What to do with a refrigerator box

Contributed by
accessplace.com, the local directory. 

Fridges, freezers, TV’s and sound systems all come in huge boxes. Some are worth keeping, especially if you’re planning on moving soon or selling it on. 

But if you’re not keeping it for a reason, don’t throw it out and don’t sentence it to rotting in the garage. 

Because you see, a large box isn’t just a box. To a young child it’s anything they can dream up including a house, a castle, a spaceship, a robot, a ship, a fort, a bed, a hideout from the bad guys, a puppet show stage…. The list is as endless as a child’s imagination. 

When I was four, my dad converted the box our new refrigerator came in into a house for me and my brother to play in. He cut out windows and a door and drew on curtains and window boxes, complete with little yellow flowers. We loved it. We used to spend hours playing house, taking my tea set and dolls inside. It was our favourite toy for months.

When my son was three he asked us to help him make a robot out of the TV box. A few holes for the arms and eyes, a few silly stickers, and voila! He walked around in it for weeks and loved every minute of it. The pictures are priceless (at least to me, the doting mother). 

So let them tell you what the box is. It’ll only take a bit of crayon and maybe some paints. Cut a few holes, put some stickers on it and transform that monstrous lump of cardboard into a favourite plaything. 

For other ways to amuse children see
our pages for the under 5s and over
5s