The not-too-spooky cardboard village

STARTER GUIDE · AWAITING MAKER TESTING

Let’s make something lovely.

Before you begin: Stay within arm’s reach. Use age-rated washable materials; grown-ups handle cutting. Skip beads, buttons, loose magnets, batteries and other small parts around children who mouth objects.

1. 01

   Choose three boxes and remove staples, plastic windows and loose packaging. Keep them tabletop-sized.

2. 02

   Adults cut simple roof shapes from spare card. Tape roofs to the boxes without sharp exposed edges.

3. 03

   Cover each house with colored paper. Draw doors, windows, climbing vines and friendly ghosts instead of cutting tiny openings.

4. 04

   Arrange the houses on a large cardboard base. Draw connecting paths and add paper trees.

5. 05

   Name the village and take turns telling a story about who lives behind each door. Store it dry for another play session.

Make it personal

Make one house match your home and another that could only exist in a story.

The diagram illustrates the project idea; it is not a maker-tested result. Allow additional drying time. Estimated materials cost excludes equipment. Check your equipment and material instructions, verify template dimensions, and make a sample before a batch.