There is nothing quite like a toy that keeps them happy for hours. The only thing that rivals it is a toy that keeps them happy for hours that is probably already in your house and therefore FREE! With the boys breaking up for Easter in about 90 minutes, here's my top free toys you already have in your house to entertain the kids with over the holidays. Please add more in the comments, I'm going to be needing all the inspiration I can get over the next 2 weeks.
5. Cardboard Boxes: Genius these. Can be used for almost anything including making tunnels, doorways to intricate camp systems, cars and/or boats. We also love them for their ability to be used in obstacle courses and to be painted. Wine boxes work particularly well as multi story garages. The Internet shopping bonanza which always precedes the arrival of a pile of cardboard boxes is also great, but according to Dave not absolutely necessary.
4. Pots, pans and wooden spoons: Nothing like seeing the bottom of some pans to release Luke's inner drummer. It isn't good for noise levels, not great for the bottom of the pans but he LOVES it.
3. empty shampoo / bubble bath bottles: In this Octonauts mad household they make great 'Gup A' 'Gup C*' boats. Occasionally they are submarines or rocket launchers and they have the added benefit of also squirting water! Genius although my washing doesn't get dry all that often.
2. Hand whisk, washing up bowl and washing up liquid. Oh, the bubbles. Oh, the fun. Oh, the mess!
1. The bottom of the toy box. All those toys you thought they'd grown out of? Suddenly incredibly exciting and must be played with / taken to bed / whatever small boys do with toys. I keep trying to put toys away (so I can give them to Sam in years to come, hoping that the bigger boys will have forgotten that the toys used to belong to them), but am being thwarted at every turn. We now have all the toys strewn over the house and not one can possibly go into a box.
*I have no idea what these boats are either, but that is what the various shampoo bottles are now called and who am I to question?