Creating treasure baskets for babies and 6 ideas of what to fill them with

I do have a little bit {or maybe a lot} of love for baskets! Really, though – in a house full of children, baskets are a life-saver. In the playroom they mean everything has a home which makes tidying up so much quicker! And they can hide an awful lot of clutter and make your house look tidy in no time at all!

When all my children have been babies, we’ve always used baskets for their toys. Little, shallow baskets that they can reach inside of easily. Treasure baskets – perfect for little babies to explore. I’ve always kept a basket or two filled with items pretty much from them being born… especially in my bedroom and the living room. It’s an easy way to make sure you have some toys on hand to entertain them. For Vega, we’ve ended up with several baskets dotted around the house. Because our home is quite large, having a basket of toys in each room means I don’t have to go searching for toys or remember to take some things with me if we go to a different room! Having a basket on hand wherever we are means Vega always has something to occupy him, and things I know are safe for him to have.

Babies seem to prefer things that aren’t toys the most! Wooden spoons, cookie cutters, keys, shells, stones {not to mention Mama’s mobile phone!}. While I’m not totally against plastic toys, I do prefer wooden, natural toys – but my pet hate is those electronic, flashing toys – the ones with an annoying loop of music. The reason I dislike them is that they don’t encourage imaginative play – they only do what they do – things like wooden blocks, or a stone, can be anything you can imagine, and something different each time you play with them.

Here are a few ideas of things, other than specific baby toys, to put into those toy baskets. Remember, you know your baby best, so put the things you think they’ll like the most in, and what is suitable for their age

Metal objects: egg cup, measuring spoons, tea strainer, whisk, honey drizzler
Wooden objects: wooden block, small bowl, pegs, spoons, curtain rings,
Natural objects: coconut shell, loofah, shells, pine/fir cones, driftwood, large pebbles.
Fabric objects: bean bag, leather key ring, coloured ribbons, knitted toy, piece of rope
Brushes: toothbrush, make-up brush, soft babies hairbrush, paintbrushes
Misc objects small empty bottle {such as a vanilla extract bottle}, piece of greaseproof paper, ball, bath plug with chain, strong cardboard tube