Easy DIY Baby Toys

Winters in New York… They’re cold, dark and long, and baby is likely to spend the majority of his or her day inside while waiting for spring and park season to resurface. Luckily, baby is also easily amused, and you can create toys to entertain him or her in the meantime!

I am not a fan of having too many store-bought, junky toys for my baby girl to play with. We don’t allow plastic, batteries and bells and whistles in toys, and I prefer her to play with things that stimulate creativity, such as blocks, books, and handmade dolls. Also, since almost everything ends up in her mouth, I like to stay away from toxic nasties!

So I build easy DIY toys for baby to play with and, if like me you’d rather not fill the nursery with plastic junk, want to share two of my latest projects with you. I am not a big DIY type by nature, so you can rest assured these homemade baby toy ideas are beyond simple to make and will provide tons of delicious baby belly laughs!

Here are two DIY baby toys for fun indoor play.

1. GLITTER JARS.

Who doesn’t like pretty, sparkly things? Glitter jars are easy to make in a variety of shapes and sizes. Simply fill a small glass spice jar or mason jar with warm water, tons of glitter in different sizes and a little clear glue or glitter glue. Then shake, shake, shake to mix it all up and dissolve the glue. If your baby has an older sibling, this is a fun craft to do with them and then give to the baby. My older daughter loves making these jars for her baby sister to play with. Babies love staring at the glitter as it slowly moves through the jar. When light hits just right and they sparkle, it’s like baby diamonds!

2. BABY SLED.

If you have kids, then you have what feels like an endless stream of boxes coming into your house. From diaper deliveries to Amazon Prime, sometimes it feels like the trips to the recycling room never end! One of our favorite winter activities is to turn a shipping box into a baby sled! Simply fold down on end of the box and line it with a blanket and a pillow to make it secure and cozy for baby. Then cut a hole in one end of the box and attach a “leash.” I used an old bathrobe belt here, but rope is also great if you have any around. Find a hardwood surface and gently (gently!) pull your baby around the room. Big siblings love to get in on the action here too. Just make sure that if a child is taking your baby “sledding,” they are well supervised!