Home made toys for tinys

[UniSarah]

I'm interested to hear what other mumsnetters have made/found for their babies to play with. NOT bought toys.
I'm sure my 11wk old isn't the only only one with a DVD and sraps of fabric dangling from his baby gym.

When they were a bit bigger, feet (their own) and keys were my top toys when out.

Rice or lentils in a bottle make a good shaker.

I've just kept a free bath set containing massage roller, sea sponge, odd looking wooden ridged thing (no idea what it's supposed to be for, but it feels interesting) and wooden hair brush for when ds is a bit bigger (he's 13 weeks), after reading the thread on treasure baskets a while ago.
Anyone else remember it and could remind me what else was on it?

I strung some of those empty cotton reels on a shoelace, and also put in a piece of fake fur to rub, a taped up film canister with some rice grains inside, a fir cone - anything I could find that felt interesting!

For older babies 1-2 year - wooden spoons wil faces drawn on them. Awake on one side and asleep on the other. Ds (age 2) plays for ages with them.

Camera film case with lentils in, it's defo a favourite.

Yogurt pot with almonds in and spare remote control same as current one (but for older baby).

Pots and pans
balloon wisk
tea ball (!)
Keys, keys and more keys. Keys again - once he could talk DS would attempt to mug any visitor for keys before they even got through the door.
loofah
set of nesting cake tins and a wooden spoon (don't forget the earplugs for yourself)
plastic lids in an old handbag
Stuffing the various pockets of the handbag with 'treasures' and giving it to ds when he woke up on Sun morning often netted us as much as an extra half hour or hour of peace......

ds has a length of green ribbon with two wodden curtain rings tied onto it! Loves it. Good for chewing, twanging, tugging, tickling you name it!

Plastic wrapper from supermarket baguette (its got holes in, and can be tied so that baby can crinkle away to its hearts content)

My DS loves playing with a handbag - I hide small toys in it and he goes raking. An empty plastic drinks bottle. Small cook books or magazines. Socks (his own!). Pans with plastic spoons in them. Old remote control - rather embarrassing that he presses it then looks at the TV (which he thinks is called the Pocoyo incidentally). Plastic tubs - or even better let him stand holding onto the drawer they're in and pull them out.

He's had a few great plastic toys from ELC that have done him since a few weeks old. But other than that he gets bored of his bought things in a few minutes.

Shower curtain rings, ds still plays with these strung together, he pulls them behind him, puts them into nooks and crannies, swings them around, rattles them, fits them over various this like pens, pegs etc. Loves them.

The washing machine. When tiny, he used to watch it. Now, I give him a pile of socks and (clean) washable wipes, and he stands and puts them all in, shuts the door, presses some buttons, claps, opens the door, takes them all out, puts them all in again... He is 15 months.

Another one that loves the balloon whisk here, too. And the tea-strainer.

Keys on a keyring with a very chewable leather key fob.

Pieces of white card with faces drawn on in thick black pen.

A wind-chime.

His older sister's toys, particularly her cooking things. Those plastic fruits with the velcro in so they come apart. Plastic plates and spoons and cups and saucepans. I wish I'd bought them for dd when she was 4 months rather than 2 years!

Ds had a happy 10 minutes with a pile of cd-roms yesterday, until dh caught him (they were the latest computer backup). Might have to put some blank ones in a box for him!

Dh has found that DS likes watching a tennis ball bounces, thrown and caught or rolled. I think a tennis ball counts as a found toy for an 11wk old. Dh is of course trying to indocrinate the boy already to like cricket.

Little tin ramekin dishes, that we can hide balls under. Empty loo and kitchen rolls. Saucepans and their lids (v loud that one!). Colanders & sieves. Funnel & empty milk carton in the bath. All kinds of plastic cooking utensils - we had to buy DH his own set for actually cooking with! Empty tissue boxes. Window envelopes. The draught excluder.

The handbag is a brill idea though - also the keys. DS is just going to love this thread!!!!

I have just bought a small rodent's climbing toy from our local garden centre. It is to add to my natural treasure basket for the children and is a chunk of a small branch complete with bark with several holes drilled through it. Great for peering through and stuffing things into.

Dh copied an idea we saw at Tumble Tots and made dd a toy out of a scrap piece of 4" x 4" wood - drilled some holes into the top, drilled all the way through from back to front three or four times, then part way through from either end, and cut some dowelling (which I think was actually the lengths he'd cut out of a stairgate to make a hole for the cat flap) into sticks that could either be poked all the way through, or just sit inside the shallower holes in the top and ends. Didn't cost a penny, and she played for hours with it from about 6 months to somewhere over 2.