How to set up holiday activities in a snap!

Gift yourself a set of gift boxes and you will be ready to set up your very own gift box centers for some quality play and exploration!

We are all super busy over the holidays and coming up with well-thought out plans to keep your child engaged in constructive play and exploration can be quite the challenge. If this sounds familiar to you, I want to share with you this amazing idea I like to call, “Gift Box Centers.”

Here are a few reasons why I LOVE gift box centers...

Simple to Set Up

Gift Box centers are simple to put together in advance. You simply select the materials you want to go inside each gift box then set them aside until you are ready to use them.

Simple to Swap Out and Put Away

When your child is done exploring a gift box, just put the lid on it and save it for another day or switch out what is inside and you now have a new center ready to go.

Every Day is a Surprise

Young children LOVE surprises. By putting your activity in a gift box, your child will be excited to open it up, see what is inside, and then get started playing.

What can you put inside a Gift Box Center?

Keep scrolling down the wall and you will see a few ideas I have tried. But really, any kind of thoughtful idea will work great in a gift box. To get you started thinking “outside the box,” take a look at some of the things I have put “inside the box.”

What’s inside…

– Different colors of sand.

– Small spoons for scooping and pouring

– Small bottles for filling and pouring.

The gift box helps to keep the sand contained but gives children opportunity to build eye-hand coordination as they scoop, mix, fill, and pour.

What’s inside…

You can make all kinds of simple games to play and keep all the pieces together inside the gift box

– Color Game

We made the game board and the game cards on a large piece of white drawing  paper using a good set of markers.

The children draw a card and move from one colorful shape to the next until getting to the finish line.

– Tic-Tac-Toe

The tic-tac-toe board was also made on white art paper and we added two colors of small bows for the pieces.

Would you like to see more gift box centers?

Before I go today, I want you to keep in mind that these mini-centers really could be used all through out the school year. All you really need is to find boxes that might not look so holiday to make it work.

Now be sure to check back because I have more gift box centers to share!

Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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