Cardboard boxes come in all sizes, but all too often they end up in the rubbish. Rather than throw away your cardboard boxes, why not turn them into an array of different things that will delight the children in your life.
Tissue Box
Tissue boxes have a handy hole in the top to pull tissues out through and this has all kinds of possibilities. It could be a mouth for a tissue box monster. Or, attach strings to it, use a cardboard tube as a handle and you will have a tissue box guitar.
Puppet Theatre
Boxes of all sizes make great puppet theatres. A cereal box makes a table-top puppet theatre while an appliance box could make a free-standing one. Simply cut away part of the front and be as inventive as you like in the decoration, including curtains. See for instructions on how to make simple puppets.
Dolls House
A shoe box makes an excellent doll’s room and if you have multiple shoe boxes, you could stack them to make a whole house. There can be endless fun in painting the walls or even papering them if you have some scraps of wallpaper.
This can also allow you to use lots of other crafts. If you are a sewer, you could make doll clothes, while knitters could make little blankets for the bed or rugs for the floor. If you are new to knitting, a knitting kit can show you the endless possibilities. These are available from specialist online retailers like Wool Couture.
Garage
Cardboard is such a sturdy material that it can easily handle small cars whizzing up cardboard ramps to find a parking space. Stick boxes together to make the appropriate space and paint or draw on road markings and parking bays. This can also double up as a handy way to store toy cars when not in use.
Play Kitchen
Use several boxes of different sizes to make cupboards, a cooker, and a fridge. The box opening will make doors that will add to the realistic nature of this fun, cardboard toy.