Let's make toys with paper cups! Simple and fun handmade toys
Let me introduce some handmade toys using paper cups!
If “store-bought toys get boring quickly” or you “want to do crafting play with your child,” try making toys with easy-to-find paper cups.
We’ve gathered ideas that children of preschool and kindergarten age are sure to love, so have fun!
Paper cups, which we usually use for drinking, can move or even become musical instruments! They’ll surely make kids’ eyes sparkle with interest.
Let's make toys with paper cups! Easy and fun handmade toys (1–10)
Jump Flower
Have you ever made a handmade toy using a paper cup? Here, I’d like to share an idea kids can play with together and love: the “Jumping Flower.” It’s very simple to make—just cut slits into a paper cup and fold them toward the center.
It’s easy to play with, too: press the cup down from the top, and it pops up with a fun springy bounce! Since it looks like a flower, making it in various colors also makes it nice for display.
Try making it together during parent-child time and let your children’s smiles blossom!
A hippopotamus opening its mouth
Let’s make a hippopotamus with a wide-open mouth using a paper cup! It’s a craft that even small children will enjoy.
First, cut the paper cup halfway down with a utility knife, leaving the rim intact, to create the hippo’s head.
Add ears, eyes, and nostrils to make it look like a hippo! Next, use a piece of cardstock cut into a rectangle to connect the head and body, and you’re done.
By moving the body left and right, the hippo opens and closes its mouth in a fun way! It’s a simple mechanism, but it should be more than enough for kids to enjoy.
airplane
Here’s an idea for a high-flying airplane made from paper cups.
This one uses two paper cups combined bottom-to-bottom, with a rubber band wrapped around them.
It doesn’t look like an airplane at all, but once you let go, the power of the rubber band launches it and it soars through the air.
If you catch the wind just right, it can fly even farther.
It sounds fun to have a contest with friends or family to see whose flies the farthest.
It could also be interesting to compare how far it flies versus a paper airplane.
puppet
Introducing a marionette made with paper cups! This craft is perfect for parents and kids to make together, and you can play with it after you’re done.
First, use paper cups to create the puppet’s head and body.
Next, make the arms and legs by attaching plastic bottle caps to the ends of long, thin strips of construction paper, then stick them onto the body.
To finish, prepare some string such as packing twine: fix one end to the puppet’s head and the other end to a pair of disposable chopsticks to complete the mechanism that moves the puppet! If you have time, try adding more puppets or control strings to create a more authentic puppet show.
Give it a try!
helicopter
If you want to spark children’s creativity, how about making a paper-cup helicopter? It’s an idea where you create a propeller using a bamboo skewer and rubber bands attached to a paper cup.
Since there are several somewhat complex steps, make sure a parent or guardian provides support when working with younger children.
By changing the cup’s color, adding drawings, or decorating with stickers, you can create a helicopter full of originality depending on your arrangements.
Through activities like this, try experiencing how familiar everyday materials can take on new shapes and functions!
Stretchy paper cup animals
This craft is full of ideas using umbrella plastic that really comes in handy during the rainy season! The “Stretchy Paper Cup Animals” change shape, so they make a big impact and kids are sure to love them.
First, decorate a paper cup as your favorite animal, and punch a hole in the paper cup that will go behind the animal.
Next, cut off the lower part of an accordion (bendy) straw, cover it with a halved piece of umbrella plastic, and tape it in place.
Tie a knot in the other piece of plastic, then insert the straw into the hole in the paper cup.
Finally, tape the knotted end to the bottom of the paper cup—and you’re done! Blow into the straw and it stretches way out—it’s so much fun.
Try making different animals and enjoy crafting together as a parent and child!
A Jumping Frog Made with a Paper Cup
Let’s make a frog toy you can play with after you build it.
Prepare either a paper cup or a toilet paper roll.
If you use a paper cup, you’ll need to cut off the bottom, so teachers, please give the children cups with the bottom already removed.
Using a single paper cup or toilet paper roll, make the frog’s body as well as parts like the legs and arms—all from the same piece.
If you want to add color, decorate each part with markers or paint before assembling them.
The finished frog will hop when you press its bottom.
For any complicated steps, teachers should assist the children as they work.
crane game
Many people love crane games, don’t they? That thrill of not knowing whether you’ll grab the prize or not is addictive.
There’s actually a way to make a DIY crane game using paper cups.
First, cut eight slits into a paper cup and remove four of them.
That gives you four arms.
Next, insert a straw through the bottom and connect it to another paper cup, and you’re done.
The closing motion when the arms retract into the paper cup recreates the grabbing action of a crane game.
Kendama
We’re going to make a kendama shaped like a bagworm! First, glue leaves and pieces of origami or construction paper cut into leaf shapes and bagworm eye shapes around a paper cup.
Next, crumple some newspaper into a ball and attach a piece of kite string about 30 cm long to it.
Reinforce the newspaper ball by wrapping vinyl tape or similar around it so it doesn’t fall apart.
Finally, attach the other end of the string (the end not attached to the newspaper) to the bottom of the paper cup, and you’re done!
puppet
Let’s make a cute puppet with a paper cup.
First, make a hole in the bottom of the cup so you can insert your finger and move it.
Next, use felt or colored paper to create the face and clothes.
For the eyes and mouth, it’s best to stick on round-cut paper or stickers.
If you use yarn for the hair, it will look more realistic.
Once it’s finished, come up with a story with your child and act it out together.
You’re sure to have a wonderful time.
If everyone makes them together at a nursery school or kindergarten, they can also learn the importance of cooperation.