HIYA!!! Welcome to Our Play Cupboard

Super stoked you’ve chosen to check out our favourite items, as they are part of what makes our play sessions enjoyable at home. Most of the activities I share here aren’t made with hard-to-grab supplies, but they’re made in our small apartment using things we already have lying around – and sometimes with the basic supplies we pick up at our local store nearby. We made our dining table our art studio and play space, and our home has become a place where kitchen bowls have become sensory bins, toilet paper rolls have become craft projects and play items, clothes drying racks have become magnetic tile stations, and cardboard boxes have become paint canvases…..to be honest, the list is very long.

However, over the years, I’ve figured out which supplies we actually use again and again, and honestly, it’s a much more affordable list than you’d think – and this page isn’t here to convince you to buy more, no, it’s here to help you buy less, encourage you to use what you already own, and know which few things are actually worth keeping around if you enjoy simple crafts and play. So just think of it as a peek inside our family’s craft cupboard.

Once again, welcome, and do feel at home.

Play Cupboard For the Tired Mom

Your easy-going list of play materials that would help you through a long afternoon

The basics we can’t live without

  • glue sticks (not messy glue)
  • child-safe scissors
  • paper (coloured or plain)
  • crayons/markers

Worth buying because we use them constantly

  • pom poms
  • pipe cleaners
  • googly eyes
  • popsicle sticks
  • dot stickers
  • character stickers
  • foam shapes

The things we save instead of throwing away

  • toilet paper rolls
  • paper towel rolls
  • cereal boxes
  • egg cartons
  • old socks
  • old magazines
  • newspapers
  • paper bags

The balcony box

  • sidewalk chalk
  • bubbles
  • watering can
  • spray bottle
  • sponge
  • bucket
  • painter’s tape

Our balcony is tiny, but on warm days it becomes our outdoor play space

The playroom that is our kitchen

  • bowls
  • muffin tray
  • whisk
  • measuring cups
  • sponge
  • ice cube tray
  • wooden spoon
  • tongs
  • colander

Laundry basket

  • Socks
  • Pegs
  • Pillowcases
  • Blankets
  • Scarves

These are great for matching games, building forts, indoor bowling, and colour sorting.

Finger paint tree activity

Rainy day favourites

  • Colouring books
  • Printables
  • Stickers (the cheapest entertainment!)
  • Washi tape
  • Window markers (great for apartment windows and mirrors)
  • Reusable sticker books
  • Playdough
  • Water Wow books
  • Painter’s tape (for roads, hopscotch, obstacle courses)