Who needs a babysitter or gaming system if you’ve got cardboard boxes laying around?  Hands down, these are THE greatest, THE most universal toy of all time, throughout all time.  They transcend gender and favor no region.  It is the same across the world, for every boy or girl.

But wait…not everyone is creative, right?  Well, thankfully for us, there are A LOT of creative people out there, and double thankful for us is that we have the internet where those creative people can post their creative ideas for us to discover and try to duplicate.  And so, without further ado, here are 5 fabulous and fun ideas for how to transform your cardboard boxes into an amazing time:

CASTLE– hands down, the first and most obvious suggestion is a fortress! The bigger the box the better, but don’t be discouraged because you can put together smaller boxes and still make a super convincing castle (do I need to specify sans moat?).

BALL MAZE– a favorite with little boys, this is the option for when you have a bunch of wrapping paper or paper towel tubes laying around. A couple ping pong balls or matchbox cars call this complete, although you will probably find yourself joining the youngsters as they experiment with what will and what will not roll.

SLIDE– have you ever used a towel or a strip of cardboard to go down the stairs like a slide? Well, the idea has developed into something much safer, and MUCH more comfortable.  Take all of your cardboard boxes, open them up and tape them together laying over the stairs.  Don’t forget to put a couple pillows or a mattress at the bottom for the best results possible.

STOREFRONT– every kid loves to play “store” or “restaurant”. If you have some engineering skills, or at least a lot of self-confidence, take some time to cut out a storefront and add some cardboard shelves where the junior entrepreneurs can hock their wares.

BEANBAG GAME– any box at all will be perfect for the beanbag game, and the best part is that you only need one box! Cut it in half diagonally and then cut some holes in the new “tops”.  Make the holes different sizes, worth higher and lower points.

If you don’t have any beanbags on hand, fill up some old socks with whatever is close enough to dried beans and tie the tops shut.  Great for a rainy day, and the kind of game mom and dad don’t mind being asked to play.