Cardboard Boxes and children

squeaky

student100 wrote:

Whenever this topic comes up at home I am frequently reminded of the time when I was a kid when I (quite deliberately) slept a night inside of a gigantic cardboard box from a new Vax vacuum cleaner...I have no idea now *why* but I'm sure it was fun at the time

Hiya! Nice to see you back.

Chipps

Those lovely strong boxes that lettuces come in make brilliant cars/ boats/ spacecraft. Our lot have always loved boxes.
Once, some friends gave us a fridge box. They didn't live far away, so he carried it round - did look funny, as he put it over his head to bring it (he's a big kid really)
Our ys was thrilled with it. It was decorated inside & out, had windows & a door cut in it, every mod con you can think of - and a few you can't - drawn inside. It lasted for weeks, & every child that visited loved it too. He was so upset when it finally got to the stage when it had to go (can't say I was so disappointed)
To be honest, I think he would still like to have a huge box to decorate & spend time in - and he's 15 now!!!!

Aril

When I was little my Mum used to set up the clothes airer with a blanket over the top to make it into a tent. I've done the same since with my small person and he absolutely loved it.
Regards

Aril

dbs

Last xmas I bought loads of toys for my daughter and in the sales I bought a new digital camera and printer/copier/scanner which came in a large box.

When I took photos of my daughter guess which new toy she wanted to be on camera with, correct the large box when it had to be thrown away because it had fell to bits she wanted another!

Mado

We painted ours and sticking a small and large box together made a spendid space rockett for kids aged 3 and 5.
A medium sized ones made a perfect helmet.

Dad later downloaded a picture of the moon and used it as a background for a fab picture of our dear children in their moon landing. They both took it to school for news!!!!

Mado

Forgot to add... for older children keep the bubble wrap.
(Heard this we... my 8yo DD telling her little bro off for playing with HER birthday bubble wrap).
And if you really have a lot of it (after a move for example), put it on the floor and walk over it!!!!!great fun.

sandra_eachus

In Northern Ireland the Councils run various free family days. Check leaflets in leisure centres libraries and read local papers. Then be sure to make a note of varios dates. Events usually take place during holidays and include free inflatables, facepainting, balloons, amusements, games, fireworks,dressed up characters. I dont know if councils in other parts of the UK do the same but lots of credit should be given to ours.
Museums and libraries run free events for kids from time to time eg dinousaur exhibitions and lots of tots reading hours for kids.
Churches run Sunday schools,youth clubs, badminton clubs, amateur dramatics, parent and toddlers etc which are free or for a pittance.
Imagination can go a long way with kids. Chairs lined behind each other can become a car,train, plane etc. Get your kids to tell you what magical place they want to go to and get them to put on their seatbelts and point directions. When you get there the chairs can be turned to make seating for a theatre. You can take turns being the audience or actor,singer, comedian or clown.
Games eg Farmer wants a wife, London Bridge is falling down, In and out of the dusting bluebells, Farmer wants a wife, Simple Simon Says, Hokey Kokey, Duck duck goose etc are great. If there are not enough kids the toys can join in.
Going for walks tramping in leaves, matching leaves, picking blackberries, helping to shell peas,set table and wash up using the picknic set and making own sandwiches and salads.
The list of free fun is endless

mazzza_2

Nile wrote:

Good suggestion Jay-Jay.


Be cheeky and ask for more than one large cardboard box. You can fold them down flat and keep a couple in reserve for when the original box is all played out.;)

As most supermarkets are reluctant to pass boxes on to customers, you could ask at a firm with a goods inwards department.

In my building (a warehouse with a goods inwards function) we get lots of people asking for cardboard boxes and packing materials for when they're moving house.

I work nights in a supermarket. we are inundated with boxes. Quite reguarly we have people coming in just for the empty boxes (eg moving). We are always more than willing to let people go through our carboard cages (polite to ask first!) as it will save us having to get another empty one through the night.

The best aisle to go for is the crisp one. Some of the other aisles the boxes are not so easy to break down (glued instead of tape) where as the crisp aisle they are HUGE boxes, and easy to break down. and tape back up.

Poppy9

The best box my DD had for playing in (aged about 18months) was the box wrapped around my new fridge freezer. It stood upright in my dinning room for months. She would spend hours going in and out of it playing peekaboo either with us, friends or even herself!!

I used to love to use carboard boxes to slide down a big grassy hill in the school behind my house as a child. You need nice hot weather to make the grass really dry and then you slide down a treat!

Maisie

When we've had snow the children around here use the thick cardboard sheets for sliding down the hills.

My kids used to love to play with the saucepans.