Best (Free) Toy Ever

I frequently buy Marlo toys, largely in part because I get pretty bored playing with the same toys with her every day. I love to see that excitement when she sees something new, and finally figures out how it works. But then a day or two later she wants nothing to do with it. Another $20 (or more) down the drain. She has a few toys that she loves to play with all the time, like that thing where you push a button and something pops up, and then she can close it and repeat...but that only lasts about 5 minutes a day if we are lucky.

Thanks to Grandma we have stumbled across the greatest toy in the world (at least Marlo thinks so)...the box. I have always heard that kids like the packaging of toys/gifts much better than the toy/gift itself, but it has never been true for us until now.

I came home from running errands to find my mom doing laundry with Marlo on the floor, inside a box that was on its' side. I could hear the giggling and excited breathing the moment I walked in the door. I went upstairs to find her doing her excited seated dance (legs going real fast with arms flapping), as she spun around on her bum inside the box squealing. It was the cutest thing ever.

For the 4 days my mom was staying with us the box moved from room to room, and every time she was placed next to it the excitement set in. Last night as she was playing with my mom on the floor of the kitchen, I suggested that my mom (a very talented artist) decorate the box before she left...and so it became Marlo's Cottage, the greatest free toy ever.

Marlo spent about 45 minutes it in this morning, spinning around, looking out the windows, giggling, opening and closing the doors. It is seriously the greatest thing to happen to her in her 11 month old life. It is portable, it is free, it can easily be recreated if something were to happen to it, and she totally entertains herself with it. I put her Rody in the back window of it and it took fun to a whole different level this morning...

If you are looking for something fun and easy to do, get a box, get out some markers and an exacto knife and build your kid a box house. I promise, they will love it.

I can't wait until we get a new fridge to build Marlo's Mansion!