Why buy toys when you can ask for boxes!

Why, oh why do I have a closet, with wrapped TOYS in it for my child for Christmas?

Because she'll enjoy them? Because it's nice to give out Christmas gifts? Because she believes in Santa Clause?

All of these things are true. However, these toys all came in the mail, and therefore, I have a lot of boxes lying around the house. Two of which are hanging out in the family room.

So far, this morning, my daughter has turned herself into a "jack in the box", she's turned the boxes into a dump truck, she's colored on the boxes, used them as "blocks, they were a bed for her "babies". I never bought into the whole "kids will like the boxes more than the toys".

Until I had one.

We are going on almost three hours of playing with these two boxes.

And nothing else.

But, you know what? Why not. She's having fun, using her imagination and entertaining herself in a way that is promoting creativity. She has an imagination that I am simply envious of. How great it would be to be genuinely entertained for that amount of time over two cardboard boxes sitting on the floor! The best part? The more time she spends playing with these boxes, is the less time she's spending pulling out each and every toy she owns and carpeting the floor with them!