I'm cheap, especially on the subject of toys. Sometimes, it's just really hard to know if your kid is going to love that thing they want at the store. I'm sure we have all been burned on this before.
My son is almost 2, so these are toys for toddlers.
1. Cars through a tube.
You do need to have some cars on hand for this one, but we seem to collect them without much trouble. If you really can't find any you can afford, then ask someone who has older boys if you can have or borrow two or three cars. This could also work with other toys you have around -- small bouncy balls, small plastic figures, etc.
The tube is a photo tube we got in the mail when we ordered a large print from Snapfish. I like it because it is sturdy and has caps -- so, we can clean up by stashing all the cars inside the tube. But, a wrapping paper or toilet paper tube could work, too.
Putting cars through a tube is about 800% more fun than playing with cars when you do not have a tube. It's a tunnel, a slide, or a thing to look through depending on the mood. Also great fun at the park, where you can half-bury it in the sand or dirt, or just stuff it full of mulch.
2. Pennies into the slot.
My son loves to put money into the piggy bank, so I made him this toy so we could do it whenever he wanted, instead of whenever we had change on hand. Technically, this toy requires some pennies, but consider it a 10 cent deposit, since you can have them back later.
I used a container we got at the grocery store with some bulk raisins, so technically we did pay for it. But, they have them there for free, and if your grocery store doesn't have these, you could also use a cheap tupperware or cardboard box. I used a kitchen knife to score the top on both sides and then popped out the slit in the top.
3. Color matching game.
I got this idea from Pinterest. That user got really cute Disney color cards and them modge-podged them onto cardstock. I could not find cute Disney paint. I went to Home Depot and was planning to get some of the paint chip/sample cards and cut them up, glue them to cards, etc. BUT, when I got there, it turns out that they have these fancy extra large color-saturated paint cards that are perfectly fine to use all by themselves, no gluing or anything. Just get two of each main color: red, orange, yellow, etc. Yes, they all have the name of the color written on the back, but I figure by the time my son can read this game will be long gone anyway.
The best part is, he has gotten excited about naming all the colors since we started playing this last week, so he is learning at the same time. Yay!
4. Stacking cups.
These cups were left over from a party we had last year when we catered in some food from a BBQ place. Any plastic or paper cups will work; they do not even need to be the same size (although, if you want clean up to be neat and tidy, it helps). We have others from an annual beer festival, and a few from nearby restaurants ... if you don't have anything on hand, ask around. At my old job, the kitchen cabinets were full of these from business lunches and no one ever remembered to use them.
Simply begin stacking them into a pyramid and your child will be drawn to the need to kick it or smash it to the ground. If they get bored of that, let them stack them up and you can smash them down. Endless fun.
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