Today we’ll show you 15 junk play ideas with following materials: plastic grocery bags, advertising / promotional magnets, books, cereal boxes, plastic bottles and packing peanuts.
On March 1st we started with 60 Day Junk Play Challenge along with 35 other kid friendly bloggers where we pull out different material each day from our recycle bins and repurpose them for play.
Surely you have at home many of these materials in your own recycle bin! Take a look at these ideas and get inspired to join us for #junkplay in next 2 months!

Day 2 material was PLASTIC BAGS and we had 3 different ideas for this material:
- Lovely Recycled Plastic Bag Flowers using 2 things from recycle bin: plastic bags and cellophane paper.
- Easy to make Plastic Bag Pom Poms for little cheerleaders in your life!
- And our own Green Shamrock Suncatcher we made using cardboard and plastic bags we had on hand at home
Day 3 material was ADVERTISING / PROMOTIONAL MAGNETS and this is how we played:
- Upcycling Kid’s Artwork and applying it over advertising magnets to turn it from ugly to keepsake on a fridge.
- Playing with Washi Tape Make Over for our magnets to turn them to something beautiful we now like displayed on our fridge.
On day 4 we played with BABY FOOD JARS in 2 very different ways:
- Make Spiderman Cake in a Jar for little boys! Awesome and yummy!
- Or play with Nail Polish Drip Decoration over baby food jar with little girls!
Day 5 material was BOOK or BOOK PAGES and we shared:
- Totally awesome way to Turn Old Board Book Into an Art Journal for Kids.
- We also came up with 3 Ways to Upcycle Old Scribbled Workbook and extend it’s life!
Day 6 brought us awesome playtime with CEREAL BOXES:
- I was amazed by this tutorial for DIY Seed Paper from cereal boxes!
- And we marbled our cereal box and turned it in a Rainbow Purse. Than played with it for hours!
On day 7 we took our PLASTIC BOTTLES to use them for #junkplay:
- Stuffed with Lego pieces they became awesome Lego Calm Down Bottles! Got a Lego lover around? They will surely love this!
- Or stuff Plastic Bottle with Pom Poms for fine motor skill practice for tiny toddlers.
For a last day of the first week of 60 Day Junk Play Challenge, we played with packing peanuts:
- Use Packing Peanuts for Construction is great way to get little builders interested!
- Or, create easy and yummy Easter Chocolate Eggs Hunt in packing peanuts sensory bin!
Looking for more fun things to do with your kids? We want to recommend you our new book – Learn with Play (150+ Activities for Year-Round Fun and Learning)! You will find inside easy to prepare activities for everyday fun as well for all seasons and holidays! Here is a preview for you:
Book is available as:
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