When you are a parent you have to deal with a universal nightmare: your kids are watching TV or browse some magazines and find the latest trends in toys of all kinds, asking you to buy them. Preferably all of them! They always want the latest and biggest toys, which accidentally happen to be really expensive as well. You can probably follow their demands for some time but at some point their cost and expenses can get completely out of your control and hand. There is a good and fun solution to that. You can create your own toys.

Yes you can and it is actually something that many people do nowadays. It is not only cost effective but it is also fun and can prove to be a very enjoyable group activity, as you can work on them along with your kids and teach them some very interesting techniques and improve their creativity and craftsmanship. If you do so you will soon figure out that some of the most fun and educational toys are really made by parents.

What you can make? Pretty much everything depending on the level of your expertise and your own abilities: kites, forts, even electronic and electrical toys, if you are up to some circuits and engineering. You can make an array of toys, according to your kids' taste and needs, spending just a small fraction of what you would normally spend if buying the toys.

The best idea is to go for shopping a couple of months before Christmas, not only because that will give you enough time to prepare something for the holidays and surprise your kids but because prices in materials are really good, since the rush hasn't started yet and most of the stores are trying to get rid of materials before stocking for the Holidays. If you do a small research and decide what you are looking for you can find some really good deals.

When shopping for your new toys, make sure that you spend money on environmental friendly materials, avoiding as much as possible those that are PVC or any other harmful materials. First of all these are not safe for your kids and in any case it is good to teach them a lesson about 'green' toys. An ecological message along with a well appointed toy is a good combination, especially if the kid wants to participate in the whole idea of helping you. In this case, you can give your kid the chance to experiment with decoration and painting, buying though non toxic paints and simple decoration ideas.

The funny thing about kids and toys is that no matter how badly they want some of them, they always get bored easily and abandon them after a while, even though you payee a fortune to buy them. One thing you can do except for making toys is to organize some kind of exchange toy party, which is fun and useful. Kids and parents will bring their favorite toys to play, as well as some toys that are not favored for now. Kids can play all together and exchange some of them after the party, so they can try more new toys.