• Home
  • About Me
  • PR Friendly
    • Site Statistics
  • Copyright, Disclosure & Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Kid Crafts
    • Valentine’s Day Crafts & Activities
    • Easter Crafts & Activities
    • Summer Crafts & Activities
    • Halloween Activities & Crafts
    • Thanksgiving Crafts
    • Christmas Crafts & Activities
  • Dr. Seuss Activities
  • STEM Activities
  • Games for Kids
    • Shark Games for Kids
  • Shop

Cardboard Box Play: Valentine’s Sweet Shop!

January 28, 2014 by OneMommy

The other day a very large box came in the mail.   Of course, the kids claimed that box in an instant!

As they climbed inside giggling and popping their heads over the side, an idea formed in my mind.

The box made the perfect cardboard box playhouse.   The kids used it for lots of fun Valentine’s Day pretend play.

Looking for more ways to recycled those boxes?  Check out these 25+ Recycled Crafts for Kids.

cardboard box playhouse for Valentine's Day pretend play

 

Cardboard Box Playhouse

To make the sweet shop large enough for both of my sweeties (don’t want any fighting, after all!), I used another large box I had stored in the basement to help form our walls.

Then I covered the boxes with some of the brown packing paper that had filled up the over-sized box.   Once that was finished, it was time to decorate.

I drew curvy lines in an X on some paper plates.  I marked every other space space for the kids to color to create large mint candies to hang.

Then I showed them how to fold paper in half to cut out hearts.  We used some old shiny gift bags for some of our hearts.  For the preschooler it was easier for me to draw the half heart on the paper for him to then cut out.

A smaller box was turned into a sign for our pretend candy shop.

They had fun using the hot glue gun (with my constant supervision) to glue their decorations to the shop.

Finally, I got out some old Christmas tree lights that I almost donated, and draped them across the shop’s top.

 

cardboard box for pretend play

 

In no time at all the toy cash register was inside, along with all the cookies and cupcakes they could find in their play kitchen.

We bent red and white pipe cleaners into small candy canes to sell, and then I had one more treat for them!

A jar full of pom-pom gumballs!

pom-pom fine motor skills for pretend play

 

Dishing out pom-pom gumballs with the tongs is not only fun, it’s great practice for those fine motor skills!

 

It was time to open shop!

cardboard box pretend play

 

Large cardboard boxes are so much fun to turn into cardboard box playhouses.

This pretend candy shop is perfect for Valentine’s Day inspired pretend play.

 

You may also like:

  • Valentine’s Day Crafts & Activities
  • How to Create a Cardboard Castle
  • Fairy Soup Pretend Play

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Kids Crafts Tagged With: cardboard box craft, pretend play, recycled craft, Valentine's Day

Comments

  1. Donna DM Yates says

    January 29, 2014 at 11:25 am

    It’s adorable. I want to come over and play too. Wait. I want one of my own. Your children are going to be so creative for their entire lives.

  2. Morgan Prince says

    January 31, 2014 at 6:01 am

    What a great way of using cardboard boxes. My boys would love that!
    #LOBS
    Morgan x

    • OneMommy says

      February 5, 2014 at 3:24 pm

      Mine have both been having fun selling me treats!

  3. Angela @ Joy Focused Learning says

    February 1, 2014 at 10:11 am

    Nothing beats the excitement of a big empty box waiting to be turned into something! My little one loves when we get big boxes too. 🙂 Thanks for sharing at Anything Goes!

  4. Brooke (siayla) says

    February 3, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    I LOVE this idea!

Trackbacks

  1. Box Play Activities with Kids - Melissa & Doug Blog says:
    February 11, 2015 at 7:30 am

    […] Sweet Shop […]

Connect with me

Link to my Facebook Page
Link to my Pinterest Page
Link to my Twitter Page

Check Out My New Book & Popular Posts

Engineering Activities for Kids

how to make egg geodes

Straw Weaving -- weaving craft

how to make vanishing ghosts by melting packing peanuts

Search this site

Recent Posts

  • Make Learning Easier with DIY Math Manipulatives
  • Engineer a Truss Bridge with Craft Sticks
  • Dragon STEM Activities
  • Fun and Foamy Elephant Toothpaste Experiment
  • Shark Party Games — Perfect for Shark Week or a Shark-Themed Birthday Party

Proud Member

Women Online
Blog Meets Brand

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in