UN-Crafty Busy Bags

Once upon a time before my boys were born I made these very crafty busy bags for my friend's son Sagan. And since having kids, I've managed to keep up my crafting hobby a little bit and to make them some fun DIY toys/activities so far. I've been wanting to make some busy bags for Calvin because he is such a great age for something like that... but what if I'm too busy to make busy bags?? Solution: throw together some easy - but still fun! - busy bags using small cheap toys and stuff we already had!

If you'd rather BUY than DIY :)

I saw an idea on Pinterest from the blog All Things Simple to use pencil pouches for busy bags and put them in a binder. Sounded very neat and organized, so I ordered this set of pouches on Amazon and I tried it out putting them in a binder. But even when I tried to stick to really flat items, it was just too fat to be easy to carry. It would have to be a pretty big binder. I prefer a tote bag, but I still like the pencil pouches because they are nice and sturdy (as opposed to zip lock bags, which is what I used for Sagan's busy bag... sorry Rachel!).

Small puzzle (Target) + tiny board book

Party favor-size Fun Dough ( I think these are from the Dollar Tree?) + small cookie cutters

A few cards from a matching game we already had. It's the Eboo Classic Matching Game. I had split the game up into sets because matching 24 pictures is WAY too many for Calvin's attention, and I just stuck one set in with the busy bags! You can usually find matching card games at the Dollar Tree for a cheaper option. 

Cheap little Magna-Doodle-type toy from Target. Calvin's never even seen Doc McStuffins! But he likes this toy.

Sticker album set from Dollar Tree

Little 4-packs of crayons from Target + computer paper, cut and stapled. For a cuter drawing surface, of course you could buy a notepad :)

The idea here is not to necessarily use these exact things, but to make one trip to Target or the Dollar Store and find a few simple items that you could turn into some easy busy bags. Or maybe even grab some small toys you already have at home to use temporarily in busy bags.

Here are some other ideas:
- small cars
- a handful of Duplos (or Legos if your kid is older)
- small animal figures
- colorful baby socks that your kid has outgrown, as a matching game (still waiting for Henry to outgrow those...!)

Anybody else have ideas to share?