It’s not just dollhouses that can be made from cardboard. You can also make a cool fort or castle out of a cardboard box and some toilet rolls. This easy recycled craft activity will provide hours of imaginative play for your child.

What you need:

• 1 cardboard box
• 4 toilet rolls
• 2 drinking straws
• string
• green craft paper
• blue craft paper
• scissors
• glue or stickytape
• craft knife

Activity:

1. Trim the flaps off your cardboard box. Now cut some battlements into the top of your castle.
2. Make a flag tower using a half length of straw, a triangular piece of blue craft paper and the toilet roll. Stick the blue triangle to the straw and then stick the straw to the toilet roll. Cut two slits into the bottom of the toilet roll and use them to wedge the flag tower to one of the front corners of the parapet. Make at least one more flag tower, or you could even put one on each corner.
3. Cut a drawbridge into the front of the castle, leave the bottom edge attached/uncut.  Attach some string to the drawbridge and thread it back through the front facade of the castle so you can draw up the drawbridge when enemies approach!
4. Now cut some windows into the facade.
5. Make some toilet roll trees: cut a treetop shape out of the green paper, cut two slits into the top of a toilet roll and wedge the treetop into the toilet roll (trunk).
6. Your castle is now ready for play!

Notes:

• Let your child’s imagination run wild as they decorate the castle with paint, crayons, collage, or stickers.
• If you don’t want to use toilet rolls, use inner tubes from kitchen paper or gift wrap, or make your own cardboard tubes by cutting a piece of card to size, rolling it up and securing with tape.