As Frank Caplan wrote in the first Creative Playthings' catalogue in 1949:
"Play has a basic role in the drama of a child's development. It is a
serious business for the child, his true means of learning and
growing...Every child should have a wide variety of play materials to
evoke in him a spirit of inquiry; to develop physical manipulation to
the fullest; to stimulate creative expression. He requires not only the
miniatures of real objects in the adult world, but also building blocks,
clay, finger paints, et cetera, that he can adapt to his particular
needs."
Playthings for children need not be expensive or do you need to buy them from the toy stores. There are many toys or crafts that you can do them yourself with simple materials found in the home such as old newspaper, cardboard boxes, shoe boxes, shopping bags, old calendars, plastic bottles, milk cartons, cereal boxes, etc.
D.I.Y. playthings are simple and beautifully made to promote a child’s creativity and imagination.
Here are some examples of playthings that I have made for my grandson Aden:
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| Lego costume Deadpool from DC Superheroes |
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| Captain Rex's helmet from Star Wars and Broad Sword Spear |
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| Captain Rex's helmet from Star Wars |
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Legends of Chima
Laval
Laval is the Prince of the Lion Tribe.
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| Laval (head mask, sword, shield, shoulder pads and chi) |
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| Chima's Laval head mask |
Cragger
Cragger is the Prince of the Crocodile Tribe, the son of Crominus and Crunket, and the twin brother of Crooler.
Speedorz are among the vehicles used by the characters to battle with
one another or travel across the large land of Chima. They are also used
competing for CHI by jumping through rings, knocking over obstacles,
dodging obstacles and other challenges. The Speedorz are shaped like the
head of the animal who rides them.
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| Speedorz of Craggar and Laval |
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Cars
Cars is a 2006 American computer-animated comedy-adventure sports
film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and directed and co-written by
John Lasseter and released by Walt Disney Pictures.
Lightning McQueen
- "Speed. I am speed."
- —Lightning McQueen
Lightning McQueen (or simply known as "
Stickers", as
Sally calls him) is the protagonist in
Cars and the deuteragonist in
Cars 2.
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| Lightning McQueen |
Francesco Bernoulli is a character in
Cars 2. Francesco Bernoulli grew up in the shadow of the famous Monza race course in Italy. He is an international Formula Racer champion. The ladies love Francesco’s
open wheels, youngsters look up to his winning spirit and fellow racers
envy his speed.
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| Toothpaste box for the body |
- Mater: "My name's Mater!"
Lightning McQueen: "Mater?"
Mater: "Yeah, like "tuh-mater", but without the tuh!"
- —Mater introduces himself to Lightning McQueen
His model is a 1955 Chevrolet Tow Truck. His best friend is Lightning McQueen.
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| Tow Mater from Lightning McQueen |
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Tow Mater from Lightning McQueen
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Halloween Costumes
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| Halloween skeleton costume. Plastic mask from RM2 store. |
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| Batman - glove puppet |
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The Flash is a fictional comic book superhero from the
DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in
Flash Comics #1 (January 1940).
Nicknamed the
Scarlet Speedster and the "Crimson Comet" all incarnations of the Flash possess "super speed", which includes the ability to run and move extremely fast, use superhuman reflexes, and seemingly violate certain laws of physics.
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| Flash helemet |
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MineCraft
Minecraft is a sandbox independent video game originally created by Swedish programmer Markus "Notch" Persson and later developed and published by the Swedish company Mojang since 2009. The creative and building aspects of
Minecraft allow players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a
3D procedurally generated world. Other activities in the game include exploration, gathering resources, crafting, and combat.
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| MineCraft - Pig and Character made from toothpaste boxes |
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Minion
Minions is an upcoming American 3D computer-animated comedy film and a spin-off/prequel to Despicable Me (2010) and Despicable Me 2 (2013). It is being produced by Illumination Entertainment for Universal Pictures
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| Minion mask of Kevin |
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BoBoiBoy
BoBoiBoy is a Malaysian animated series produced by Animonsta
Studios, centering on a boy who has superpowers and the ability to
separate into three.
"Adu Du is a short tempered, bossy alien, and BoBoiBoy's arch
nemesis. He was originally a lone alien miner who is scouting the galaxy
for a new energy source for his people until he accidentally discovers
that liquified cocoa beans on earth are the most powerful source of
energy in the galaxy. Now he has been tasked by his emperor to take
control Earth's cocoa beans. To achieve this Adu Du has been given super
gadgets that will grant him superpowers but unfortunately the super
gadgets have ended up with BoBoiBoy and his friends instead."
Adu Du puppet
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| Spiderman face mask |
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| Transformer face mask and Viking mosaic helmet |
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| Red Ninja face mask from Ninja Fighters |
