Our posts are usually about homemade baby items of the edible kind – but today’s post was inspired by a visitor to our Travel With Baby section who wrote to tell us about how she keeps her baby occupied on long car trips:
Based on the principle that my baby loves to pull all of the baby wipes out of the packet, I made one of these tissue box toys and it kept him busy for quite a while. It also kept my eldest daughter busy as she was the one given the job of refilling the box every time he emptied it!
We think this is a fun idea – safe, cheap and very easy to make!
It also reminded us of an article we shared in our newsletter several years ago, where we described how we create homemade board books! As the online version of that newsletter is no longer available, we thought we’d post the article here!
Homemade board books for baby
This is a simple idea, but one that may keep your baby happy for ages!
Making your own books is not only a great money saving idea, but also gives your baby’s books a wonderful, personal touch that money can’t buy!
Just take a long strip of very heavy, good quality cardboard or poster board (a good art shop will have what you need).
Fold the strip of card back and forth – like a concertina – into equal sections. Round off any sharp edges with a pair of scissors and use a ruler to deepen the creases between each section.
Stick a family photograph on to each “page” of your book, both on the back AND the front.
Cover the photos with clear, adhesive film – or stick the photos to the board BEFORE you fold it and have the entire board laminated.
Remember to check that your baby isn’t chewing the book to the extent that pieces may come off in his mouth… if he is, then simply discard it and make a new one!
And that’s all there is to it – a simple board book with pictures your baby will love!
After we published that article in our newsletter, we received a message from another parent who used an even easier method – she put her family photos into individual zip top bags, then sewed the bags together along one edge. Hey presto – a wipe clean ‘book’!
If you have any nice and easy homemade toy ideas for baby, please do contact us here!
And if you’re looking for some cool toys to keep baby occupied when travelling but don’t feel like making them yourself, check out some of our favourites here: