![[Let’s Make and Play!] Handmade Toy Ideas You Can Create Yourself](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/8t_mm764WXA/maxresdefault.webp)
[Let’s Make and Play!] Handmade Toy Ideas You Can Create Yourself
Kids love new toys, don’t they?
They figure out how to play, add their own twists, and discover new ways to have fun.
Here are some ideas for making handmade toys that are easy to customize and adapt!
These ideas use materials you already have at home or can pick up at a 100-yen shop, so they’re all things you can start making right away.
It’s great for adults to make them, and there are plenty of ideas kids can make themselves, too.
Original, one-of-a-kind toys become extra special—and even more fun!
Let's Make and Play! DIY Toy Ideas (1–10)
[Origami] Hand spinner
![[Origami] Hand spinner](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8t_mm764WXA/sddefault.jpg)
Let’s make it with origami! Here are some ideas for an origami hand spinner.
A hand spinner is a small toy that you spin with your palm or fingers.
It became a worldwide craze around 2017, so many parents may already know it.
This time, let’s make a hand spinner out of origami.
All you need is origami paper and glue.
If you blow on it, you can enjoy watching it spin around and around.
When giving it to a child with small hands, it’s a good idea to adjust the size of the origami paper.
Sugoroku
Here’s an idea for a board game you can play over and over with different content.
First, let’s make the essential dice.
If you have a milk carton, it’s easy to create perfect squares.
Once that’s done, prepare some thick paper and draw a grid for the board.
At this stage, only draw the start, goal, and the spaces themselves.
Then, write the instructions for each space on sticky notes and place them on the spaces.
That way, you can swap out the sticky notes and enjoy a fresh experience every time.
Try creating a sugoroku game full of originality.
Tonton sumo (paper sumo game)
Here’s a sure-fire idea to heat things up: a Ton-Ton Sumo game.
First, prepare a cardboard box to serve as the ring.
If you don’t have a flat box, cut and make one yourself.
Once that’s ready, move on to making the springs.
Cut slits on opposite sides of a paper cup’s rim and attach a rubber band stretched across the slits.
Stack a smaller paper cup on top of that, then install the assembly under the ring.
This way, when the ring is tapped, the paper cups will push it back up.
Finally, draw a circle on the box and let the wrestlers face off.
Fishing
How about making a proper fishing rod with a reel using paper cups, straws, and wooden chopsticks? First, attach a pair of chopsticks and a straw to a paper cup.
Cut another paper cup about three finger widths down from the rim, then combine it with the first cup to create the reel.
Next, draw some bait, and attach a string and a magnet.
Thread that string through the straw part of the fishing rod—this can be tricky, so if your child can help, let them give it a try.
Put everything together, and your reel-equipped fishing rod is complete! Draw the fish you want to catch, clip on a paperclip, and enjoy your fishing game.
playing store
How about playing “store” using cardboard and scrap materials? For example, you could slice toilet paper rolls into rings to make bracelets and recreate a jewelry shop, or roll up newspaper to look like takoyaki and recreate a takoyaki stand.
Of course, it’s fine to choose any kind of shop—like a clothing store or a cake shop.
Once everything is ready, try buying and selling the items and have fun.
You can probably find craft ideas for popular types of shops on YouTube and similar sites.
octopus
Have you ever flown a kite? Here, I’ll introduce an idea for a particularly cool-looking kite: the peregrine falcon kite.
A “peregrine falcon kite” is a kite that looks like a falcon with its wings spread.
You make it by cutting parts out of color boards.
Since you can make it using only items sold at 100-yen shops, it’s a very cost-effective idea.
Give it a try and enjoy the thrill of flying a peregrine falcon kite.
play kitchen
A play kitchen can be expensive to buy, but if you make one with materials from the 100-yen store, you can add your own creative touches and grow attached to it—highly recommended.
What you’ll need: plywood and wood boards, wood boxes, wooden slats, display boxes or collection cases, handles, and so on.
First, glue together a combination of boards, plywood, wood boxes, and wooden slats to create the base.
Attach handles to a collection box to turn it into a fish grill or oven, and stick on coasters to make stovetop burners.
It’s great that you can build it compactly in whatever size you like.
Kendama
Let’s make a kendama, a toy loved since the Edo period.
For this idea, you’ll use two paper cups, a string, newspaper, and toilet paper.
First, glue the two paper cups together bottom to bottom.
Next, crumple newspaper into a ball and embed one end of the string inside it.
Once that’s done, attach the other end of the string to the seam where the paper cups meet, and finish by adding a handle made from toilet paper.
You can adjust the string length to change the difficulty.
Corinth game
Let’s try making a handmade Corinth game—an old-school game also known as a smart ball or pinball! You don’t need any special tools; you can build it out of cardboard.
Draw and paste your favorite pictures, add point values to boost the gameplay, and with a few creative touches you’ll end up with a truly original piece! You can also easily make the marble-launching mechanism using cardboard, bamboo skewers, and rubber bands, which kids are sure to love.
Featuring characters from your favorite anime or games, or coming up with your own original design, would be wonderful too!
medal game
How about making a medal game like the ones in arcades using cardboard? In this idea, you’ll recreate a coin pusher game by combining pieces of cardboard.
You know—the one where the moving platform pushes coins over the edge.
You’ll operate it manually, of course, but it should still capture an authentic feel.
Adding a jackpot feature at the top would make the game even more exciting.
It could also be fun to choose a theme and decorate it accordingly.