Adventure in a Box
It’s an old joke that children have more fun with the box their gift came in, than with the gift itself.
I can vouch for that! My children have always had a thing for cardboard boxes. Apple boxes became cars when they were smaller… shoe boxes have been made into leprechaun traps… and they love to paint boxes and cut out windows and doors to use with their favorite action figures…
That’s why I knew I had hit a jackpot when I found Mr. McGroovy’s Website.
Ben’s birthday was coming up and he wanted a pirate party. I was looking for ideas and ran across Mr. McGroovy’s instructions to make this pirate ship out of refrigerator boxes. I know our ship isn’t fancy… especially compared to the the ones on the website… but it was a major hit and lasted for almost 2 months after the party. (…and saw many swashbuckling adventures, I might add.)
I had to call around town to find the refrigerator boxes. I finally found them at a large furniture store’s delivery warehouse. They were free. Then all it took was a little time and paint. I didn’t order Mr. McGroovy’s grommets, because I didn’t have time to get them before the party, so we made two holes about an inch apart and looped a cable tie through the two holes. We did this at every spot you were supposed to use a grommet. Once it was constructed and everything pulled snug, we trimmed all the loose end of the cable ties.
We made the pyramid for Ben’s 8th birthday party last year… an Indiana Jones party. The door looks ripped because it is. I created the door with butcher paper covered with hieroglyphic symbols that the kids had to decode before entering the pyramid. Once inside it was filled with plastic snakes, green glow sticks to make a spooky aura, and glow in the dark paint hieroglyphics on the walls… and their treasure of course! This party goer said he didn’t like the snakes…
The pyramid was equally fun and long lasting. And even though I didn’t take the time to paint the pyramid, the kids didn’t seem to mind.
If you are looking for cheap adventure for your kids… why not transform an old cardboard box into something really fun. I know we enjoyed making the projects as much as the kids loved playing in them.
Check out Mr. McGroovy’s very groovy site… there are lots of free instructions for wonderful projects.
My children also are big fans of boxes! We tend to have some stashed all over the place for the kids special projects. They will love this website. Thanks!
what a riot! I have never seen anything like that before and am definitely going to have to give this a try!
the pirate ship is the coolest thing ever.
That pyramid is the most amazing thing! I want to make one when I have kids!
OH! I am so going to Mr. McGroovys site! If you have time to take a look at my blog you will see where our cardboard adventure took us. :) I have a plan for this winter to turn our basement into a village for my Little Missy.
Who knew cardboard could be SO much fun! Thanks for directing me to his site.
Oh and PS…if you need large boxes you can check your local body shops too! We used a HUGE box from a new car bumper for our project. It worked out great!