Big or small, cardboard boxes are the perfect building blocks for an imaginative town.
Children can create houses, schools, post offices, and any building they dream up using tape, scissors, and craft supplies. It’s a brilliant way to reuse materials and create a whole world of pretend play.
From cutting out windows to drawing signs and placing toy people or cars, this open-ended activity encourages creativity, storytelling, and hands-on building fun.
Materials
- Cardboard boxes (various sizes)
- Coloured paper or card
- Glue or sticky tape
- Crayons, markers or paints
- Optional: stickers, buttons, fabric scraps, scissors
Tools
- Scissors (adult supervision needed)
- Glue stick or PVA glue
- Sticky tape
Steps
- Gather a variety of cardboard boxes — cereal boxes, delivery boxes, or tissue boxes all work well.
- Decide what buildings you want in your town (houses, shops, fire station, etc.).
- Use scissors to cut windows or doors, and decorate the outside with coloured paper or drawings.
- Add signs, roofs, or extra features like chimneys or awnings.
- Arrange the buildings into a street or town layout, and bring in toys or create paper people to live in it.
Variations
- Theme Your Town: Create a medieval village, futuristic space colony, or animal town.
- Night Town: Add battery-powered tea lights inside buildings and turn the lights off for a magical effect.
- Transport Add-ons: Make roads, train tracks or parking areas from paper or masking tape.
Why It’s Great
- Reuses Everyday Materials – A creative way to turn recycling into fun.
- Encourages Engineering Skills – Children plan, construct and refine their designs.
- Promotes Collaborative Play – Perfect for siblings or friends to build together.
Safety Tips
- Use child-safe scissors and supervise any cutting.
- Make sure boxes are clean and free of sharp staples or packing tape edges.
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