5 Best Sites for Ideas on Making Your Own Toys and Games

Continuing from my previous post on a list of toys to restore your faith in simple pleasures, I've produced another list. This one however, is a little different. I'm not promoting toys that I think are just awesome, educational, cool, etc. What I'm promoting is more of the simple pleasures around making toys for yourself. Yes, the following list is my selection of some of the best sites (in my humble opinion) around the www, where you can find resources for you and your kids to get together and make their own toys and games.

Hope you like them as much as I do... Oh, yeah, and they're in no particular order.

Happy Hooligans crafts and activities for toddlers and preschoolers

Don't let the name Happy Hooligans put you off. This is actually a great site run by an experienced blogger who gives lots of sound advice on topics ranging from arts and crafts, to outdoor activities, holidays, cooking and parenting. The link here takes you to a page of over 70 ideas for things you and your kids can make at home. They're mainly aimed at the lower age range and include toys and games for both boys and girls. So, if you've got one or more happy little hooligans that need something to keep them gainfully occupied, I thoroughly recommend checking it out.

B-Inspired Mama

I really like the magazine-style layout of this site. It's got lots of clever ideas for kids arts, crafts and activities that are nestled among recipes, advice for parents, printables, gift ideas and more. I spent quite a long time just browsing a number of the 100+ pages of things to inspire you and your kids - hence the name of b-inspired I guess - and you certainly will be. There are even a couple of pages of Fun with Technology (my favorites, me being a bit of a geek). This is another great site that offers more than just kids toys, that I'm happy to recommend in this list.

Science Toy Maker

This site is fantastic! But, of course I would say that - did I already mention I'm a geek? Anyway, the layout is pretty basic, there are no advertisements and it certainly isn't the most professional looking site I've seen. However, what it lacks in style it makes up for with some amazing science projects. Each comes with detailed instructions, with photos and/or videos, so they're easy to follow. Here's a quote from the project to make a popgun: "There is a lot of great science in a popgun. A person building and using one has to grapple with atmospheric pressure and sonic compression waves." How's that for learning science!

Artists Helping Children

Probably one of the best How To sites I've come across in my toy-inspired travels around the www. Like the Science Toy site above, the layout is quite basic (although a little more sophisticated), but it's very well organized. You can search toy and game crafts alphabetically, or by theme (for example: cardboard boxes, jigsaw puzzles), or by holiday (like 4th July, Father's Day). The site's just chock full of easy-to-find things to make with easy instructions - many of which I'd done myself when I was a boy, but had since forgotten about. Such is the power of its simplicity, it just has to be included in my list.

All Free Kids Crafts

Last but by no means least is this site all about kids crafts. The things to make and do are clearly laid out, you can navigate page-by-page or by category, there are free kids crafting eBooks that you can download as well as a free subscription to a regular newsletter containing lots of crafting ideas. What's more, you can even submit your own project to share with other parents and their children. This site really does have it all! But, one of the best things I like is that you can comment on each project and give it a star rating (though you should be aware that some of the projects shown link to other sites). All in all, this is a great ending to my list of the 5 best sites for ideas on making your own toys and games - I hope you enjoy them.