DIY Clipping Toy: Road Trip Sanity with a Toddler

Let’s make this DIY buckle toy! Kids of all ages will love playing with this buckle toy. They can clip and unclip the buckles. It’s a great way to keep your child busy and it is great fine motor skills practice too. And most importantly, this DIY buckle toy is the best toy for a long road trip. I promise you, it’ll save your sanity. Your child will be so busy with this buckle toy, they’ll be too busy and entertained to fuss.

DIY Buckle Toy

Homemade toys don’t have to be fancy. For young toddlers, sometimes the simpler the toy, the better the play. And when you need some quiet time, this is the toy you need to have on hand! Toddlers and preschoolers will have so much fun doing and undoing these buckles. And it’s great fine motor skills practice which is even better!

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Related: Check out this big list of fun quiet time activities.

Supplies for the DIY buckle clipping toy:

• Plastic Buckles
• Various ribbon scraps
• Two pieces of fabric – we used canvas as it was sturdy
• Other fun items (we added a pacifier, a bell, a key-chain, a zipper. I can also see this being a hit with various sizes and textures of Velcro).
• Sewing machine and thread

How to make this toddler learning toy:

Step 1

First, I threaded the buckles through the ribbon and affixed them to the right side of the fabric, or the side I wanted to be visible.

Step 2   

Then, I pinned the other piece of canvas (pretty side in) and sewed along the edge, leaving one side open, like a pillowcase.  

Step 3

We clipped the corners and turned the “pillowcase” inside out.  

Step 4

Now the buckles, which had been pinned on the inside of the two pieces of canvas, are on the outside.  

I reinforced the seams with another straight stitch along the outside, added a zipper and viola! I love homemade toys. Our toddler has had hours of fun clipping and unclipping these buckles!

Our experience With This DIY Buckle Toy

This DIY buckle, clipping toy kept my toddler (17m) entertained for hours! I was inspired to make this one morning at the park, when all the other kids were playing with the slides and the swings and the two toddlers at the park were hunched in deep concentration over a stroller, buckling and unbuckling the straps.

More Great Activities From kids Activities Blog

This is a great addition to our activity bag, especially as we were anticipating a long cross-country road trip. I am so thankful we made this, this and the “I Spy Shaking Bottle” were two of the toys that held my daughter’s attention!

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How did your buckle toy turn out?