Ideas for Recyling Cereal Boxes: Fun Homemade Toys, Crafts, and Gifts

In countless numbers of American homes, cereal boxes go into the trash and recycling bins each day. Recycling is a great way to cut down on the amount of waste in landfills, but did you know that empty cereal boxes can be recycled and turned into fun homemade toys and crafts? This is one of the best ways of recycling empty cereal boxes since turning cardboard into interesting homemade toys and crafts not only saves garbage from ending up in the landfill, but it also helps save money. Give these ideas for recycling cereal boxes a try, and turn ordinary trash into useable treasure.

Recycling Cereal Boxes into Puzzles for Kids

Kids of all ages love puzzles, and instead of throwing away empty cereal boxes, turn them into fun puzzles for toddlers and kids of all ages. Cut away the sides, top and bottom flaps, as well as the back, and using a fine-tip black marker, draw the outlines of the puzzle pieces. Make larger puzzle pieces for younger children, and smaller ones for kids with higher skill levels. The front of a cereal box can be turned into a 100-piece puzzle or a 6-piece puzzle. After drawing the outlines, carefully cut out the puzzle pieces with sharp scissors or a utility knife. Place individual cereal box puzzles in separate zipper bags, and when the kids want something different to do, pull out the cereal box puzzles. Recycling really can be fun!

Magnetic Cereal Box Letters and Characters

The front of most cereal boxes are embellished with large colorful letters, and instead of placing them in the recycling bin, consider the ways in which they can be recycled to help kids learn. The eye-catching cardboard letters can be attached to magnet sheets and used to form words or for letter memorization. Give your child a metal cookie sheet, and they will spend a great deal of time forming words and having fun while learning.