Turn a closet or bathroom into a time machine. Have the child go in, and when he/she comes out have a whole new "world" set up that's a different place in time. You can use other toys for props. For example, if your child has dinosaurs, you can pretend to go back to the time of the dinosaurs. If your child has a lot of space/alien stuff, you can pretend to go into the future. If your child has cowboy stuff, you can go back to the days of the Wild West. For added fun, you can pretend that the time machine is "broken" and there is no way to get back to "the present." See how your child tries to "fix" the time machine.
As you can see, with a little imagination, there are many games and activities you can play with your child that don't involve expensive toys. Most kids are thrilled to have some time with Mom or Dad anyway, and will find these games to be a pleasant change from the usual video or board game. If you use the toys your child already has for some of these games, they will also see those toys in a new light, and the toys will become interesting again. How elaborate you make these games depends only on how much time you have and how much clean up you want to have afterwards!
Contributed by Jennifer Spieler
The stuffed animals are out again, this time as farm animals. Dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, sheep…anything that's a farm animal can be used for this game. Set up the "farm" in a room and create separate areas, such as the horse barn, the grazing field, etc. You can play "what does the ____ say?" with a younger child, teaching them the various sounds that farm animals make. If you have some of those plastic Easter eggs lying around, you can pretend to gather eggs from the chickens!
Contributed by Jennifer Spieler
This game assumes that your child has at least some stuffed animals. The stuffed animals become the zoo animals, and you set them up in their "cages." You can use the furniture for the different areas of the zoo--i.e., a couch could be the primate house, a chair could hold reptiles, etc. When I looked at my son's stuffed animals I found quite a few that would work for a zoo: giraffe, elephant, monkey, bear, panda, koala, seal, snake, rabbit, horse. With your child, you can either play "A Visit to the Zoo" or "Zookeeper." For "A Visit to the Zoo," you can take turns pretending to observe the animals in their "cages" while the other makes the animal move around or perform. If your child has already been to a real zoo, you can make this game a re-enactment of their visit there, with your child talking about what he/she saw. If your child has not been to a real zoo, you can use this game to talk about what a zoo is, what it is like, and perhaps plan a visit to one for a future date. For the "Zookeeper" game, you and your child can pretend to be the zookeepers and/or trainers who care for the animals. Once you play this game once with your child, he/she will be able to play it alone or with siblings/friends the next time around.
Contributed by Jennifer Spieler
How can I make an easy costume?