A great way to bond with your kids is to be involved in making toys for them. You can ask the kids to join you as well; a simple exercise to have fun together. You can create soft toys, paper toys, or decorate toys that your children already have. Small, fluffy toys are a hit with most kids.

You would’ve most of the material that you would need to make toys, at your home. Popsicle sticks can be used to make toys such as a house or a wall hanging. All you need is some glue and the patience to put the sticks together to make a meaningful object. Clay would also be useful in your toy making venture. Ensure that the clay is non toxic. Colored paper, used cartons, felt pens, used bottles and containers could all be utilized. Scraps of cloth could also be used. Even if you have to buy, the material is all easily affordable and available.

Some simple toys: Dressing up a doll is an activity that would interest most little girls. You could crotchet or knit a dress for the doll. You would've to detach the different parts of the doll, stitch the skirt and blouse or any other dress you've in mind. Finally, stitch the doll together. Rag dolls are also easy to make. Newspaper and some waste cloth would serve the purpose. You could make it as pretty as possible at no extra cost. The fur rabbit is a popular toy idea as well. Outline the rabbit on the wrong side of the fur material. Cut along the sketch. You could either glue or stitch the different parts together. You could even make a bear. To stuff the toy, use paper or pieces of cloth. A grizzly dog could also be made with wool. This requires some amount of experience though.

Puppet, though not exactly a toy could be made as well. For a sack puppet, fold construction paper to look like a sack. Draw a face. Materials such as buttons, bristles, yarn, and any such miscellany can be used to complete the puppet. A stick puppet is a puppet where popsicle or other wooden sticks are used instead of a sock or paper. Glue the different parts of the puppet and decorate the puppet with yarn, string or raffia. Puppets thus made can be used to educate your little kid about issues that would otherwise be difficult to make them understand.

For a bean bag buddy, you need an old sock, dried beans to stuff the sock, yarn and a marker. Fill the sock up to the heel with the dried beans. Now tie the sock above the heel with your yarn or ribbon. Draw a face or a character with the permanent marker. This is a toy that your child can make with very little assistance. You could also stitch a face on. A ping-pong doll can also be tried. You just need to draw eyes and nose on the ball with a felt pen. For the body you can use a hollow cylinder. Glue the ball on top of the cylinder. Wool can be used for the hair and a skirt can be made with fabrics or colored paper. Either stitch or stick this onto the cylindrical body.

Try making a jigsaw puzzle. While being a lot of enjoyment for the child, this improves the kid’s coordination skills. Cut out a large picture into smaller pieces using a saw or scissors. The edges need to be smooth. Check for rough edges and file them with a fine toothed flat file. Building blocks can also be made at home. The wooden blocks are made into different shapes. Ask your child to build a simple house or just watch it have fun with the blocks. You can color the wooden blocks using a non toxic paint.  If you are slightly more experienced with wood working, you could make the ever popular rocking horse or sandbox.

Tips to help in toy making: If there is stitching involved in your toy making, use a good enough thread and a quality needle. Keep the stitching close and secure. This only avoids rework. Basically, you have to secure your sewing. Find out the appropriate needle to use for different fabric types. You can use pins to work in a non cluttered manner. The threads should be cut off as and when you are done. If you leave them, the threads could get tangled and look ugly. Choose fabrics that are non directional. Do not use small beads, ribbons, plastic and other such material on which your child could choke . Prewashing the fabric is necessary depending on the material being used and also its usage. After the toy has become dirty or your kid is bored with the toy, remove the stuffing and wash it. You can also clean the toy fabric with mild detergent, depending upon the fabric. You can either make another stuffed toy with the same stuffing or use fresh stuffing for the toy.

There are templates for paper dolls available on some of the websites. All that you need to do is take a printout and cut along the edges. Follow the instructions given and the doll is ready.

For a slightly older child you could make science toys–this would ensure that otherwise difficult-to-understand concepts are easily understood by the child. You can try making a parachute, a kaleidoscope, a periscope or a putt putt boat.

Shorter fur on smaller bears and longer fur on bigger bears is a good practice. Else you’ll end up with patches of fur on the stuffed toy. Wear a dust mask and vacuum each piece to keep fur from flying, when cutting and trimming fur. For a duller worn look, remove the sheen in the glass eyes lightly with fine sand paper. This will make your teddy look intellectual. Ensure that there is adult supervision when there is wood working or sewing involved.

You can add your own unique sensibility to the tips provided here and make your child very happy in the process. Get creative and see what else could be used to make a toy for your little one.