If your family is anything like ours, you know that cardboard boxes have a way of piling up. But if you’re tired of taking them out for recycling, there is a much more fun alternative. Where some parents see mess, others see potential for creative play. Here are just a few fun, screen-free crafts to keep kids entertained on long summer afternoons– all reusing pieces of cardboard that you may have lying around your house!
For more fun crafts and activities, check out our collection of award-winning children’s magazines!
Purr-fect Cardboard Cat House
Make a cozy home for your favorite kitty to rest in with this easy activity!
What you’ll need:
- 1 shoebox
- 2 medium-sized cardboard boxes
- Masking tape
- Scissors (and a grownup to supervise)
- Paint, glue, markers, magazine pages, or decorations of your choice
What to do:
- Flatten one cardboard box to make a long base and tape the shoebox on top. If your shoebox comes with an attached lid, you can tape it to the cardboard base to make a ramp for your cat. If your lid is separate, you can tape it on both sides– to the shoebox and the base.
- Flatten the second cardboard box. Fold it lengthwise in a few places so it will arch over the top of the shoebox and the cardboard base. Tape this arched roof to your base. If your roof needs support, tape another piece of cardboard inside as a pillar for strength. Add more tape where you need to and trim anything you don’t like.
- Decorate! Paint your favorite colors, add pictures from magazines, write your cat’s name, or anything else your heart desires! Finally, add a cozy blanket for your kitty!
Ramp Racer Champ
Build a super slope and challenge your friends to a fast-paced game with this cool craft from SPIDER Magazine!
What you’ll need:
- Big cardboard box
- Small cardboard box
- Duct tape
- Scissors
- Wrapping paper
- Paper cups
- Marker
- Little toy cars
- Racing pals
What to do:
- Tape shut the small box. Flatten the big box. Tape over the flat box’s gaps from its flaps.
- Tape the flat box to the small box at an angle to make a ramp.
- Cover the ramp with wrapping paper. Tuck and tape the wrapping paper underneath the boxes.
- Cut a cup in half lengthways. Line up the bottom of a cup half with the bottom of the ramp, and tape down. Keep cutting and taping until there’s a line of cups all the way across the ramp.
- Write a 3 on the corner cups. Write a 2 on the cups next to them. Write a 1 on the rest.
How to play:
Each racer holds on to a car at the top of the ramp. The group calls, “Start your engines!” and releases their cars. If your car drops completely into a cup, you get the points on that cup. If your car zooms off the ramp, gets stuck on top of the cups, or only goes partway in, you get no points. Keep playing. The first racer to earn 10 points wins!
Secret Kid Cave
This is the ultimate cardboard box craft! Don’t expect your garden variety box fort– it’s an amazing cave full of mysterious prehistoric paintings!
What you’ll need:
- At least eight corrugated cardboard pieces, cut into 18-inch squares
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Markers, crayons, or paint and paintbrushes
What to do:
- Measure and mark 9 inches down from the corner on all four sides of a cardboard square.
- From one of the marks, draw a 2-inch line toward the middle of the square. Make a cut on this line and another cut slightly over. Remove the sliver of cardboard. Repeat for all sides.
- Lay this piece on the other cardboard squares and use as a pattern to mark four side cuts on each one.
- Now decorate one side of every square with cave drawings. Trace your hand, sketch pets or animals, draw yourself playing your favorite sport, or make up your own mysterious symbols!
- Slide the slots of two cards together. Repeat until your cave is finished.
Corncob Lob
Have you ever played cornhole? This version of the game isn’t a beanbag toss but literally feeds corncobs to a hungry piggie! It’ll be a hit at your next backyard barbecue, especially if corn on the cob is on the menu!
What you’ll need:
- Bubble wrap
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Paint and paintbrush
- Paint bowl
- Large paper plate
- Big cardboard box
- Pencil
- Construction paper
- Glue
- Notepad
- Marker
- 5 empty cardboard toilet paper rolls
What to do:
- Cut the bubble cushioning wrap into 5 pieces, each about 12 inches by 8 inches. Paint each flat side yellow. Paint the bowl’s bottom pink. Let dry.
- Cut the plate in half. Trace one half onto the box’s bottom with the plate’s curve toward the box’s edge. Ask an adult to cut out the semicircle.
- Put the plate piece in the middle of a paper. Trace the curve. Cut out. Snip off the corners on the long, uncut side to make a u shape. On a second paper’s long side, also round off two corners.
- Align the u-shaped paper with the box cutout’s curve. Glue down. Align the other paper’s straight side with the cutout’s straight side. Glue down.
- Cut out two ears. Glue to the pig’s head. Glue the bowl snout above the mouth hole. Weigh it down with a notepad until the glue dries. Then draw nostrils and eyes.
- Roll a wrap (bubble side out) around each toilet paper roll. Tuck the sides into the roll.
How to play:
Place the ruler several feet away from the pigpen box. Standing behind the ruler, toss the corncobs to your hog. Count one point for each corncob that lands on the pigpen and two points for each that goes into the pig’s mouth!
Story Storage
Kids will love love this unique way to store all of their favorite Cricket magazines! All you need is a cereal box and a little creativity!
What you’ll need:
- Empty cereal box at least 11 inches tall and 8 inches wide
- Pen
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Recycled paper (like magazine pages, newspaper, wrapping paper, postcards, or photos)
- Glue
What to do:
- Cut off top of the cereal box.
- Make a mark halfway across the top of the box, and another mark about 5 inches up from the bottom. Using a ruler, draw a diagonal line to connect the two marks.
- Cut down your diagonal line, cut straight across the spine, then cut back up the other side of the box at the same diagonal angle.
- Gather your paper, scissors, and glue and start decorating. You can cover your holder with one type of paper or layer on different kinds to make a collage!
What’s your favorite way to reuse cardboard boxes?
