Old Toys into New Toys

[RogueBabe]

Children today seem to have too many toys, and mine are no exception. Lately our biggest thing, besides donating them, has been to come up with new ideas for them. Here are some of the ways we have come up with to recycle the toys. By doing so, we have also created a new interest in those toys.

Lego People and Smaller Toys

These make great fridge magnets! We bought a roll of magnetic tape but the tape didn’t stick very long. So, we added a drop of hot glue between the magnet and the toy. The little Lego people work very well for this and decorate even a boring white fridge! We also used this technique for little plastic bugs, animals and even small cars! Now the kids can play on the side of the fridge while making up grand stories! It’s a great way to inspire creativity and sometimes I even write down their stories. On rainy days, they draw pictures to go with the stories and the kids are creating their own book of the “Magnetic Adventures.”

Stuffed Animals

Stuffies seem to multiply all by themselves. Every time you look, there are more of them! Not all of them are perfect though and several will be missing an eye, some stuffing, or have a tail missing. We came up with a lot of different ideas for these. One of our favorites is to make a “Stuffie Blankie.” Take the smallest stuffed animals that don’t have too much stuffing and attach them all over an old blanket. We just tack them on with a bit of thread here and there. Sometimes you may have to remove some of the stuffing so they’re not too heavy. My kids love spreading out their blankets and seeing all the great stuffed animals on them. Another great idea was to attach their hands and we hung them across the room like a stuffie border. Little stuffed animals also make great mobiles. These are wonderful to hang from a child’s ceiling and this keeps them off the floor too. We made our mobile with coat hanger wire, ribbon and clothespins. We used clothespins so they wouldn’t be permanently attached and the kids change them out a couple of times a month. One more great idea for old stuffies…Make puppets out of them! Sometimes you can cut them off at the waist and remove the stuffing (you should leave the head stuffed if possible) and there’s a puppet! Sometimes you don’t even have to cut them though…You can just un-stuff them if they are small enough. Then your children can have a great time putting on a puppet show! Need a stage? A large box turned over with a square or rectangle cut out of it makes a great one. Let your children decorate the box for an even grander stage.

Electronic and Battery-Operated Games

Use only games that no longer work for this idea. We have a large box of game controllers, games, and lots of electronic stuff that just doesn’t work anymore. On days when we’re all bored, we pull out the box and some tools and create our own things. Some days we just practice using screw drivers and taking things apart. Other days the kids try to ‘fix’ whatever’s wrong with the item. More oft than not though, they end up piecing together the most magnificent creations! One of my boys made a dinosaur out of an old Game Cube controller, a calculator and some small electronic boards out of another toy. It turned out really great and sits on top of his book case. For things that need a little help holding together, we usually use either a glue gun or sticky putty. Make sure only age-appropriate things are in the box.

Computer Games and CDs

Sometimes computer games, DVDs and CDs become so scratched, there’s no way it can be fixed. But guess what? These make the most wonderful rainbows in the sunlight! You can clip a paperclip at the top and then loop a ribbon through it. When you hang these in a window or on a porch and the sunlight plays off of them, they make gorgeous rainbows! They spin in the wind and the rainbows move all over. My daughter put several of these together and created a “CD Curtain” that hangs on her wall. It’s almost like having a disco ball in her room on really sunny days because the light bounces and color floods everywhere.

See what ideas you and your children can come up with! The ideas are endless!

Until next time, stay fun and hug your precious little one…

*Hugs*

~Kim

[Childavenue]

Thanks for the ideas Kim. I especially like your idea for the small toys and using the magnets.

One thing that we used to do with our old toys is have an exchange day with our playgroup. We would bring our old things and have a pot luck and let the kids exchange them for new toys.

You just have to be ready though that the kids are ready to part with their old things, it's sometimes hard with the younger one's to see other kids going home with their toys. Sometimes we would just have the adults take turns with the kids to shop for toys and then stick them in a bag to take home later so they wouldn't fight over anything.

[Kylansmom]

These are such cute ideas Kim.

Thank you for sharing!

Angie

[RogueBabe]

The playgroup trade is an awesome idea Thank you so much for that I'm always looking for new ideas to add to my articles I'm glad you like the ideas that I had also

*Hugs*

~Kim

[Childavenue]

We love doing the swaps, it's always so much fun for everyone and we usually donate the extra items to a charity or women's group depending on what we are swapping.

You can do media swaps (music, magazines, books, videos, dvds) Kids Clothes, Maternity Clothes, Women's clothes, unwanted gifts (good for after Christmas - maybe do a bingo and use them as prizes).

If the group is big you can have different one's by themes or smaller groups just have everyone bring a bag of unwanted items.

I have a small article here if you want to read it:
http://www.childavenue.com/pages/pla...wap_party.html

[Send2chrissy78]

Thesse are great ideas, I wish I was this creative. We usually pass our stuff to a freecycle or a church though. But I think I will try the fridge magnts that sounds fun.

[RogueBabe]

My older children try to come up with ideas that the younger kids can do with them Very creative group I have here *LOL*

*Hugs*

~Kim

[Mommyland]

great ideas. Another thing to do with cds/dvds is to hang them in your trees they kep the birds away

[RogueBabe]

I didn't know that I bet it looks pretty with rainbows when the sun is shining too Great idea!

*Hugs*

~Kim

[Mommyland]

yea it does. I didnt know it either then I went to a friends house and she had al her childrens play stuff under the trees and there were all the disks up there. I asked why she said it keeps the birds out so it helps keep the bird poo off the toys so she isnt out there cleaning them. makes perfect sense to me so We did it and it works good. I hated having to go out there all the time to wash that stuff off.