Growing up I always made my parents presents for the holidays — great things like egg carton candy dishes, and egg carton jewelry boxes, and sometimes even things NOT made out of egg cartons.
Like mugs made from half-and-half cartons.
No, really — I was better than that. Wish I’d saved some of these masterpieces. (Why didn’t my parents???) There were the coasters made of hardened glue. Statues sculpted from wetted, squished tissue paper. A mini baseball game in a box. A book holder made from a hanger. (That actually works, and you don’t need the pliers.) Giant balls made from the rubber string that you find if you slice open golf balls (which some of us did). Tea cups made from — sorry — yet more egg cartons.
Point is: Let kids make things for you and you will have hours of fun deciding how to use them without getting burnt, cut or wet.
Take a look at the piece at Let Grow by our Executive Director, Andrea Keith, about the joy of imperfection when it comes to gifts. And, come to think of it, when it comes to everything else, too.
And happy egg carton holidays!