A variety of toys can be made out of cardboard boxes. The only restriction is your imagination and ingenuity in things to construct using old storage boxes and other materials which are already available in the house. There is no need to spend a lot of money on presents for Christmas, you can work with the kids to make fun stuff from cardboard boxes. Very young children prefer to play with the box in which the toy was delivered in any case, ;leaving aside the expensive toy for another day. Wendy houses, robots, dragons, farmyards and castles are just some of things you can craft from cardboard boxes with a little imagination, patience and a little time. You will spend quality time with the kids, and they will have hours of fun.
Children often imagine driving big vehicles, and a fire truck is a great toy to build. You can use this as an educational exercise while teaching the kids about fire engines, why and when they may be needed. To build a great fire truck, you will first need to decide whether it will be a vehicle they can ride in or whether it will be a toy box. The former is much more fun, and to build a fire truck you will need a cardboard box which is big enough for your child to get inside and pretend to drive, and robust enough to withstand rough handling. You will also need scissors, four paper plates for the wheels, red and black paint, three paint brushes (one for each colour), glue, and black, white, blue and orange construction paper. Building your fire truck out of a cardboard box can be messy, so put newspaper down on the work area and wear old clothes.
Firstly, cut the bottom out of the cardboard box or storage box so that the child can get inside and walk around with it and pretend to be a firefighter. Paint the whole cardboard box red and leave it to dry. Paint the four paper plates black and leave them to dry. Headlights and fenders can be cut from white construction paper and glued to one end of the truck. Light blue construction paper is used for the wind screen and windows and also glued to the end of the cardboard box. Next, glue the painted paper plates to the cardboard box to make the wheels and cut circles of white construction paper for the hub caps. The orange construction paper can be cut into ladders of the correct size and stuck on each side of the fire truck. You can paint the fire hoses in black underneath the ladders or use black construction paper and stick it on.
The finished product is a beautiful fire truck made out of a large cardboard box. If you want to leave use the fire truck as a toy box, leave the bottom in the cardboard box and it will provide a great place for your children to store their toys and keep them tidy. By constructing a fire truck out of a cardboard box instead of throwing it away, you will have recycled the box which means less waste for your household and lowering your carbon footprint while having fun.
