Big Boxes as Toys–Use Imagination for the Best Fun!

By Grandma Sandy | September 18, 2024

If you’ve ever bought an expensive gift for a toddler, you may have been dismayed to find the child more interested in the packaging than the toy. So, why not think of boxes as toys?

I can never bring myself to recycle a box–especially a big box–until we’ve had a little fun with it first!

Two life-size dolls sit in a big box. Consider the possibilities. — DIY **Life-size dolls sit in a printer box–imagine the possibilities!**

With little ones, you need only to set a box down for them to be intrigued.

Lay a box on its side for a baby to crawl into. Add small toys for the child to discover.
Make a tunnel by cutting an archway with a box cutter or simply open the box flaps and tape them to create a longer space to crawl through.
Cover the opening of a sideways box with a small blanket to make a “door” for a house.
Give kids an idea for what the box can be and let them use their imagination. Even without any embellishments, just sitting in the box, a child can pretend to operate a car, an airplane or a spaceship.
Serve kids a snack in their big box. It’s more fun to eat it that way.

Idea #1: Big Box as a Playpen

They may not relish going into a playpen (it must seem like jail!), but kids will willingly spend some time in a big box. I give them blunt cooking utensils for toys. Especially great are metal ones that jingle (measuring spoons) or rubber spatulas for banging about. You’ll know which tools to avoid that might be dangerous.

Children sitting in a box play with kitchen tools. — **Miss T, when she was tiny, would get into the box to play with baby N.**

Idea #2: Big Box as a House

Miss T loved her little house. You just need a big box. Cut out holes for the windows and door, use the box flaps for the roof, and decorate with construction paper. How-to instructions here.

House made from a big box provided hours of play. — **A house of her own in grandma and grandpa’s living room.**

Idea #3: Big Box as a Canoe

A long big box makes an excellent canoe. Use the box flaps as oars and paddle around the world.

Kids sitting in a shallow box pretending to be rowing out to sea. Box flaps were cut from the box to use as paddles. — **During our imaginary trip to Sweden.** kids pretended to be rowing on a Viking ship.

Idea #4: Big Box as a Fort

We used two big boxes as forts and crumpled recycle paper as ammunition, as we tried to capture each other’s flag. This turned into our favorite family game. Learn how here. Later, we painted the forts and made shields.

Big boxes made the best forts. Set up two teams and try to capture each other's flag. Use crumpled recycle paper as ammunition. — **A game we played during the pandemic using big boxes as forts as we captured the flag.**

Idea #5: Big Box as a Puppet Theater

Flip a box upside down and cover with a blanket to make a stage for a puppet show. The puppets are magazine cutouts backed with cardboard and glued to toilet paper roll holders. Here’s how to make them.

Of course, you can construct a more elaborate puppet theater from a big box and make more intricate puppets with older kids.

Use a big box covered with a blanket as the stage for a puppet theater. — **A big box makes an easy stage for a puppet show.** **The puppets are magazine cutouts.**

Idea #6: Big Box as a Fish Pond

The kids’ favorite game during our summer parties is going fishing. I use a big box covered with a blue sheet propped on a computer table to create a high enough barrier that the kids can’t see over. They cast a line (twine tied to a yardstick with a binder clip at the end) over the box.

I sit on the other side with trash (a sock, recycle plastic container, and so forth) and real prizes. Sometimes they get trash; sometimes they get treasure. I failed to plan for this game at our last summer party –I didn’t realize it was their favorite–so I made up for it during N’s birthday.

A big box covered in a blue sheet becomes the sea; kids with yardstick poles go fishing. Grandma gives them trash or treasure. — **Kids go fishing for prizes; big box hides grandma, who hooks on trash or treasure.**

Idea #7: Boxes as Toys

We used a smaller box to make a marble run with some tape and cardboard tubes. This was a good project for experimenting with engineering and construction. You could use a bigger box and make a bigger run.

A smaller box can be used to make a marble run. — **Make a marble run with a smaller box using cardboard tubes and blue painters tape.**

Idea #8: Big Box as a Train Engine

Miss T’s car seat came in a large car-seat-shaped box. So, I used some duct tape and construction paper to turn it into a train engine.

Turn a car seat box into a train engine with duct tape and construction paper controls and wheels. — **A car seat box has the contours of a train engine. Decorate with duct tape and construction paper.**

Idea #9: Big Box for Target Practice

One way for kids to improve. hand-eye-coordination is by playing games like bean bag toss. Make the bean bags yourself, then have little kids practice tossing them into a big box. A big box gives them a better chance at success. If it becomes too easy, move the box farther away.

For older kids, you could cut holes of various sizes in the big box and assign points for each hole, depending on difficulty.

Miss T learns a skill while having fun throwing bean bags into a big box. — **When she was little, Miss T played bean bag toss**, **aiming her shots at a big box.**

Idea #10: Big Box for other Uses

Use a big box as a drying station. When Miss T and I made styrofoam ice cream cones, we stuck each styrofoam ball on a bamboo skewer, painted the balls, and poked them into the corrugated ridges of a big box to dry.

I also use big boxes as holding stations when gathering gifts and toys for a piñata, for game prizes for our family summer parties, or for Easter baskets. It allows me to review what I have, with all prizes in one place, and determine how I plan to divvy up the loot between the grandkids.

Large cardboard boxes are great to use as a protective barrier when spraying paint or artificial snow. Put the item to be painted in the box and spray in the box to keep the spray contained.

Child paints styrofoam balls and dries them in the corrugated ridges of a box. — **Miss T takes a break while paint dries on the styrofoam balls we’ll use to make ice cream cones.**

More Great Ideas for Big Boxes as Toys

For more creative ways to turn big boxes into toys, check out my Pinterest page where I’ve collected some very clever ideas to try. You’ll need a Pinterest account to access it.

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