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You never know how a road trip with young kids is going to go. We went on one last year and it went great, but that means nothing a year later. This time around, it was really easy to come up with a whole bunch of activity ideas for my three year old daughter. But, I was at a loss when it came to my one year old son. He likes running around and throwing things. Both are really not helpful for sitting in the car. One of the things he likes running around with is the play scarves at library story time. So, I thought that he might like a DIY tissue box toy.
The store bought tissue box toys are really neat. I have had one sitting in my Amazon cart for months, but I wanted to make one that was a little more adapted to my exact need. Plus making it was a whole lot cheaper. Learn how to quickly and cheaply make one with whatever container works best for you and then how to optionally adapt it for travel.
How to Make a DIY Tissue Box Toy With Scarves for Play or Travel
Materials:
- Plastic container, box, or tissue box cover
- Tulle
- To adapt for travel:
- X-ACTO knife
- Baby buddy or similar attachment
DIY Tissue Box Toy:
First, you need to pick your container. If you want a classic design you can use a fabric tissue box cover or even make one. If you go that route, you will need to add a bottom to it. You can also be more unconventional and use whatever plastic container or small box you have laying around your house. I used an old couscous container. If you go that route, you need to clean your container. Mine had a frustrating label on it that I had to soak and use rubbing alcohol to get off. You can also paint or decorate your chosen container.
Then, it’s time to make the baby scarves. This was really easy. I just cut a few pieces of tulle to different lengths. Since it doesn’t fray when you cut it, you don’t even have to hem it. To check this, I did experiment with it a bit. I couldn’t pull hard enough to rip it apart, but I could rip it if I took an edge and pulled really hard. I don’t think my son can do the same motion with the same amount of force. But, if I’m wrong and he starts ripping them, I will go back and hem them all.
Lastly, put the baby scarves in the container and you have a really fun baby toy. You can also add DIY crinkly baby paper if you want a variety of textures. You can stop here or keep reading to find out how to adapt it for travel.
How to Adapt to a Toddler Car Activity:
To adapt this toy for travel, you need to make a way to attach it to a car seat. First, I got my son and put him in his car seat. I placed the scarf container in different places to see where he could reach it the best. Once I figured out the best place, I marked on the container where I needed to attach it to the carrying handle.
Then, I cut two thin slits on either side of the back of the plastic container using an X-ACTO knife. The below picture isn’t great, but if you look really carefully you can see the cuts on both sides of the container.
Next, I fed a Baby Buddy through the holes. I had these straps that are covered in snaps laying around from when my daughter was a baby. These work great and will make it easy to remove the tissue box toy when needed, but you can use whatever you have that works.
Lastly, I attached the plastic container to the car seat. I ended up installing it on the door side. The baby scarf container swivels a bit, so having the door next to it keeps it from moving too far away from my son. But, I can still swivel it away while I load him into his seat to make him less distracted and grabby while being loaded. I also kept the lid from my couscous container. If I put it on while I load him, it distracts him even less.
Conclusion of Play Scarf Tissue Box Toy
This was the perfect toy for my son. I had to laugh because when I first put it on his car seat he cried about it invading his space. Then, I saw him tentatively pull a tulle scarf out. And then before I knew it, he was playing peekaboo with them and laughing when he placed them on his head. Overall, it entertained him briefly every time he got into the car on our road trip. Make sure to check out the other fun crafts and activities we brought on our road trip for him.
What kind of container did you use to make your DIY tissue box toy?
