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    See More:   Kids activities Kids Crafts

    Last Modified: Apr 21, 2023 by Tara Gerner 19 Comments

    Making a Homemade Play Mailbox

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    After reading about this crafty mailbox on No Time for Flashcards, I was inspired to make one with Grace. She loves getting the mail.a little boy putting mail into a pretend mailboxPin

    When Allie first posted it, I knew it was a project that Grace would love, but I put it on my mental back burner, and we never made it. This past week, though, we got a small box in the mail from Sara Lee, and as soon as I saw it, I thought would make the perfect mailbox.

    I was right.

    I started out by cutting a hole in one side of the box, near the top.

    Then Joe came in from mowing the grass and having been attacked by yellow jackets. Mailbox-making got put on hold for a few days. During that time, Grace found it and colored on it.

    a pretend mailbox that was colored by a little girlPin

    Allie cut the bottom off of her mailbox, but I want to use our mailbox to store the letters, so I left the bottom on and cut a flap in the back (much like a real mailbox might have). I trimmed the flap an extra ¼ inch or so to leave a space for Grace to get her finger inside the box to pull the flap out. After thinking more about it, I wish I'd cut a corner off. That would have been easier for her to grab.

    A close up of a boxPin

    I hated to cover up Grace's masterpiece, but I thought it made sense to cover the mailbox in order to make the holes nicer for long term play. I used a roll of craft paper that we got for Grace's easel, and I wrapped it like a present, making sure to cover to cover the two openings. I used packing tape to hold the paper on (because I thought it would hold better than Scotch tape and look nicer than masking tape).

    The paper wasn't wide enough, so I had to do the short ends separately.

    A close up of a homemade mailbox Pin

    Once I had the box all covered, I slit the paper in an X on top of each opening. I folded the paper back into the opening, and then taped it in place on the inside of the box.

    Clearly, my openings are not nice squares. Grace doesn't seem to mind.

    Homemade Play Mailbox Mail FlapPin A close up of a boxPin Homemade Play Mailbox Mail SlotPin

    For the flap, cutting the paper into an X covered the raw cardboard edges, but it left the flap uncovered. I used a piece of paper to cover the flap all around. I like how that turned out. (Remember I cut a little extra off of the flap so that Grace would be able to open it more easily.)

    Homemade Play Mailbox FlapPin

    I think we will eventually decorate the mailbox, but Grace didn't have any thoughts about how she wanted to do that. I tabled it for now since she likes playing with it the way it is.

    Homemade Play Mailbox filled with LettersPin

    Allie made letters with her son, and I thought that was a great idea. The only plain envelopes that we have are the long ones, and I didn't think they'd be very fun. Instead, I raided my stationery collection for a few pretty cards and stickers. I also grabbed the sample cards I received for my Paper Culture review because they are a nice size for pretend postcards.

    Cards for Grace's Homemade Play MailboxPin

    Grace wrote notes on some of the cards, and she asked me to address some of them. We used real return address labels that I'd gotten in some junk mail. We used stickers instead of stamps, and we "sealed" the envelopes with stickers, too.

    Letters for Grace's Homemade Play MailboxPin

    Once we finished making the box and our letters, I played Allie's In the Mailbox song for Grace, and she begged me to play it over and over until she knew all of the words.

    Grace loves Allie's In the Mailbox songPin

    Love that!

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    1. Allie says

      September 16, 2009 at 3:10 am

      That is awesome and I am always shocked kids love the singing , did I ever tell you I was asked to mouth the words to songs during rush in college, even my sorority sisters didn't want to hear me sing!

      I am so happy you two had fun making it and the door is genius !
      .-= Allie´s last blog ..Pretend Play: Get Traveling =-.

      Reply
    2. Allie says

      September 15, 2009 at 10:10 pm

      That is awesome and I am always shocked kids love the singing , did I ever tell you I was asked to mouth the words to songs during rush in college, even my sorority sisters didn't want to hear me sing!

      I am so happy you two had fun making it and the door is genius !
      .-= Allie´s last blog ..Pretend Play: Get Traveling =-.

      Reply
    3. Lynn says

      September 16, 2009 at 3:39 am

      Thank you for the reminder; I should make one of these for my little guy. LOVE the photo of Grace watching Allie sing. So funny.

      Reply
    4. Lynn says

      September 15, 2009 at 10:39 pm

      Thank you for the reminder; I should make one of these for my little guy. LOVE the photo of Grace watching Allie sing. So funny.

      Reply
    5. Lisa@Blessedwithgrace says

      September 16, 2009 at 3:35 pm

      How cute!!! We love sending mail AND receiving it! I love this idea.AND, because of you I am an Allie fan too!!
      .-= Lisa@Blessedwithgrace´s last blog ..How do you teach a child to pray? (Giveaway, too!) =-.

      Reply
    6. Lisa says

      September 16, 2009 at 11:28 pm

      What a good mom you are! 🙂 This is a great idea. I for sure want to do this with my boys.
      .-= Lisa´s last blog ..Wreath Hanging 101 =-.

      Reply
    7. Lisa says

      September 16, 2009 at 6:28 pm

      What a good mom you are! 🙂 This is a great idea. I for sure want to do this with my boys.
      .-= Lisa´s last blog ..Wreath Hanging 101 =-.

      Reply
    8. Lisa@Blessedwithgrace says

      September 16, 2009 at 8:35 pm

      How cute!!! We love sending mail AND receiving it! I love this idea.AND, because of you I am an Allie fan too!!
      .-= Lisa@Blessedwithgrace´s last blog ..How do you teach a child to pray? (Giveaway, too!) =-.

      Reply
    9. Dawn (Painter Mommy) says

      September 18, 2009 at 11:10 am

      What a great idea! I am going to try this for my kids. They would love it!

      DAWN
      .-= Dawn (Painter Mommy)´s last blog ..Back to School – How to Make Mornings a Little Easier =-.

      Reply
    10. Dawn (Painter Mommy) says

      September 18, 2009 at 4:10 pm

      What a great idea! I am going to try this for my kids. They would love it!

      DAWN
      .-= Dawn (Painter Mommy)´s last blog ..Back to School – How to Make Mornings a Little Easier =-.

      Reply
    11. Matahiarii H. says

      December 18, 2012 at 9:44 pm

      This is a great idea! I used present wrapping paper for the outside decoration- it looks neat because its shiny! thanks for the idea...

      .-=Matahiarii=-.

      Reply
      • Tara Ziegmont says

        December 18, 2012 at 11:07 pm

        That would be really fun. Thanks for sharing!

        Reply
    12. Jennifer (aka Hint Mama) says

      October 30, 2014 at 2:16 pm

      Love that you incorporated free return address labels into mail play - great idea! Featured your great how-to in a recent hint - http://hintmama.com/2014/10/29/todays-hint-the-best-playtime-stickers/

      Reply

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