Frugal Toys

Tip: Frugal Toys

Making Wood Blocks

You can make great wood blocks for very little money using scrap wood. Start with untreated lumber, cut the wood into various sizes, sand off any rough edges, stain the wood and then seal them with polyurethane. You can even let your kids paint pictures on the blocks before you apply the polyurethane.

Recycled Containers

Recycled plastic food containers or old tupperware containers are great for making sand castles or playing in the bathtub. They also can usually be stored within one another so they don't take up much space when they are not being played with.

Squirt Bottles

Water fights can be a lot of fun in the summer time. Squirt bottles and spray bottles for dish soap or hand soap that are thoroughly cleaned can make great water guns for small children. Fill up some water balloons as well and let the games begin.

Frisbies

Frisbees are inexpensive and give children an opportunity to be outside. It's wonderful exercise and a lot of fun. Tossing a frisbee back and forth teaches sharing and can be easily played with up to three or four people. Frisbees can also be used for Frisbee golf where players try to hit various targets around the yard in the fewest number of throws.

Cardboard Boxes

Use small and large cardboard boxes to help your child make a playhouse, fort, or space ship. You can easily cut windows, doors and then use pens or paint to decorate the outside. Make the project outside on a nice day to avoid messes indoors.

Sidewalk Chalk

Sidewalk chalk can make for hours of summer fun. The chalk can be used to draw hopscotch or four square lines on your driveway or patio. The kids can also just draw pictures. The pictures will last for a few days, until it rains, or can be easily washed off with a garden hose.

Deck of Cards

A deck or two of playing cards can be purchased very cheaply and opens up numerous games for kids. Kids can play Go Fish, War, Old Maid, Crazy Eights, Solitaire, and other simple games. Cards can also be used to build card houses or to do magic tricks. Check out a book of card games at the library and kids can entertain themselves for hours.

Feel free to post your favorite frugal toy ideas.

Feedback:

RE: Frugal Toys

If your yard is built with a hill, give kids big pieces of cardboard cut from boxes. They can use them like sleds on the grassy hill. My brother and I had hours of fun when we were kids.

Also make hand puppets out of brown lunch bags or old socks. (10/13/2005)

By Jan in NC

RE: Frugal Toys

I like the wood block idea. We did this, but also put on pictures of the kids' cousins, grandparents,and aunts and uncles using decoupage. They had a lot of fun with them. (10/13/2005)

By jillian357

RE: Frugal Toys

When I was young we used to play a game called "Frozen Statues" although there are probably variations on the name. Basically it costs nothing, all you need is some music (radio) or someone could clap their hands. How it's played is: One person is "It" and they stand with their back to the other players. While the music is played the other players have to dance or jump around and as soon as it stops they must freeze in whatever position they're in. If they move they're out of the game. If they hold the position the person who is "It" goes to each player in turn and tries to make them laugh without touching them, either by making silly faces or sounds, etc. If the player giggles or moves they're out. The players mustn't close their eyes as that's kind of cheating! You could set a time limit for each player (say 30 seconds to 1 minute). Then "It" moves to each other player. When they've tried everyone, then you play more music and go again until one player is left standing, they're the winner. The players who are already out can help "It" to make the others giggle and lose. It's great fun and I've seen some weird antics and face-pulling.

This can be played at kid's parties too with a treat or prize for the winner. We going to play it at a kid's Halloween party we're organizing through work and we're going to change the name to "Zombie Stomp" and for music play "The Monster Mash" and "Thriller" etc. (10/18/2005)

By jojo

RE: Frugal Toys

You can't go wrong with a plain old ball. (10/23/2005)

By

RE: Frugal Toys

When I was a kid, my Daddy was a bookkeeper/salesman for a furniture store. Since he was around there all the time he would occasionally bring home a cardboard refrigerator box.

Sometimes I would make a house out of it. Once I made a doll house with the help of my father. But I really enjoyed getting to finger paint on the cardboard. My Mama made finger paint from scratch, although I'm not sure of the recipe. Loads of fun from a simple old box. (01/30/2006)

By fab4mom

RE: Frugal Toys

The newer plastic Folgers Coffee cans are great for little ones to stack. They make walls for houses, forts, etc. For the smallest children you can put a smaller toy inside and they will entertain themselves with shaking it just to hear the noise that it makes. (01/30/2006)

By fab4mom

RE: Frugal Toys

I don't know if this is truly frugal or not but I buy lots of nice toys for my kids at garage sales. I even wrap up some for gifts. They don't know whether they were used or not and some I find are still new in package! (02/09/2006)

By Debbie52

RE: Frugal Toys

Dominoes - about one or two bucks at the store, and great for building, knocking over, and learning addition.

Mountain of cushions/blankets - or for forts; after vacuuming (we have a dog) our 4 and 1 year olds like to climb the cushions and hide/seek with the blankets. Great exercise for little one, and keeps him away from the stairs!

They love the cardboard box too!

Depending on weather and time, have a nature walk. We even did this in the city in the apartment courtyard with toads, or go down to the river bank. There are lots of places if you look. Most zoos and conservatories have free/reduced entrance for kids under 6. (02/10/2006)

By camo_angels

RE: Frugal Toys

Ha, just remembered, my oldest son's first set of blocks were the baby magic baby wipes containers! I bought those instead of refills for his first year....then I helped him build a "house" all around himself! That was fun, and they were reasonably priced (and the best wipes I ever used!) (03/25/2006)

By camo_angels

RE: Frugal Toys

Many of the containers you would normally trash are those frugal toys. Clean them up give them to a small child They will invent many fun uses.

Now for the rest of us Lids and bottle caps can be used in so many ways. I probably have mention many of them before. Here are 10 uses for those plastic soda bottle caps

1. Punch a hole in them twist back on the bottle filled with water squeeze bottle presto squirt gun. Or take a dishwashing liquid bottle cap on soda bottle A bigger stream squirt bottle.

2. Game pieces for board games Decorate them accordingly

3. Run a string through 3 or 4 bottle caps Presto they can be used for lawn darts or lawn golf Set up a 18 target course and keep score.

4. Bottle caps and a basin full of water How many games could be made from that?

5. Bottle caps slide well on on cardboard sidewalks and table tops. Hockey anyone?among other games

6. Bottle caps for concentration glue pictures or colors on the inside.

7. Homemade shuttlecock for badminton I used a piece of a handkerchief and it worked well until it got wet

8. Make paper figures glue or tie then to bottle caps to make them stand up straight.

9. Paint Bottle caps with glow in the dark paints have night time treasure hunt

10. Bottle cap and a paper or plastic cup both attached to a string. A TOSS AND CATCH GAME.

The bigger lids have even more possibilities As frugal toys.All that is needed is a little imagination by the user. Every game or toy that was ever invented came from the power of imagination which we all have. We need to use it more.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL (06/11/2006)

By Mr. Thrifty

RE: Frugal Toys

I also used the refrigerator boxes for play houses for my kids and grandkids (still do when we get the chance). Another thing we used to do when I was a kid was take old sheets or blankets and use the clothesline in the back yard to make tents. All we did was use the clothes pins and we had some of the old straight kind for stakes, but I'm not sure if you can get them anymore. Make sure it's something you don't care about if it gets messed up though. We have even done this in the house when we have had a grandkids only night at our house in the winter. (06/13/2006)

By PeggyLee