20 creative cardboard box games, crafts, and activities for kids
Cardboard boxes are one of the greatest and most versatile toys. Yep. You read that right. Before you take those boxes to the recycling bin, think of all the things your kids could do with them. Better yet, let us help you with those ideas!
From tissue boxes to shoe boxes, TVs, cereal, fridges, crackers, pizza, and all those online shopping spree items, there are so many ways to DIY these cartons into some fun. Here’s a list of craft ideas, games, and activities to get you started.
1. Target Golf
Cut the top off a box and turn it upside down so the open side is on the bottom. Carve out openings for your kids to putt golf balls through. Fore!
2. Build and Smash
Collect boxes of all different sizes and see how high your child can build a box tower. And for the extra fun part of the game, have them either throw or roll a ball at them and watch them tumble!
3. Balance Beam
Flatten a long box, use painter’s tape to attach it to the floor and voilà! No need to pull out the wood and nails—your child now has their own beam. How crafty is that? Can they walk backwards? With their arms out? With a beanbag on their head?
4. Hurdles
Place a series of small boxes in a row with a few feet of space between them and see if your child can jump over each of them.
5. Dream Dollhouse
Build your child a playhouse as simple or elaborate as you (or they) would like. Use a utility knife and cut out windows, a door, a mailbox, and maybe even a doggy door for your child’s fuzzy friends. Add turrets or chimneys to make it a cardboard castle! Maybe window planters? You and your child can paint or colour the new house and bring in a few toys or a small chair (if you’ve built a large house). The sky (or box height) is the limit for this cardboard box craft!
6. Activity Dice
Empty the contents of one or two square boxes and cover each side of the box with blank paper. On each blank space, write an action such as: “Do three jumping jacks” or “Do a silly dance for 10 seconds.” Have fun making up activities and then get the kids rolling and playing. If you’re looking for a smaller, paper version, we have a free printable of activity dice here.
7. Hit the Hanging Target
Turn a large box on its side and make your own target game by repurposing some paper plates or cups and hanging them on strings from the top. Use a ping-pong ball to aim at the targets.
8. Box Guitar
Cut out a rectangle or circle on the side of a box and affix rubber bands across the opening as guitar strings. Add a cardboard tube at the end of the box to use as a “fret” and get the music started.
9. Ramp It Up
Cut out a large piece of cardboard to make a ramp, or, if you have a long box, simply cut off the top and bottom to make a tunnel. Place the ramp or tunnel on your stairs or lean it against a couch or chairs. Bring out a selection of toy cars and trucks and see which ones race to the bottom the quickest. It’s a simple but always fun activity!
10. Bean Bag Toss
Turn up those picnic vibes with a good old game of cornhole (a.k.a. bean bag toss). Lay your box flat and cut three or four circles large enough to throw bean bags into. Leave the box flat on the ground or prop it up slightly at the end with another box. Give each child five or six bean bags and see who can sink the most. This game is also a good way to work on motor skills like throwing.
11. Order Up
Cut the top off a cereal box to make a serving tray for your pretend restaurant waitstaff. Be sure to ask for the daily specials when placing your order! This one is so simple, but great for encouraging pretend play.
12. Racket Practice
Cut off the side of a large box and affix it to a wall in your home with painter’s tape. Kids can use rackets with wiffle or foam balls to practice their racket skills without leaving marks on your walls.
13. Fill ‘Er Up
Stand up a box, pull out the markers, and make a gas pump for your toy trucks and cars. Staple or tape two or three empty paper towel rolls end to end and attach them to the box for the gas hose. Use markers or paint to note the gas prices and make a credit card payment box.
14. Doghouse
Make the perfect home for your kids’ stuffies. Reuse a large cardboard box by turning it into a doghouse by cutting out a door on the side of the box. Fill their house with a dog bowl and lots of blankets to keep their puppies comfy. Paint or colour the outside of the house with dog bones or any other animal signs to make it extra special for the animals in your child’s life. Then let their imaginations run wild and the free play ensue!
15. Baby Crib
Turn a box into a beautiful sleeping spot for your child’s baby dolls by cutting off the top of a rectangular box and filling it with cozy blankets.
16. Purse à La Cardboard
Use an empty tissue box, attach a pipe cleaner up and over the opening as a handle, and voilà—a new purse for the dress-up box.
17. Sensory Box
Use an empty tissue box and stuff it with light scarves and/or small pieces of fabric. Your baby will love pulling each item out one at a time and, as they get older, stuffing the fabric back into the box and pulling it out again and again.
18. Costume Accessories
Cut pieces from a large cardboard box in the shape of fairy wings, hats, or shields. Your dress-up box will have all kinds of new treasures.
19. Hammer and Nails
Give your child a pile of golf tees and a toy hammer and have them pound them into a box. If they need a bit of help getting started, you can hammer a few tees in partway and let them finish the job. In no time they’ll gain the hand-eye coordination needed to do the whole construction job themselves.
20. Coin Drop
A coin drop game is a great way to teach kids about the names of coins (and to work on their hand-eye coordination). Using the closed end of a small box, cut slits a little bit bigger than a toonie (the biggest coin). Pull out your loose coins and as your child picks up a coin to put in the slit, let them know the name of the coin (the one with the sailboat is a dime, the one with a beaver is a nickel, etc.). Soon kids will be able to identify the coins as they happily put them through the slots and listen to them drop below.
From craft projects to imaginative games, we hope these fun ideas will keep your little ones active and entertained during playtime!
