Homemade Toys from Household Items

There are so many fun toys you can make out of household objects! Many of these toys can be made from items you'd normally throw away or send to the recycling center. Try some of these homemade toy ideas using household items.

1. Rattle

For babies who are still too young to unscrew a cap, you can use a plastic water bottle to make a rattle. Simply put some colorful, dry beans in the bottle (once it's dry) and screw on the cap. Babies can toll or shake the bottle for visual and auditory stimulation.

2. Drums

The round, cardboard containers that oatmeal comes in are great for drums; the plastic lids act as resonant drum heads. If you have another canister or cylinder-shaped container without a lid, you can cut a balloon to make a rubber "skin." Stretch this over the canister and secure with a rubber band.

3. Building Blocks

Cover used boxes (such as those used for shoes, tissues, gifts, and so forth) with wrapping paper and use as stackable blocks. These are large and lightweight, making them ideal for young children. And if they get crushed, you can just make more.

4. "Levitating" Balls

All you need for this fun toy are a couple of ping pong balls, or balls similarly light and hollow, and a hair dryer. Hold the hair dryer so that its nozzle is pointing upward. Turn the hair dryer on and, holding it steady, place a ping pong ball into the air stream. Let go, and the hair dryer will cause the ball to stay in the air as much as a foot above the hair dryer's nozzle. Try to add more balls into the air stream.

5. Marble Run

Kids can get an elaborate or simple as they like with this one, depending on their age and interest level. You will need:

* Cardboard tubes of various sizes, such as paper towel tubes (the sturdier the better)
* Disk magnets (any flat, lightweight magnets will do; you can even remove them from old fridge magnets)
* Plastic tub such as a yogurt or margarine container
* Hot glue gun

Glue two or three disk magnets to each tube, making sure they are in a straight line down one side. Glue several magnets to one side of the plastic tub. Then put the tubes on a magnetic surface, such as a refrigerator, in various designs, ending with the plastic tub to catch the marbles.