Time to get silly with this mix-and-match stacking puzzle!
Earlier this week, we wrapped a bunch of empty boxes and built all sorts of tall towers and castles.
Today, I got over my fear of exposing my terrible art skills and drew Santa and Frosty to make this silly mix-and-match stacking puzzle.
Each box has either a hat, head, body, or bottom. Elena had to build a Santa or Frosty from the bottom up, and then she mixed and matched body parts to make a silly Santa.
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How to Make a Silly Stacking Puzzle
We have a Melissa & Doug Dress-Up Bear puzzle with interchangeable head, dress, and shoes that my three-year-old daughter, Elena, likes playing with. This inspired me to make a BIG Santa and Frosty puzzle using the same concept of interchangeable pieces.
Here’s how to make it.
Grab a bunch of empty cardboard boxes. We wrapped ours, but you don’t have to. Just make sure to tape them all shut.
Choose a two or more characters to draw. Then sketch them out on white paper. Our boxes were pretty big, so I used whole 8″x11″ sheets of paper. For the hats, I had to trim a bit off the top.
I taped each sheet to a box with packing tape, choosing the side which fit the paper best.
Then I spread the boxes under the Christmas tree, and we got ready to play.
The Mix-and-Match Silly Stacking Puzzle
Elena built Santa first. The stack is just tall enough that she has to go up on her tippy-toes to get the hat on top!
She did Frosty next. There was a lot of debate as I was attempting to draw Frosty over whether he should have “a little hammer in his mouth” (a.k.a. corncob pipe).
Elena insisted that he have the “little hammer,” but I really didn’t want him to have a pipe. If I’m being truly honest, it’s not because I’m anti-corncob pipe… it’s just that I couldn’t draw it in his mouth.
Sorry, kid.
I managed to convince her that Frosty doesn’t hold the hammer in his mouth anymore, he holds it in his hand.
Thankfully, she bought it. He has to hold it sometimes, right? Like to light it or refill it?
Anyway, the last thing we did was make a silly Santa and silly Frosty by mixing up the body parts.
Lots of giggles for this one!
Your Turn to Make a Silly Stacking Puzzle
Save some empty boxes for this one! I made mine a little fancier by wrapping the boxes, but you really don’t have to.
Use any kind of boxes you want, as long as kids can carry and stack them. Large foam blocks would be fun to use, too!
Hope you enjoy, and have a great Christmas!
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!