Altoid Tin Play Sets
This Christmas, I have partnered with Kids Tackle Cancer to help raise awareness of pediatric cancer and bring joy into the lives of pediatric cancer patients.
A few years ago, the little girl that lived up the road from us was diagnosed with cancer. This sweet little one was a ray of light all through her treatment. I often substituted her Sunday School class and had the chance to see her bubbly attitude. I felt like her parents wouldn’t want my help because, while I knew their daughter, I didn’t know them well and would probably be intruding.
It is still one of my biggest regrets in life that I didn’t see the need and fill it. I wish I had brought her coloring books and crayons during her treatment. I wish I had dropped off freezer meals to her parents for times of high stress. I promised myself I would never do that again, that I would fill the needs of those going through hardships around me.
Make Chemo Bags to Help Those Receiving Cancer Treatments
One of the ways I have loved to help is by making chemo bags for people going through cancer treatment. Filled with crayons, coloring books, books, and other fun things for people to do while receiving chemo, these bags help bring a little bit of joy to those experiencing a challenging time of life.
Tiny Play Sets
As I was walking around the store the other day looking for chemo bag supplies, I decided to try something new, and these little play sets were born. Each set is small, with all the pieces fitting inside a mint tin. They are meant to be portable, easy to pull out anywhere, and a little bit of fun to brighten someones’s day.
In all, I made five different types of tins:
- a tea set
- a play stove kitchen
- a play house (with alien spaceship scene, because why not?)
- a game set
- and a fishing set.
Through partnering with Kids Tackle Cancer, I have sat and watched many of their videos and have seen the reality of the hardships these kids face.
Why not help make their lives just a little easier through donating?
Watch the video below for sweet Natalie Gorsegner’s story of resilience.
Once you’ve seen a child battle cancer you can’t unsee it, you can’t unsee the pain. – Andrea Verdone Gorsegner
Kitchen Altoid Tin Play Set
Supplies Needed:
- an Altoid tin
- gray felt
- black felt
- white felt
- yellow felt
- brown felt
- tan felt
- hot glue
- a lot of patience, or a Cricut (Cricut Explore with a deep-cut blade or the Cricut Maker)
This kitchen playset is full of a lot of basic shapes that would be fairly easy to cut out with a good pair of scissors.
- For the stove top — a piece of white felt that is cut about the size of the top of your tin. I just laid my tin on top of the felt and cut around it. Hot glue the white felt to your tin to be the base of your stove. Next you need four little spirals and dials. These will be hot glued on top of the white felt.
- For the pancakes — Two circles: a light brown and a dark brown glued on top of each other with a small square of yellow.
- For the eggs — a curvy circle of white with a yellow circle glued on top.
- For the toast — Two toast-shaped pieces: a light brown and a dark brown glued on top of each other.
- For the cookie sheet — a square of gray felt with rounded edges.
- For the pan — a half circle with a rounded bottom and flat top and a handle sticking out.
- For the pot — a square with the corners rounded on the bottoms and the entire top rounded.
Kitchen Altoid Tin Play Set
Materials
- an Altoid tin
- gray felt
- black felt
- white felt
- yellow felt
- brown felt
- tan felt
- hot glue
- a lot of patience or a Cricut (Cricut Explore with a deep-cut blade or the Cricut Maker)
Instructions
- This kitchen playset is full of a lot of basic shapes that would be fairly easy to cut out with a good pair of scissors.
- For the stove top — a piece of white felt that is cut about the size of the top of your tin. I just laid my tin on top of the felt and cut around it. Hot glue the white felt to your tin to be the base of your stove. Next you need four little spirals and dials. These will be hot glued on top of the white felt.
- For the pancakes — Two circles: a light brown and a dark brown glued on top of each other with a small square of yellow.
- For the eggs — a curvy circle of white with a yellow circle glued on top.
- For the toast — Two toast-shaped pieces: a light brown and a dark brown glued on top of each other.
- For the cookie sheet — a square of gray felt with rounded edges.
- For the pan — a half circle with a rounded bottom and flat top and a handle sticking out.
- For the pot — a square with the corners rounded on the bottoms and the entire top rounded.
Tea Set Altoid Tin Play Set
Supplies Needed:
- an Altoid tin
- pink felt
- hot glue
- a lot of patience, or a Cricut Maker
While this set would be a bit harder to cut out without cutting machine, if you simplify some of the images it should be pretty easy to cut. If you have a Cricut Explore/Maker, find my design files to cut your own here: Tea Set Altoid Tin Play Set.
- For the top of the tin — cut a piece of pink felt that is large enough to cover the top of the pink tin and then hot glue it on.
- For the tea pot — this piece will be the trickiest to cut without a machine. Make sure to add a spout and leave room to cut out the handle with a blade after you cut the rest with scissors. Add a fun design or flower to the center of the pot.
- For the tea cups — These will be much easier than the teapot to cut. Make sure to cut rounded edges and leave space to cut out the handle.
- For the Donuts — Super simple! These are just a circle with a smaller circle taken out of the center. Add a squiggly piece of frosting and you are set.
Tea Set Altoid Tin Play Set
Ingredients
- an Altoid tin
- pink felt
- hot glue
- a lot of patience or a Cricut Maker
- While this set would be a bit harder to cut out without cutting machine if you simplify some of the images it should be pretty easy toa cut. If you have a Cricut Explore/Maker, find my design files to cut your own here: Tea Set Altoid Tin Play Set.
Instructions
- For the top of the tin — cut a piece of pink felt that is large enough to cover the top of the pink tin and then hot glue it on.
- For the tea pot — this piece will be the trickiest to cut without a machine. Make sure to add a spout and leave room to cut out the handle with a blade after you cut the rest with scissors. Add a fun design or flower to the center of the pot.
- For the tea cups — These will be much easier than the teapot to cut. Make sure to cut rounded edges and leave space to cut out the handle.
- For the Donuts — Super simple! These are just a circle with a smaller circle taken out of the center. Add a squiggly piece of frosting and you are set.
The next tin sets are so much fun and no special cutter is needed — just a printer and some scissors!
All of the pieces for these sets come printed on one page. (You can find the download at the end of the post). Print all of the images on a piece of card stock for stability (be sure to print to size instead of scaling). Then cut out each rectangle. The rectangles are made to fit in the tins if you cut just inside the black lines.
Play House Altoid Tin Play Set
Supplies Needed:
- the mini printables found at the end of this post
- pictures of your kids, printed wallet-sized
- hot glue
- a laminator and laminating sheets
Take the wallet-sized pictures of your kids and cut them out as close around your children as you can get. Then cut out the alien play set pieces as well.
After you have each of the play sets cut out, laminate them for extra durability and pick one to hot glue to the front of the tin. I picked the living room set because that is what my kids play with the most, but there is also a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, or even an alien play set with a space background to choose from.
Store all of the little pieces inside when you aren’t playing with them.
Play House Altoid Tin Play Set
Materials
- the mini printables found at the end of this post
- pictures of your kids printed wallet-sized
- hot glue
- a laminator and laminating sheets
- Altoid Tin Play Set - Doll House
Instructions
- Take the wallet-sized pictures of your kids and cut them out as close around your children as you can get. Then cut out the alien play set pieces as well.
- After you have each of the play sets cut out, laminate them for extra durability and pick one to hot glue to the front of the tin. I picked the living room set because that is what my kids play with the most, but there is also a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, or even an alien play set with a space background to choose from.
- Store all of the little pieces inside when you aren’t playing with them.
Tic Tac Toe and Dot Game Play Set
Supplied Needed:
- the mini printables found at the end of this post
- 5 black buttons (can be any color)
- 5 white buttons (can be any color)
- hot glue
- a laminator and laminating sheets
This set is made just like the house or alien play set: print out the Tic Tac Toe and Dot Game printables, and trim them to just inside the black lines. Laminate. Hot glue the Tic Tac Toe board to the top of your tin and put the Dot Game inside for storage. Add five black buttons and five white buttons to the tin for use when you are playing Tic Tac Toe, and a small whiteboard marker for the Dot Game. You can use any color of buttons you want, as long as they are different from each other.
Tic Tac Toe and Dot Game Play Set
Materials
- the mini printables found at the end of this post
- 5 black buttons can be any color
- 5 white buttons can be any color
- hot glue
- a laminator and laminating sheets
Instructions
- print out the Tic Tac Toe and Dot Game printables
- trim them to just inside the black lines.
- Laminate
- Hot glue the Tic Tac Toe board to the top of your tin and put the Dot Game inside for storage
- Add five black buttons and five white buttons to the tin for use when you are playing Tic Tac Toe, and a small whiteboard marker for the Dot Game.
Notes
Go Fish Altoid Tin Play Set
Supplies Needed:
- an Altoid tin
- blue felt
- green felt
- pink felt
- yellow felt
- a small bamboo skewer
- bakers twine
- paper clips
- a magnet
- hot glue
- a lot of patience and scissors, or a Cricut Maker
If you have a Cricut Explore/Maker, find my design files to cut your own here — Go Fish Altoid Tin Play Set.
- For the background — Cut out a piece of blue felt that covers the top of the tin. Hot glue it in place. Add small strands of green felt and a fish to complete the top.
- For the fish — cut fish of all colors out of felt. This should be pretty easy by hand if you don’t have a machine. Add a paper clip to the front part of each fish.
- For the fishing pole — measure your tin and cut down the fishing pole to be small enough to fit inside of it. Add hot glue to the end of the pole and wrap your twine around it several times until it is secure. Leave a couple inches hanging off of the pole. Add a line of hot glue to a strong magnet and attach to the end of the string. Hot glue around the entire magnet, wrapping the twine all the way around the magnet for increased stability.
When your fishing set it done, lay out all the fish and try to catch as many as you can in a single cast!
Store all of the pieces and pole inside the tin for easy convenience.
Go Fish Altoid Tin Play Set
Materials
- an Altoid tin
- blue felt
- green felt
- pink felt
- yellow felt
- a small bamboo skewer
- bakers twine
- paper clips
- a magnet
- hot glue
- a lot of patience and scissors or a Cricut Maker
- If you have a Cricut Explore/Maker find my design files to cut your own here — Go Fish Altoid Tin Play Set.
Instructions
- For the background — Cut out a piece of blue felt that covers the top of the tin. Hot glue it in place. Add small strands of green felt and a fish to complete the top.
- For the fish — cut fish of all colors out of felt. This should be pretty easy by hand if you don't have a machine. Add a paper clip to the front part of each fish.
- For the fishing pole — measure your tin and cut down the fishing pole to be small enough to fit inside of it. Add hot glue to the end of the pole and wrap your twine around it several times until it is secure. Leave a couple inches hanging off of the pole. Add a line of hot glue to a strong magnet and attach to the end of the string. Hot glue around the entire magnet, wrapping the twine all the way around the magnet for increased stability.
- When your fishing set it done, lay out all the fish and try to catch as many as you can in a single cast!
- Store all of the pieces and pole inside the tin for easy convenience.
These toy sets were such a joy to make! My toddler has already claimed them for her own, so I will be making more to give away and brighten someone else’s day. What would you do to make someone’s day a little brighter?
Printables in this post are for personal use and available to subscribers of Housewife Eclectic only. To use this printable, please SUBSCRIBE NOW.
That is a mighty cute idea. I don’t even think they sell Altoids around here anymore, but I will be on the lookout because I want to make one of these.
These are super cute, the tiny detail is really great! This is also a great way to reuse Altoid tins.
All of these on-the-go sets are adorable and I especially love the tea set! I need to start saving my Altoid tins and try to replicate your sets. They are too cute!
I just love the idea of making a chemo bag for someone in need. These Altoid tins are adorable. I need to try and make these.
You have done a great job of making something out of an old tin. These would be great for different occasions for the kids to play with like sitting in a doctors office or when they need to play quietly for awhile.
I love these. What a great idea for a little gift. I can see these being great for stockings.
What great stocking stuffers these will be! They look like they will be easy to put together and hours of fun to play with.
I love this project. It came out so cute! I think my kids would love to help me make these. Then they would love to play with them!
This looks like so much fun and its completely adorable. I would have loved this growing up.
Oh these sets are just way too clever! What a wonderful way to package some fun activities!
This is such a cute idea. I have a bunch of Altoid tins I could use for these. I will have to get the supplies I need to make a few.
I’ve heard of making chemo bags especially for young kids and even teens! This is something so special and I love all of the little playsets that you made!
Each of these ideas are super cute. I typically save the tens for spare change, sewing notions, etc. and I never imagined creating playsets with them.
Paediatric cancer is really such a sad thing. One should do whatever possible to retain the smiles on the faces of these little angels. Nice initiative to do our bit. The tin play sets are sure to light up a little ones life.
Well those are nifty! I like the portability of these things!
These turned out to be so cute. It will keep kids entertained on road trips or keep them pre-occupied so they won’t think about their illness. These tin play sets would definitely brighten up someone’s day!
Wow, I never thought of creating this would turn out pretty nice. I love the creativity! This will indeed brighten someone’s day.
this is the cutest post I’ve seen all day! my niece and nephew will love this when I make it for them! and for my OCD self, I LOVE the easy-to-follow instuctions!
This is such a cute idea and set. This turned out great.