Before You Buy: The Beauty of the Box

 Leaving Shanghai

As the holiday season approaches, we are avoiding busy shops where the bustle screams, "BUY".
We did however, purchase an early gift for Daddy; a Ryobi saw for projects on the go.
Without realizing it at the time, it doubled as a gift for O & C, in the form of a box!

Both of them were completely giddy to find this large, clear space to call their own.
Baby C in particular, surprised us with her insistence on closing it's flaps while she giggled and lay beside her big sister!
I can clearly remember the plans that I had for boxes as a child (and how I involved my sister as my gopher for steak knives, tape and markers!)
What became of the discarded treasure in the basement was hours of good fun.
For me anyways, not sure about the gopher!

Box for Two

I refrained from involving myself in their play last night; from adding my influence to their creations.
The box transformed into a boat, a bed, a home, a stage without a single cut, mark or word from mom & dad.
I wondered how many families would buy battery-operated toys this season, in a wonderful big box!
When the toy has been played with to it's max, the empty box will never run out of value.

 Shanghai-February 2014

The beauty of the box lies in it's open-ended play.
No script, simply 100% imagination.

 Theatrical Arts

When we decided to depart from Shanghai, we also made the decision to pack up early, so we could receive our goods earlier in Canada. This meant living in a near-empty home for three months.

I worried that this would erupt in anxiety. We replaced treasured toys with empty packing boxes and the play-value somehow increased. 

I'd spent countless hours researching quality toys, building toys with my husband, all the while spending loads of money purchasing and creating.

The boxes were pennies of priceless playtime.

 Race Car Drivers

 'Where the Wild Things Are' Houseboat

Curious Passenger!

If you're ever unsure what to buy for the babes to stimulate their minds and keep them happy, remove the toy and offer the box.

EXPAND ON BOXES
Literacy Connection. We were reading Where the Wild Things Are, at the same time our shipping boxes arrived. So we re-created Max's boat for playtime. O had the chance to design, paint, 'furnish' and role-play.
She even stacked the 'boathouse' onto another box so it would have "two floors".

Canoe. I unfolded a rectangular box, sliced and taped it into a canoe. It was easy to push on the wood flooring and became a beloved fishing boat!

Ball drop. Placing an open box on it's side and cutting some ball-sized holes on the topside, turned the box into a ball drop.

35 Gifts Your Children Will Never Forget. http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/category/big-ideas/