How to Make a Busy Box

Hey there! Welcome to 10 on the 10th, where some really fun and talented bloggers get together on the 10th of the month to share their ideas for under $10. This months theme is tips while social distancing. My tip?  Keep your children busy! One theme I’m seeing a lot of on social media is Mom’s wondering how to keep their children from being bored. 

So today I’m sharing: How to build a busy box!

What is a busy box?

A busy box can be any container, a box, a duffle bag, a tote or as you will see today, a suitcase! The busy box can be plain jane or it can be decorated to the nines!

It’s up to you!

Once you have your container, you will fill it with things to keep your children busy! With Social distancing, my suggestion is to rotate out toys, games etc. that you already have in your home. Or, if you are going through shopping withdrawal, Amazon still delivers. The beauty of a busy box is that it can cost you nothing at all!

We all know that my busy box was not going to be plain Jane. Hey, don’t judge! I got nothing but time on my hands! My BFF Roxanne was selling this cute little suitcase at a garage sale. I picked it up for $5.00! It only measures about 15″ x 10.5″ x 6″. The perfect size for a busy box.

I could have left this cute little suitcase just like it was, however the insides had seen better days and there were a few tears on the outside. So I decided to spiff it up using only items I had on hand. My solution? To cover the insides with material. I measured the bottom, top and sides, added 1″ to all measurements and cut out the material.

Giving the suitcase a new lining was pretty easy. I used Spray mount to attach the material to the suitcase. For the bottom and top I simply sprayed the adhesive and added the material, making sure to smooth out any bubbles.

For all side pieces of material, I folded the material under 1/2 ” and ironed it to stay in place. Once that was done, I sprayed the sides and added the material to the suitcase.

Once the material had been attached to the suitcase, I added some black gimp around the edges to give it a finished look. I simply hot glued it on!

As you can see the ends of the suitcase had seen better days!

I found some fun scrapbook paper in my stash.

Then using white glue, I glued it to the ends. For me it was a super cute and easy solution!

Now for the fun part! Filling it up. For me it was easier to decide what to put in my busy box by thinking of a theme. And once I started thinking I came up with a ton of ideas based on what I had on hand.

Here are just a few of the themes I came up with:

1. Dress Up
2. Tea Party
3. Legos
4. Games
5. Art
6. Cars and Trucks
7. Picnic
8. Train set
9. Outdoor games
10.Gardening
11. Beauty box
12. Scavenger Hunt.

Really the list is endless!

For older kids a game box would be fun. Just fill it with old favorites or with new games that they haven’t played before. I’m willing to bet we all have a ton of games that haven’t been played in a while!

What little wouldn’t enjoy a tea party? I added a few dress up items. A boa, tiara and some fancy jewelry. Throw in a tea set and a stuffed animal or two and your busy box is full!

Other than spending zero money on a busy box, the best part is that it’s easy clean up and store. When the littles are done playing, pack it up and return to mom. Who will hopefully fill it up for the next time the kids get bored!
So how much did I spend on my busy box?

$5.00.

Everything else was already here at The Castle!

Now I hope that you will join me and visit my fellow bloggers and see what wonderful tips they are sharing!

At Home With Jemma
Blue Sky at Home
Let’s Add Sprinkles
Pandora’s Box
Decorate and More with Tip
The House House
The Apple Street Cottage