homemade toys

I hate spending money on toys..I mean they usually play with them for a week or two and then never look at it again...in our house we have play stations which i switch up every two weeks or so...we have a play kitchen where i have a little shopping cart and reusable grocery bags to play grocery store which miles really enjoys...a reading area, music area ect...but Im always looking up new things I can do to keep my guy busy and learning! I figured I'd share a few of our homemade toys to share the wealth! I know I'm a bit crazy but I'm just the type of person that loves to make things..but even if you're not the type that loves to make things..these are really easy..and the best part is they're cheap!

table tents...we do this often especially when its dark so we can use his cool turtle night light...Miles loves bringing all his stuffed animal friends to join in the fun...the best part its completely free!!!

                                                      It's literally hours of fun!

I made more activity bottles..one with black beans in it that miles loves to shake, one with blue water and vegtable oil..its like a lava lamp, one with rice a teenie dinosaur and a car in it he loves to shake it and move it around to bury the car and dino, and the first one which i posted about already with water and glitter and buttons in it...now that we have four miles likes them alot!

Miles' little cardboard house...i saved the box from his play kitchen and finally put it to use..i'm in the process of covering the outside so its not as ugly..but honestly miles could care less he just thinks he's so cool that he can go in and peak through the windows at us...

I cut the windows out so that he can have little shutters...he loves this..makes peekaboo so much fun! I also let him color on the inside which i slightly regret because now I catch him drawing on our walls and floors..at least crayola is nice and washable!

I cut off the flaps from the bottom of the box and made miles paint them and taped them on the box to start covering the ugliness of the outside!

I also taped old halloween lights (hence the purple) on to the ceiling for indoor lighting...this makes his house that much cooler....he seriously loves this little box house..it took a bit of effort but it was soooo worth it...we got the kitchen as a gift from my parents so this little house costed us $0 ...whats better than that!

the coffee can...i decorated the outside and he has been playing with this since he was about 9 months old... now I made a hole in the plastic top so he can practice putting things in through the little hole...my sister inlaw melody gave me this idea and I love it!

we fill ours with a random mix of stuff...beads(which are so dumb but every kid that comes over loves them) a tooth brush since miles is obsessed with brushing his teeth, old pacifiers...and lots of other random goodies

sensory box...i'm doing this for every holiday..this box of valentine goodies kept my boy busy for an entire afternoon! I filled it with things i had and a few things i bought for valentines day and a few other things that were just red...I'm already planning my easter box!

                                                   fake chocolates from his play kitchen

egg carton fun! I saw on this website that this mom used an egg carton to have her son practice placing items in..and I thought what an easy fun thing to do...we have a bunch of the old little people from when my husband was little and they fit perfectly plus then I didn't have to buy anything...the lady on the website used pompoms...but I wasn't going out to buy those plus miles would just end up eating them...but you can find other mini things for your little ones to put in there...miles thinks this is so cool...yes we bought a clear egg carton..but im thinking of getting a regular one for him too...this is a fun cheap game!

                                                           Madeline liked it too!

Rice play! this is a bit messy and now i make him do it on a sheet but he loves this! he loves to dig, practice his spoon skills and fill all the little cups! cheap easy and sooooo much fun... some people use dry pasta but i mixed white and brown rice....some people even dye the rice which i may try to do too....this is a must! He will sit and play quietly and he has learned how to use a spoon so much better by playing this game...a sheet under your kid makes clean up way easier...and i make him sit while playing this...and he knows if he gets up its over...cause little pieces of rice all over my house is just annoying....walking on it barefoot sucks! so this is a seated game....

well there it is..a few of my homemade toys! Please share some of your homemade toys and games...we are always looking for new cool ideas for Miles! xoxoxtrash