Cardboard Boxes Are Having a Major Toy Moment—But Not in the Way You'd Expect
Though it may seem simple, cardboard is giving kids an open-ended way to build, pretend, and explore.
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When we test hundreds of toys in the Tech & Engineering Lab every year, we always get asked the same questions. What’s the best toy you tested? What are the most popular toys of the year? And, of course, how do I get a job like this?
While the answers to those first two questions change from year to year, the answers come from the same place: We work with kids across all age groups, who test toys for us and help us spot what's coming next. They give us a firsthand look at what is truly keeping their attention throughout the year. That’s why here at the Good Housekeeping Institute, we understand that one of the next biggest toy trends is...cardboard.
Now I know you’re probably thinking that I’m crazy. I mean, how can cardboard, of all things, be the next big toy? Well, you’re right. Cardboard by itself will not be the next big toy. It’s going to be what you can do with cardboard that’s going to be the next big toy. All those packages you receive, and all the boxes you put in the bin and hope they’re being recycled properly, are now going to be reused by kids and their imaginations—with a little help from new toys like these that use cardboard as their main ingredient of imaginative play.
The simplest of the three on this list, Boxineers makes it easy to build your own toy using just a cardboard box. (Preferably one that hasn’t been broken down yet!) A Boxineers kit comes with a hole punch, a screwdriver, brackets, bolts, and 40 different reusable pre-made and designed cardboard construction pieces. These range from steering wheels, tires, windows, and other accessories all meant to help kids design and build their own cardboard vehicle. In order to get started, all they have to do is use the hole punch on a box. Then they can take any of the pre-made construction pieces and attach it to the box with the bolt and the screwdriver. And that’s it! Their creativity and imagination can take it from there. Kids can attach pieces wherever they want, and if they want to change the design, they can simply unscrew and remove the piece. They’re meant to be reusable for any design you can think of. In addition to vehicles, Boxineers comes in a Cardboard Animals version that lets kids make unicorns, alligators, and dogs, among others. Ages 5+
TESTER NOTES: A mom of three kids raved about this, especially the way her kids all loved building and playing together. “The box they decorated is still sitting in my playroom a month later being used every day!” she said. When I tested this toy in our lab, I loved how this toy helped kids be creative with their designs. By having pre-built pieces, there's no worry about what to make, just where things go. Build a traditional vehicle, or have the wheels on top with fire shooting out the bottom—whatever kids think is more fun.
For kids who want a more involved cardboard-building experience, the ChompSaw kicks things up a notch. It’s an electric cardboard cutter where kids guide cardboard through a cutting head, slicing out whatever shape they want to make. Think of it as a kid-friendly band saw. It even includes a dust-collection drawer that catches cardboard dust as they cut.
Since there are no parts of the machine that will grip or twist—the cutter is simply going up and down—there’s no danger of hair getting caught in the machine. The cutting head is also covered in a way that the only thing that can reach it is the cardboard, so no fingers will get caught when it’s running. But having these safety features doesn’t mean a kid should be able to do whatever they want. It’s still a machine with rapidly moving parts, and supervision, especially with younger children, is always recommended. But with adult guidance, this is a great next step for getting kids comfortable with a more advanced building experience.
The box the ChompSaw comes in has the first project kids can cut out and build. Then, if they need more ideas, the ChompSaw website has plenty of inspiration and practice projects with instructions to help guide them. ChompSaw even has a subscription-based monthly package that provides kids with different projects to build, and gives them all the extra materials to make it. Ages 3+
TESTER NOTES: Parents thought the toy truly helped bring out the creative aspects of their kids. One mom of a 5-year-old girl said, “She and her dad went off-script and made a toothbrush and toothpaste tube that they drew and cut.” Another mom said that both her kids enjoyed using it together:“The possibilities with this toy are endless and we can’t wait to try to think creatively and find new use cases for it!" When we tried this toy in the lab, I couldn't help but think I was back in engineering school, building my final project!
The Makedo (pronounced “make-do”) Discover Kit is a set of tools designed to help kids safely and easily work and build with cardboard. It comes with a kid-safe saw, the “Scru-driver,” a scoring device, and many “Scrus” that are used to connect pieces of cardboard together. The box itself even turns into a cardboard toolbox that holds all the tools.
With just these tools, kids can let their imaginations run free. They can take the scoring tool to any piece of cardboard they can find, tracing what they want to cut out. Then, they can use the saw to safely and deftly cut out what they traced. When they’ve created several different cardboard cut-outs, they can take the Scrus and Scru-driver and connect them however they wish!
If they struggle at all figuring out what to build or how to use one of the tools properly, Makedo has a free website that anyone can use that can help. With step-by-step guides, explanations on how to improve the builds, and even submissions by other Makedo-ers just to help inspire an idea, they can go from a novice to a cardboard master.
This is one of many Makedo kits you can purchase. There are smaller and bigger kits, as well as extra individual tools and pieces you can purchase to further enhance your projects. Ages 4+
Tester Notes: Parents loved that kids had to use their entire creative brain while playing with this toy. One mom said, “My 6 year old has been asking us to save all manner of boxes, and he has invented numerous creations, like a car, bus, recycling truck, tables at a restaurant, and goal posts for an indoor soccer field.” Another parent shared, “It’s a great way to engage kids into building stuff themselves and using their imagination to build and construct." I personally thought it was genius that the box turned into a toolbox, so kids can carry all the tools easily and keep all the Scrus together.
Why Trust Us?
Alec Scherma is the Senior Mechanical Engineer at the Good Housekeeping Institute. He's helped coordinate and run the Good Housekeeping Toy Awards for the last couple years, playing with the hundreds of toys that come into the lab. He also builds with the Toy team every toy for our in-person Day of Play, where kids come in to play, test and share their thoughts on the latest toys.
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