a few of their ideas that seemed fun for children:

Babies

Empty plastic water bottles. Save bottles of all shapes and sizes as you empty them. Clear bottles work the best (because the baby is visually stimulated by the seeing the contents), but they don’t have to be to make great toys. Just be sure to keep the lids as well. Clean the bottles and the lids thoroughly to make sure all the contents are rinsed out. Babies love toys that make noise so put things in there that can rattle around. You can use marbles, popcorn kernels, rice or uncooked (tri-color is even better) pasta. You don’t need a lot of filling, just enough that it will make a noise when he shakes it. Use a hot glue gun before screwing the lids back on each of the bottles. It’s extremely important to make sure the lids can not be removed. You don’t want your baby removing the lid and getting hold of the contents of his new toy.
Remote controls. They seem to be a favorite toy for many babies. They enjoy pushing the buttons and remotes are often easy to hold. If you don’t want your baby messing up your TV, find and clean an old remote from a tape player you don’t use or a TV that no longer works. Remove the batteries. In the empty battery compartment place a few corn kernels or small pieces of pasta. This is so your baby’s toy remote attracts his ear as well as his fingers! Use the hot glue gun to permanently attach the door to the battery compartment. Wa-la! You have a great new baby toy!
Measuring cups. These make noise, are stackable and have handles for any easy grip. These simple little cups will entertain your baby for hours.

Toddlers

Milk Carton Buses. First, gather up a few empty milk cartons. Be sure to wash them out well. Get some glue, tape and construction paper, in addition to any other supplies to decorate with. Smash down and cover up the top with construction paper to make a rectangle box. Cover the box with yellow construction paper. Cut out windows and wheels. Tape or glue the wheels on and get creative.
Stacking Boxes. Gather up several cardboard boxes from around the house. You will need to find small, medium and large boxes. Cut off the top flaps of all the boxes. Be sure that you can stack the boxes inside each other one by one until you get to the smallest box. Keep the boxes separate while you paint each one to prevent them from sticking to each other. Paint each box with nontoxic milk-based paint. Your child will love putting the boxes inside each other.
Drum Set. Find an empty round oatmeal box. You can also use coffee cans or canisters, if you want several different sized drums in your set. Feel free to use the existing lids or you can make your own. You can put construction paper around the drums for decoration. Use bamboo chop sticks to bang on the drums with.