Too many boxes after gift season? Recycle gift boxes into a creative activity for kids like this easy cardboard box tv for hours of pretend play fun!
As a parent of little ones, we deal with the same predicament each year…after birthday parties and Christmas time, comes the loads of boxes that clutter the house and need to be tossed away.
But wait! Before you throw those boxes to the curb, think about using them for playtime!
Because let’s face it, kids sometimes have MORE fun playing with the actual packaging than the contents inside. This is even more true for toddlers — where the possibilities are endless when it comes to the imagination and pretend play!
We’ve tried our fair share of cardboard fun over the years — from our DIY Frankenstein headpiece and robot costume to simple headpieces and rocket crafts — the kids love getting creative every year!
This Christmas, one of the many activities we decided to make with the extra boxes was a television…a cardboard box tv they could use to watch all their favorite tunes! (And the perfect idea to get them away from the actual screen — win-win!!!)
How to Make a Cardboard TV
This tv craft was as simple as it gets.
Take whatever box you’d like — we had plenty Target boxes lying around so the sizing was perfect!
Sketch out the tv screen and use an exacto knife to cut out — adults of course for this part.
Once that’s taken care of, you can let the kids color the frame — add in a power button, volume and channels to make it look like the real thing too.
If you’re going old-school with tv antennae, use whatever material you have at home to spruce things up — aluminum foil and paper straws work well for this.
And voila! Your cardboard tv craft is complete!!
Your kid can grab whatever props he/she wants to use for each channel. Use favorite animal figurines, plush toys to create the desired effect.
Of course, my little guy had a monster station, safari and most importantly, dinosaurs!
I added a simple remote control with “on” and “off” switch for more interaction.
He loved getting creative with it too and decided he was playing video games instead, hehe!
This is actually one of our favorite crafts that’s less of a mess and great for imaginative play — especially when you involve the other kids and they decide what channel to watch!
So mamas remember, before you toss that box aside, think of the hours of entertainment it could provide for your kid and some sanity for YOU!
Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.
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