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Derek and I have been to our fair share of kid birthday parties, all well before our girls came along. I’ve seen the fun these kids have had with a piñata as an activity, but with the 7 kids attending our birthday party all being well under the age of 5, I thought a punch box might be just as a fun but more fair.
A punch box is just as it sounds – a box crafted up to let kids punch a hole and grab a prize! I’ve seen a bunch of tutorials online and took a little bit of each one to make mine. Here’s how I made it!
Supplies:
- Recycled cardboard box.
- Tissue Paper
- Craft knife / box cutter
- Pencil
- Hot Glue Gun
- Containers – Plastic cups, bowls or little boxes to hold the goodies
- Goodies that fit inside your containers of choice
- Spray paint
Decide which side of your box is the front and which is the back. Cut a large hole out of the back of the box so you can see inside. (Fun fact: our box was from the vanity cabinet from our bathroom makeover.)
On the front of the box, draw and cut out the holes that the kids will punch through. Make sure these holes fit their hands but are smaller than the container you’ll use to hold the goodies. I chose cups for my containers so circles it was!
Paint the box using spray paint. I considered acrylic paint but thought it might soak into the box too much and possibly warp it. This worked out! (especially since I didn’t have to do it! haha)
Flip the box over. Glue colored tissue paper over the holes. This is what the kids will punch through! I actually doubled mine up since the first layer seemed a little see through.
Lay goodies down on the tissue paper and place the container on top to make sure it all fits.
Glue the container down in place. Tip: make sure the goodies aren’t too heavy that they break through the tissue paper during this prep stage!
Now you’re ready for some fun!
On the big day, let each kid take turns choosing a hole to punch! We had 5 kids who were old enough to understand the concept, so I let them each punch 2 holes, one of each color.
There were many duplicate items inside so having them choose only one of each color helped ensure they didn’t get two of the same prizes. (Blue meant fruit snacks and purple meant an art item)
Everyone loved the punch box! There was a little hesitation by some wondering what’s inside, but they got over it when others were pulling out prizes! (HALLOWEEN FANATICS – this would make a really fun feel box for Halloween!)
Check out more on the Under the Sea Birthday Party!
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