Sarra’s hack reminded me how fun it can be discovering what a toddler finds interesting:
After I was done with my Christmas wrapping, I had a bunch of empty wrapping paper rolls and bits of paper too small to use. I cut the paper into small squares, and applied lines of glue to the cardboard rolls, and my son had a blast gluing paper to the rolls. It kept him entertained and in one spot for over an hour.
My son just took the rolls and beat up the Christmas tree! He is a handful…
Great idea! My 4yo was making holiday cards for friends and relatives and she ran out of the holiday stickers I pulled out a bunch of wrapping paper scraps and she cut those and glued them on the pictures. She was just as pleased with them as the stickers and they made great collage pictures. She also used wrapping papers scraps at school to make a wreath. They cut the middle out of a paper plate and glued cut up wrapping paper to the ring that was left and then punched holes in the top and used a ribbon for a hanger.
I save the leftover strips and scraps that are too small to use, and use them the next year as makeshift tissue paper for gifts in bags!!
My daughter uses the scraps to wrap her “presents” — generally random objects from her room that she will either unwrap herself in pretend play or give to her brother, etc. Much better than throwing out the scrap, though much tape is wasted in the process.
This is a great idea, much more creative than what happened to the rolls in my house. I have yet to have any kids but my puppy enjoyed the gift wrap rolls quite a bit as well (unfortunately they still had plenty of useful paper attached at the time). This site offers great ways to keep children’s minds occupied. As a representative for NY Kids Club I would like to invite you to check out the clubs offerings on their website: http://www.nykidsclub.com. Their staff is always looking to improve classes and give kids innovative ways to keep their minds and bodies active.