Finding unique and creative activities for toddlers at home can sometimes be difficult and challenging. However, it can be done!There are so many fun ways to engage and play with babies and toddlers using only the items you would already have around the house. So maybe you are a grandparents with few to no toys laying around, another caregiver that wasn’t ready to take on the challenge of entertaining little ones, or maybe you’re a parent looking for new toddler activities without having to buy toys… here are some fun ideas to get your creative juices flowing!
The other aspect of this round-up that I love is that all of the ideas are eco-friendly and not wasteful. Instead of using up resources, these activities are accomplished with non-disposable supplies. So step away from those foam art kits and leave behind all the coffee filters and art supplies that can never be used again. Make household items fun games and WHO KNOWS what your imaginative toddler might come up with on their own!Thanks for visiting the sites of my fellow bloggers and for supporting us by making any purchases through my or their affiliate links!
Activities from the Kitchen
- Our favorite item found in the kitchen is hands-down our set of condiment cups and bowls. We use them for EVERYTHING. We have used them to make finger cymbals, shakers, sorting cups, stacking cups, and more. We have one ounce, 2.5 ounce, and 5 ounce versions. They make great bowls and cups for my toddler and they are always scattered around the house because she has been playing with them. For more on how we have used them, check out this post on fine motor skills, this one on music development in babies, or this FB thread on the topic.
- My Creative Days used a variety of kitchen utensils to make some beautiful child-led art.
- Play with a colander like Craftulate did for a classic idea that never gets old! Great for fine motor development. Consider using ribbon, shoe laces, or other household items if you don’t have pipe cleaners on hand.
- Though this one is actually used with paper towels, I thought it would still be a great activity with a white wash cloth or kitchen towel. The Outlaw Mom has a fun activity ontie-dye paper towels. This is a wonderful way to explore simple science and art concepts like absorption and color mixing.
- Use whisks with bells to make your own simple maracas and other homemade musical instruments.
- Mother’s Messy Madness has a cute and easy idea to make some salad spinner art. I don’t know what toddler wouldn’t absolutely love to be in on creating a masterpiece like this!
- Living Montessori Now put together a really cute kitchen treasure basket for babies. This is a great idea for the 6-9 month range when they are exploring and you need to cook!
Ideas Outside and Using Things from the Garage
- Inspiration Laboratories has a couple of fun ways to use a flashlight! One is all about exploring color with water and CDs, the other is about exploring and playing with shadows!
- Play Flashlight Seek & Find like this simple and fun game from Toddler Approved.
- For those nice days outside, create a simple bucket and rope contraption like Happy Hooligans for lots of open-ended play.
- Hands On As We Grow has a great idea to make Towel Fort out of beach towels.
- Adventures of Adam shows how a beaded jump rope can make an easy fine motor counting activity.
- We played with a hose, plastic bottle, old bottle caps, kitchen gadgets, and a big tub when in need of some water play but when we didn’t have a kiddie pool or toys to go with it. It turned into a great time playing a classic sink/float preschool science activity. [Please note I used a hole punch on the plastic bottle for bigger holes so it wouldn’t have so much force coming out of the bottle to scare her. As we got used to it, the holes could be made smaller with something like an ice pick].
- Nuts and Bolts can even be fun toys (of course under supervision and of the appropriate size). Picklebums used them for printing and painting and Hands On As We Grow used them as a fine motor activity.
Exploring play with items from the Living Room & Bedrooms
- Use Pillows to build gross motor skills. School Time Snippets crawls and climbs on them, and we use them as lava rocks!
- Don’t have blocks? No problem! Kids Activities Blog has a great idea to stack and build with CD and DVD cases!
- Speaking of DVD cases, Creative Play Central has a great idea to use extra ones to make easy, portable whiteboards.
- Bandannas are great for making a blindfold game or for weaving in laundry baskets.
- Put together a dress-up chest with your craziest clothes and accessories. Gets some simple and fun dress-up ideas from Nurturestore.
- Wallets and hotel cards and fake credit cards can make a great pretend play activity and also works on fine motor skills.
Activities for Toddlers from items in the Bathroom
- Pull out those combs and old make-up brushes for some unique art. Craftulate has a great idea to use combs for painting a fun texture. Teach Me Mommy got creative too, and painted with all different sorts of make-up brushes and tools.
- Create a unique sensory experience with hair rollers. Whether it’s the prickly plastic kind like seen on the Imagination Tree, the squishy wire kind, or the soft spongy ones, they are all sure to make for a fun time!
Other posts you might love:
What great activities for toddlers at home do you have using non-disposable household items?

Kara is an author and advocate for positive, grace-filled parenting. She is homeschooler to her 4 children living on a farm in New England. She believes in creative educational approaches to help kids dive deeper into a rich learning experience and has her degree in Secondary Education & Adolescent Childhood Development. She is passionate about connecting with and helping other parents on their journey to raise awesome kids!

Georgina
Great ideas here!
Kara Carrero
Thanks Georgina!
Heather Meek
My son will love painting with nuts and bolts. had never thought of that!
~Heather
Kara Carrero
I thought it was a cute idea especially because there are so many patterns that they can explore!
Diana
Thanks for sharing these awesome ideas!
Kara Carrero
I am so glad you like them! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Vesper Meikle
not sure about toddlers but I think I might have problems with that colander
Kara Carrero
That might just be why it keeps them entertained for so long 😉
Elise at Creative Play Central
Lots of inspiration here! Thank you for including us too 🙂
Kara Carrero
Absolutely!
Mary P
Not so much without toys as without commercial toys — digging in the drawers and cupboards for things to play with is so much more fun!
Kara Carrero
Most definitely. Anything in the whole world could be a toy and that’s the kind of creativity we want to inspire in both toddlers and their caregivers!
Karen S.
Anything can be a toy to a toddler. Honestly, the box often provides more fun than the toy–so why not start off with the box?
Kara Carrero
Exactly! So many times parents and caregivers get stuff on a need for toys instead of using creativity and being resourceful. Boxes are great toys for sure.
jessica
What great ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Ronald G
You are a lifesaver..I have very young nieces who come to the cabin every summer..thank you
Kara Carrero
No problem! I am so glad to help and provide some inspiration 🙂
Karen Chayne Sanchez
These are awesome alternative ideas for toddlers at home! thanks for sharing!
Jasmine P
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!