By Karah St. Preux

Now that Christmas is over, I’m sure there’s many packaging leftovers that may seem to be taking over your living space. Before you throw away the seemingly useless items that come from your Christmas packages, find out some ways that they can be put to use for your kid(s) to enjoy! 

      1. Packing Peanuts as Snow

Getting ready to throw away all the packing peanuts that came with your orders? Not so fast! There are many fun and creative ways to include them in every day play! Lay them out on a Mini City IVI 3D Play Carpet, and now there can be an intense snowstorm in the city. Your little ones can take some of their toy trucks and pretend to plow the snow that has now caked the city.

      2. Wrapping Paper Scraps as Dresses

Have a ton of wrapping paper scraps after eager unwrapping? All that paper doesn’t have to go to waste. Take some of the shreds and challenge your kids to create fashion looks for their Barbies and other dolls. Creating dresses and various outfits using the shreds from gift wrapping paper is a perfect way to inspire creativity and have a fun activity for them to do. Maybe they can display their designs in a doll fashion show to show off what they created! You can even add the bows and ribbons from opened Christmas gifts to the fashion looks.

      3.Packaging Boxes for Play Time

With the amount of online shopping done this particular holiday season, it’s expected to have an excessive amount of boxes taking over your home. Some of these boxes can be used for play! With gifts that come in small packages, those boxes can be cut up and used to make small buildings for Mini City or Traffic! Maybe there's a new pizza shop or craft store that's opening up on their play carpet! By cutting the boxes into any shape that they'd like, kids can have the imagination to create any type of buildings that they'd like.

    4. Popcorn Garlands for Imaginative Play

Ready to throw away the popcorn garland from your Christmas tree? Before you do, here's an idea for how to let your kid(s) include it in their play. Perhaps the Mini City parking lot is now a drive in theater and a snack is needed for the next movie that's about to play! If your child has the Playhouse or Beach Houses carpet, they can use the kitchen to whip up a perfect snack for their toy guests to enjoy while watching TV in the living room. 

What are some ways your family reuses Christmas scraps? Let us know in the comments below!