Good news for parents: we may have just found the cheapest children’s toy ever. It’s a cardboard box.
We know that kids love making forts out of these things, but did you know that there are so many other possibilities? 51 possibilities, in fact. We’ve mapped them all out for you here so next time you have to keep your kid busy, you will have some tricks up your sleeve.
1. Turn it into a camp trailer
Not enough time for a trip to the woods right now? Don’t sweat it! Create a faux camping trip with an adorable mini camp trailer.
It may not be a Chanel bag but for the price and convenience, it’s a perfect option for when your kid wants to play dress up!
A gift for not only your child, but your pet! Use a box to build the ultimate dream castle for your cat.
A washing machine made out of a cardboard box might not sound fun to you, but it is oh-so-fun for children looking to play house!
What a treat, especially in the summer! Build a simple stand out of the box so that the kids can use it to sell fruit or maybe lemonade. Professional.
You know what is cuter than a stuffed animal? A stuffed animal lying in their own mini bed! You can even dress it with a mini blanket and pillows.
For kids, it’s fun to pretend to work at a gas station! Create a safe one for them and let them pump “gas.” Even better if they have toy cars.
Who needs a treehouse when you have a whole shopping strip?! Dress the box up as a local bakery and post office and the kids will be entertained for days.
You can even make a whole kitchen out of a cardboard boxes! Have them store some small dishes in there. Maybe even an empty cereal box or two.
In addition to the kitchen, you can even create a stove top for them to “cook.” Don’t worry, there’s no real gas or fire, so it is one hundred percent safe!
Grab some Legos, draw up a map of streets and
BAM! Your kid has got a whole city in the palm of his or her hands!
If you’re feeling ambitious and want to fill an entire room with boxes, make a huge maze! It will be so much fun to get lost in and you won’t have to pay a ton of money for it!
Are the kids jealous of all the sewing you’re doing? Let them join in with you… But with a toy sewing machine so that they can’t hurt themselves!
Your children want to make phone calls, but you don’t want to pay the bill. And they are way too young to even have anyone to call. Here’s a great alternative.
Your kids are royalty. So treat them like it! Get even more creative and use some leftover cardboard tubes from paper towels.
If your child has some toy cars, then they are going to need some traffic lights! Better to teach them the rules early on!
If your child has expressed some potential interest in music, make them a guitar! It would be a great way to get them to learn the instrument and they can pretend to be a rockstar.
The best part of making a stereo out of a box for the kids is that they can turn the volume up to 100 and no one will get mad.
Your son or daughter can’t have a bunch of toy animals with no where to store them! That’s why it would be so cute to create a toy barn for them.
Arg, matey! Time to make a pirate ship! You can even dress it up in some waves so it’s like it’s actually floating in the ocean.
This one is for the whole family! Cut some boxes into one of your favorite animals and hang it on the wall as decoration. It’s like taxidermy, except no animal was harmed.
You made a maze for your kids. Now it is time to make a maze for their marbles!
Here’s where your kid’s imagination can really run — or fly — wild! Let them board a plane and go wherever their mind takes them!
If your child is afraid of heights (ha!), build them a train!
Choo-choo!
See what we did there?
Planes, Trains and Automobiles?! Seriously though, you can make an impressive car out of a box. Vroom vroom.
Your kid deserves the world, so build one for them. Or at least start with a city. Build a bunch of towers and stand them next to each other, just like a skyline!
Your kids may be too young to drink coffee, but that doesn’t mean they can’t pretend. Have them be a barista and serve “customers” in their own little coffee shop!
28. Drive-in movie theater
What’s cozier than setting up a ton of boxes in the spring or summer and watching a movie with friends and family?
Now how cool is this? Let your kids feel big and strong in this crazy, box-based transformer costume!
It may not actually take your kids anywhere, but they can have fun trying!
31. Another type of washing machine
As you can see here, you can even draw a little design and add dials to the washing machine with marker! Simple and easy!
Throw some lollipops and other little treats around the house and you’re done! Such a wonderful idea for the holidays especially.
Keep the roads inside the box! With just one box, use markers to draw the roads on the inside. The driveable little town will be perfect for their small toys.
It is such a smart idea to turn a box into a full-blown game! It’s interactive, all you need is some golf balls and a golf club. The kids will have so much fun.
You will want to be careful with this one… But with the proper spotter and someone nearby to watch, this could be
really fun for the kids. Basically all you have to do is lay the cardboard flat on a staircase!
It’s so simple, you will be kicking yourself for not even thinking of it! Just bend leftover cardboard rolls into the shapes you want. Easy-peezy.
If you loved the golf idea, you will probably love this too! Try making a ring toss out of the cardboard. The children will think the fun games will never end.
This is the most extra playhouse and we LOVE IT. Get some funky printed wallpaper in there. Maybe even build a couple of stories.
This is the most creative box rocket we’ve ever seen. Complete it with some decorative aluminum, stars, and colorful buttons.
