Parents often buy new toys for their kids, whenever they go shopping. Kids love to play with them but it is a fact that they easily get bored after a few days.

You must also have seen your toddler playing with a spoon or cup. It is because most of the time children enjoy playing with random things available at home. The good news is that you can take advantage of kids' behaviour by creating DIY play items at home. This will not only add variety to your kid's collection but also be a budget-friendly option.

Homemade DIY Toys - Why They Are Good?

The average amount of toys imported into Pakistan from 2016 to 2020 worth $112.17 million. Now you can imagine how much parents spend on buying new toys for their kids. Every parent, once a week, deals with kids' tantrums forcing them to buy new toys.

Creating and building new DIY toys are cheap and easy to make, giving kids fresh and unique ways to pass the time. There are also many other positive reasons to make homemade toys for kids.

• They are best for engaging kids in creative play to boost their creativity and imagination.
• These are free activities for kids to learn and develop.
• DIY Toys are customised. You can create a toy that your kid will love.
• Great way for building emotional bonds with your kid.
• Homemade toys teach about self control and learning to value things.
• Working with different materials educates kids about problem solving capabilities and critical thinking.
• Homemade toys are safer than market toys.
• These toys promote the habit of recycling and cleaning the planet.
• Making DIY toys help kids learn about STEM education.

Also Read: A Parental Guide to 12 Different Kinds of Toys

 

 

Creative and Easy To Make DIY Toys

Many DIY toys are those which you can easily make by recycling your household items. All you need is a good idea, plan, tips and some creativity and your kid's new toy is here.

There are a lot of things in your home which you can recycle and create new play items. Parental guidance and support are really important for making processes creative and educated.

Here are some unique and creative ideas to make inexpensive DIY toys.

Magical Tissue Box

It is an easy and simple homemade toy. You don't have to buy any product for this. Take an empty box of tissue, and cut it from the either lateral side with the help of a paper cutter. Now put the ball from the upper hole and the ball will come out from the other opening. You can also use tape and paper to make a slide from which balls easily fall out. And, you can also paint it or wrap it with a colourful cover. This is the most straightforward DIY toy we can make for kids.

Things required in making a magical tissue box are;

• An empty tissue box
• Paper cutter
• Tape
• Plastic balls
• Gift wrapping sheet
• Balls

Also Read: Unstructured Play: Why is it Important for Kids?

Metal Can Toy

Let's make a monster DIY toy for your kids. Grab a cylindrical metal tin can with a plastic cap (recycle the empty box). Now cut the plastic lid of the box into the shape of a big mouth. After that, pick up bottle caps to make the eyes of the monster. Use black marker to paint the eyes and attach them with glue. Cut some teeth from a white paper and put them on the mouth of the monster. Your child's new toy is ready. You can use water paint to colour the tin to make it more attractive and creative.

Things required in making a monster box are;

• Metal cylindrical tin can
• Plastic lid
• Plastic cutter
• Bottle caps
• Black marker
• Colour paper

Cardboard Maze

This one is all time favourite toy or game. Making a cardboard maze is super easy. Take a cardboard square box. Take some cardboard strips and design a maze. Stick the strips on the board with the help of glue. The maze is ready. Add a marble or small-sized ball in it and ask your child to move the ball and solve the maze. It is a great easy game or toy to boost kids' cognitive skills.

Things required in making a cardboard maze.

• Cardboard square box
• Cardboard strips
• Plain paper cutter
• Marble or plastic ball

Also Read: Enhance Your Kid's Cognitive Skills With These Educational Toys

Plastic Bottle Truck

If you have piles of plastic bottles at your home, now is the time to recycle them. You can use detergent, oil, or dishwash soap bottles to make different toys. Just make sure that the bottle is completely empty. Cut the four to six holes on each side of the bottle according to the size of the bottle caps. Take a kebab stick and cut it according to the diameter of the bottle. Now put some glue on a bottle cap and adhere the stick to it. Pass the stick through the hole and adhere it to the other bottle cap with the help of glue. Fix bottle caps in the holes as wheels and your truck is ready. It can save you money and you can decorate it any place.

Things required in making a plastic bottle truck.

• Plastic bottle
• 4 to 6 Bottle caps
• Plastic cutter
• Hot glue gun
• Kebab sticks

Airplane Toy

Airplane toys are really expensive. You can recycle shampoo or soft drink plastic bottles and caps to make DIY airplane toy at home. Take any large or small bottle and paint it. Draw some windows if you like. Now take a plastic cutter and make vertical cuts of around 3 cm on each side of the bottle. Take a cardboard sheet and draw airplane wings. Cut the wings and fix them on the bottle. On the bottle cap, create a nose with the help of toothpicks and glue.

Things required in making an airplane toy are;

• Empty shampoo or soft drink plastic bottle
• Plastic cutter
• Cardboard sheet
• Scissors
• Paints
• Toothpick
• Marker
• Hot glue gun

Also Read: A Beginner’s Guide to STEM Toys

Puppets

You ever think of setting up a puppet show for your kids? Let your children make puppet characters with socks. You can turn socks into puppets very easily. Grab any sock and fill it with sand or cotton, tie the cuff of the sock with thread, and make eyes of the character using buttons. You can draw the eyes using different things, such as bottle caps, wool, and small stones. You can use hot glue to paste the eyes or sew the buttons on the socks. Moreover, you can use wool threads to make the hair on the pupper. Decorate your little friend as you like.

Things required in making a socks puppet are;

• Pair of socks
• Hot glue gun
• Bottle caps
• Scissors
• Buttons
• Thread, wool or rubber bands

Round Off

DIY toys help you save money and boost your kids' creativity and imagination. Always take some precautions before crafting playthings for your kids. Avoid using harmful chemicals; use non-toxic fabric to make playthings safer for kids.

Making homemade toys is an enjoyable and fun activity. By recycling used home items, you can protect the environment. The ideas mentioned above are only to give you an overview of DIY toys. It depends on your kids’ liking. You can scale up or change as they like or dislike. Keep in mind to always make these toys with kids and supervise them while playing with DIY toys.