If your family is anything like mine, you probably have a new Amazon box on your front step every day. These cardboard boxes can pile up quickly, and the recycle bin can only hold so many. So what do you do with all of the cereal boxes, cardboard tubes, and Amazon boxes? Here are 20 Fun Cardboard Box Crafts for Kids.
These cardboard crafts are perfect for imaginative play and fine motor skills and can create fun for children of all ages.
Cardboard Dollhouse
This cardboard house from Red Ted Art is the perfect addition to any playroom and is created with boxes of all sizes. Not only can you make this dollhouse out of cardboard boxes, but you can also cut and create furniture. Chairs, beds, and other pieces can all be made from cardboard scraps, giving your child hours of creating and fun!
Cardboard Stackers
Many of us had lincoln logs or something along those lines while growing up. These cardboard stackers from Meaningful Mama are the perfect way to give your child an excellent opportunity to create a cardboard maze, a cardboard tower, or even cardboard box castles.
Cardboard Box Pirate Ship
You are going to need some large boxes for this cardboard boat from Meri Cherry. Use duct tape to decorate the pirate boat and let your children enjoy hours of pirate ship roleplaying!
Small World Play
Imagine if you could have had a whole town made of cardboard boxes when you were little like they made at The Imagination Tree. The possibilities are endless for a fire station, house, library, and school. You could even just use one cardboard box and create many different scenes, like a construction site, farm, or volcano. Add some action figures, and you could easily make a superhero and villain battle scene!
Cardboard Box Car
Many people are using cardboard boxes to create box cars like they did at Repeat Crafter Me. Create some cars for your child’s racetrack-themed birthday and let the birthday kid and guests race around the backyard. You could also create a drive-in movie theater using these cardboard box cars!
Cardboard Easels
Have children who could color, draw, or paint all day? These DIY cardboard easels from ikat Bag are the perfect recycling project! These easels are perfect for birthday parties or outdoor coloring using just a small pizza box.
Cardboard Rocket Ship
3,2,1 BLAST OFF! This is the perfect craft for your space explorers. Whether they want to be Buzz Lightyear or an astronaut using just a couple of boxes, some tape, and aluminum foil, your little space lover will have the perfect rocket ship to explore space! Check it out at Lemon Lime Adventures.
Cardboard Box Barn
Farm animals are always a favorite with little kids. Who doesn’t love to make a cow moo or a chicken cluck? Creating a cardboard box barn like they did at See Vanessa Craft is a great way to let your children’s farm imagination run wild. If you only have a small box, don’t get too upset. You can create a mini cardboard box barn too!
Cardboard Puzzle
Puzzles are so much fun to do with kids, and they are even more fun when you use cardboard box panels and create your own like they did at Pink Stripey Socks! The puzzle ideas are endless, and you can create a shape puzzle, family, or color puzzle. Sometimes a surprise picture puzzle is a perfect gift too!
Cardboard Box Robot Collages
Do you have some leftover cardboard box pieces? Creating these fun cardboard robots is a great way to use up those scraps and other pieces of recycling like bottle caps, straws, beads, and more. Check them out at Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls.
Cardboard Slide
Stairs are not just for walking up and down anymore. Cardboard slides are taking over, and they are so much fun! You and your children can create a cardboard slide with just some duct tape and imagination like they did at Everyday Best.
Cardboard Box Airplane
There are many creative ways to use cardboard boxes, and creating an airplane with a spinning propeller is totally rad! Repeat Crafter Me has so many cardboard box activities on her website that it is hard to pick just one. But this cardboard airplane is definitely one of the coolest!
Cereal Box Aquarium
Cereal boxes always take up space in the recycling bin, and if you’re unable to have pets, your children are allergic, or you just don’t have time to take care of one. Creating an aquarium with some cardboard fish may be the perfect solution! See how they made it at 4 Kids 2 Moms.
Cardboard Puppet Theater
Puppets are some of the best toys you can get your child for their birthday or special holiday. They allow for so many imaginative play situations. When you have puppets, you need a puppet theater. There’s no need to spend over $100 on one off of Amazon. All you need is a couple of cardboard boxes like they did at This Crafty Family, and you’ve got yourself a theater.
Cardboard Box Marble Maze
Mazes are always a fun activity on a rainy day, whether in a puzzle book or creating their own. A cardboard marble maze is a fun way to recycle some cardboard boxes and popsicle sticks. A marble fun game is to have your children compete against one another and see who can complete the other’s maze first. Source: Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls
Cardboard Food Trucks
Food trucks are probably some of my favorite places to get food. The creations and deliciousness that generally come out of the restaurant on wheels are just hard to compete with! If you have a budding food truck owner or just a kid who likes to play pretend, these cardboard food trucks from Barley and Birch are the absolute cutest!
Cardboard Butterfly Wings
Butterflies are one of the most beautiful insects, and their colors make them so attractive. Your child can become a butterfly using paint and cardboard. These cardboard butterfly wings from Mini Mad Things are super simple to make and are absolutely the cutest!
Cardboard Robot Costume
Halloween is not the only day your child can play dress-up. Letting your child dress up and play whenever possible is a great idea. It is a form of imaginative play and can boost problem-solving and self-regulation skills. Plus, this robot from Crafts with Courtney is super cool looking!
Cardboard Pizza Oven
This cardboard box pizza oven was so easy to make and inspired hours of pretend play!
Cardboard Christmas Tree
Make a cardboard Christmas tree for kids to paint or decorate with stickers from a box. This is a fun activity for young children that want to decorate the tree over and over again.
Food Packaging Learning Activities
You can also use different food packaging boxes to make DIY learning activities! These food packaging learning activities are easy to make. When you are done, you just recycle them.
These are just 20 cardboard box craft ideas. There are about a million more on the internet. But, rounding up all the easy crafts for you seemed like the best idea. Cardboard boxes seem to be everywhere, and finding to keep them from piling up in your garage or recycling bin is awesome!
Jeanine
Thursday 27th of February 2014
Mrs.Nicole!!! You are just on FIRE these days pumping out post after post after post of inspiring kids activities! Thank you ever SOO much. I will try to find the time also to send you some photos of my youngster from the Christmas Set we purchased from you in December 2013!! I am actually considering ordering at least one 'supplies bundle' from you. I'll try to remember to send you a email over the next few weeks. In the meantime thank you so much for all if these great ideas and continued inspiration!
Nicole
Thursday 27th of February 2014
Awww thank you! That makes my day!