Fun with buttons, tots thru teens
In my sewing supplies drawer I have a box of buttons that dates back decades. Most of the stash belonged to my mother-in-law, who died in 2000. Maybe you have a box of vintage buttons, too—if so, you’ve got a treasure trove for the grandchildren, assuming you can stand to part with a few!
!!!Of course, playing with buttons is not for the littlest ones who still put things in their mouths!!! Beyond that, though, the possibilities are endless. Here are a few ideas:
Sorting games: For toddlers and early preschoolers (AGAIN, for the ones who won’t put the buttons in their mouth!), sorting the buttons by color, number of holes, shininess, material, or whatever other category you can dream up is lots of fun. Educational, too.
Button stacking: Once the grandkids have enough manual dexterity (age 4, give or take), see how high a stack you and your grandchild can make. With somewhat older children—maybe age 6 and up?—you could also stack competitively (“who can make the highest pile?”).
Temporary art: “Draw” with the buttons—make squares, triangles, flowers. No glue, so you and your preschool age grandchild can “erase” and start over instantly! (And you get your buttons back.)
Play “Button, button, who’s got the button”: This game is good for a little silliness and a little movement, but you do need several people to play. Here are the basic rules.
Button castanets: Fold a piece of very stiff card stock or thin cardboard in half—a piece about the size of a file card works well (roughly 3”x6” before folding). On the inside, glue two buttons on opposite sides, positioned one on each inside like this so that they will tap together when the castanet is shut. Let the glue dry, then tap the buttons together to make some music!
Rings: My preschool grandchildren loved this one. Dig through your stash for buttons like these that attach via a loop at the back rather than by holes through the button. Thread a twist-tie through the loop until the middle of the twist-tie is at the loop. Then wrap the twist-tie’s ends together, sizing the resulting circle to the child’s finger. Voilá, a beautiful ring!
Sock puppets: You have some old socks, too, right? If so, you can work with your grade-school-age children to make socket puppets with button eyes. Kids may especially need help sewing the “eyes” on, or with a glue gun to glue them on. https://www.cmosc.org/how-to-make-a-sock-puppet/ And of course the kids can then use the puppets to create their own show.
For teens: Well, it depends! Some teens might enjoy crafting earrings. Others might enjoy using old buttons in non-temporary art projects, such as collage or assemblage. And certain rebellious clothing styles can be enhanced with vintage buttons (you should have seen my decorated bell-bottoms when I was 16!).
Even with all these possibilities, it’s hard to imagine coming to an end of my extensive collection. I might have to jettison the remainder when I get around to Swedish Death Cleaning!