Do you have a stack of plastic baby wipe boxes sitting around gathering dust like we did? It’s been a few years since our youngest was in diapers, but we amassed a serious collection of Chubbs boxes during that time, which were clearly too valuable to throw out or even recycle. We’ve used them for many things over the years, most commonly as organizers for the many small pieces of plastic that our children seem to accumulate wherever they go. But my favorite re-use trick is one we’ve done twice now, converting the boxes into little treasure chests for the participants of a pirate-themed birthday party.
The process is easy. Get your hands on a can of gold spray paint, a sheet of sand paper, and some plastic gemstones with a flat side (available at any craft store). Sand the shiny plastic sides of the box so they look a little scruffy, then spray the boxes with the gold paint. Let them dry and glue on some gemstones. Now just fill up the boxes with whatever goodies you want to give out to your little scurvy dogs (we went with pirate stickers, pirate tattoos, more plastic jewels and jewelry, and a bit of gold-wrapped candy).
For added fun, make a treasure map of your party location and place all the treasure chests under a sheet or tarp with a big "X" on it. When the kids follow the map and find the booty, you’ll feel like the best party planner in town.
I’m especially thrilled because this last batch of treasure chests we prepared for our son’s 5th birthday party used up the very last of our supply of Chubbs boxes! (I never thought I’d see that day.)
Credit for this creative re-use goes completely to the Geekmom in our family, but I was so impressed that I just had to share.
