DIY Upcycled & Re-Purposed Construction Party Activities
Create the most memorable, fun-filled and tot (and mom)-approved construction-themed birthday activities by up-cycling and re-purposing what’s readily available to minimize waste and keep costs low.
Let’s face it. Throwing themed parties can be wasteful – and costly. But that doesn’t mean you can’t throw a fun and totally dec’d-out on-theme party that minimizes both waste and costs! All it takes is some re-purposing, imagination, and creativity.
Activities, Activities, Activities for a Construction-Themed Party
Decorations are important (and pretty), but activities are PARAMOUNT at a toddler birthday party.
Here are the activities we constructed — without having to purchase new materials and without having to spend very much money at all. Plus, you can even eat the left-overs from some of these activities for months on afterward. True story.
Here’s how we built our construction-themed birthday party activities, Wabi Sabi style.
Build a Wrecking Ball Demolition Site!
Stack those boxes! Tower them tall! And get wrecking!!
This Wrecking Ball Demolition Site activity was an absolute hit!! The toddlers (and kids) immediately gravitated toward the demolition wrecking ball site as soon as they stepped foot into the party, and kept stacking and wrecking non-stop! This activity kept the kids thoroughly entertained.
And the best part? Building this Wrecking Ball Demolition Site cost us ZERO dollars!! It was all free to make. All this required was acquiring boxes —- boxes that are free and about to be flattened and recycled, anyway!
Just another example of how UP-CYCLING can be fun and free 🙂
Create ENDLESS fun by upcycling used materials and without spending any money
How to Build a Demolition Wrecking Ball Site
This is so easy, and resourceful. Get your pen and paper ready.
Materials: boxes, ball, rope, net.
- Step 1: Get boxes, a lot of boxes. Boxes of all shapes and sizes.
- Step 2: Stack boxes
- Step 3: To create the wreckling ball (optional), get rope, put ball in net, tie up the net with ball, and then secure the other end of the rope to an above structure
If you don’t have an over-head structure to secure the tethered wrecking ball to, you can skip this part. The kids simply LOVED directly wrecking the stacks of boxes themselves, so don’t fret if there’s no wrecking ball.
If you want to add a nice decorative note, you can tape some construction-themed tape or colorful tape on some boxes to make them stand out, but this is totally optional. We left the grand majority of boxes as they were – salad boxes, flour boxes, vegetable boxes, heck, even liquor boxes! Less work and adds to the sillyness! Plus, the kids won’t care!
NOTE: Heads-up, though, that you’ll want adult supervision. Toddler imaginations and energy forces can ramp up quick — so make sure an adult is watching so they don’t end up knocking each other out!
Where to get boxes?
Go to Costco, Sam’s Club, or your local warehouse-type store to get all the boxes you’ll need. These boxes are all absolutely FREE. They’ve got too many boxes than they know what to do with. Staff may even show appreciation of you taking home the boxes — less for them to remove! You’re making it easier on them, and you get the supplies you need. It’s a win-win.
Boxes, boxes, and more boxes
It may require a few trips, depending on how much you can fill in your vehicle(s), so expect a few trips. And sure, you might look a little suspicious with carts full of only boxes, but if anyone asks, just tell them you’ve got a birthday party. People will understand immediately. No questions asked.
What kind of boxes? How many boxes?
Get every box you can get your hands on! Asparagus boxes, pasta boxes, pancake boxes — even liquor boxes! Get a good mix of different shapes and sizes. They’ll make for more interesting stacking and wrecking!
Get enough boxes to create towering skycrapers in your demolition site! The more boxes there are, the more creative architectural possibilities for wrecking!
Get Stacking and Wrecking!!!
Create an Excavator Dig Site - Using Beans!
Create a wondrous and immersive construction-themed sensory activity by creating an excavation dig site — using beans!! Both the tots AND kids could not get enough of this excavation dig site. They sat in here for HOURS, even the big kids.
It’s an easy, mess-free, and zero-waste activity. We had a kiddie pool already. Instead of filling it with sand or dirt — which creates too much mess and would track everywhere — we filled the pool with beans!
Why beans?
Beans are smooth – kids love the feel of beans, their cool and smooth texture and the fact that they can grab them by the handfuls.
Beans are less messy. Unlike sand and dirt, beans won’t leave smudges and endless trails to clean up afterward. Your toddlers come out clean after playing in a pit full of beans! Beans are big enough to spot and clean up, while still being small enough for toddlers to dunk, sprinkle, and dig.
Beans are non-toxic and … edible! Zero wasted materials here. Collect the beans afterward and store for your favorite bean dishes for months on after! After the party, we sifted through the beans, sifting out any pebbles and dirt, and stored them away in our pantry. Sure, the toddlers played in them, but most grains and beans go through many hands in their harvesting and processing stages anyway before making it into their final packaged state in the grocery store. All the same!
Spilled beans grow into new beans – messes are imminent, but the best part is that spilled and tossed out beans turn into … new beans! We obviously anticipated some beans to spill over. In fact, we encouraged it. Beans fix nitrogen into the soil, and if you keep tending to them, you’ll get more beans. Plus, it’s a fun, continued activity for toddlers to watch the beans turn into beanstalks. Total WIN all around!
How to Create a Bean-Filled Excavation Dig Site
This was an incredibly fun and easy activity to build — and the toddlers stayed in there for HOURS! Even the kids.
Materials:
- 1 wading kiddie pool
- beans – any kind of bean and lots of them, enough to just cover the surface of the kiddie pool (we got 40 lbs)
- a few construction vehicles (which we got from the Dollar Store)
How many beans?
That will depend on the size of your kiddie pool. But all you need is enough beans to cover only the surface floor of the kiddie pool. You don’t need to fill the entire volume of the pool; just enough to cover the surface.
To ensure the best price for beans (40lbs can amount to quite a bit), you’ll want to compare at a few local grocery stores. I scouted out a few local markets and ultimately purchased our beans from a Grocery Outlet. They were only $1 dollar per pound (not bad!). So, building this activity did cost some money, but we knew we were using the beans for multiple purposes, including preparing whole meals out of them, so it was worthwhile.
Watch the toddlers dig, dump, and bulldoze for hours in this re-purposed bean-filled excavator dig site! Pull up a few lawn chairs and sit back and watch them play. Watch their imaginations take off.
And no problem if the beans scatter! They’ll just turn into magical beanstalks, continuing the mess-free fun long after the party’s over.
Best Part? Beans turn into Beanstalks.
Beans will scatter. Of course, they will. But that’s no problem. Because spilled beans from this activity turn into new beans.
While less construction theme-related, keep the wonder and exploration going by creating a nature-focused outdoor activity with your toddler by watching the beans sprout and grow into beanstalks long after the party’s concluded.
Watch the beans sprout and grow with your tot. Use this as an outdoor nature education activity, instilling in them the sense of wonder and fundamentals of how we grow our food.
Better yet, build a simple bean tent! Your tots will find it even more memorable if they can lie under all the beans from their Construction-Themed Birthday Party and watch them grow.
Up-Cycled. Re-Purposed. Wabi Sabi.
At Imperfectly Wabi Sabi, we celebrate the imperfections in life. We find beauty in the flaws and the chaos — especially in the up-cycled and re-purposed. We find creative ways to find the beauty and fun in life and share them with you to spread the joy.
Got other fun up-cycled, re-purposed construction-themed birthday party activities? Let’s hear them by leaving a comment!
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