Never underestimate the power of a box

Last week, my husband came home from work with a surprise for the girls: a pair of empty boxes. And not just any boxes, but really big boxes.

You would have thought the girls just won the lottery. As soon as they regained their composure and could form complete (or, in the case of the 2-year-old, partial) sentences, they set to work making these really big boxes their own. With nothing but markers, scissors, and some tape, the boxes were transformed into "houses" complete with a mail slot and sky light for Emily and a pretend fishbowl and window garden for Erin.

Several days later, and the boxes are still the most popular toys in the house. Never underestimate the power of a box to bring endless hours of enjoyment to kids of all ages.

Got a few empty boxes laying around? Before you recycle them, hand them over to the kids and let their imaginations run wild. If they need a little inspiration, have them try one of these projects for turning a plain old box into a timeless treasure.

•Airplane costume
•Fire truck box toy
•Decorative photo memory box
•Papier-mache television
•Box guitar
•Easy easel

Jenn Savedge's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.