Build This TOY GUITAR With A Recycled RITZ Box!

Summer break tends to bring out the creativeness in all of us, doesn’t it? Trying to keep these kids busy for two solid months can be quite the challenge… and I don’t mean necessarily entertaining them all the while, but providing the resources to let their imaginations soar. I recently read an article (find it here) that focused on many children these days not understanding “how” to be bored because they are always provided some sort of amusement or distraction, whether it be a caregiver sitting and playing with them constantly or a tablet or television always available at the fingertip. I began thinking that perhaps I plan a bit too much when I should sit back more and let the little ones take control. Instead of having a game plan for each day, maybe I should let my children brainstorm for a bit about the adventures that they’d like to find and get into themselves. And perchance, I should step back and let them get lost in exciting ventures without me. <Enter sad face here> I don’t want to miss a thing but I also don’t want to raise children that solely rely on me. Just a little food for thought. Do you agree or disagree?

So for a few days we broke our ritual of heading to the pool after lunch and I opened my arts and crafts room up to my two daughters. My oldest ended up building a fort and writing letters to old friends under it (awesome idea!) and my youngest decided she wanted to learn how to play the keyboard. Arts and crafts didn’t even come into play but the musical instrument interest got my crafty juices flowing and the next day I set out materials to build some of our own instruments if the girls chose to do so. Without any prompting they both jumped on this idea so together we began our toy guitar experiment using our favorite snack, a RITZ® box! This is something my 10 year old could complete by herself however my 4 year old certainly needed a little help. WE HAD A BLAST!!

All you need:

• an empty RITZ® Cracker box
• a paper towel tube
• LONG rubber bands (we used 7 x 1/8 inch)
• scissors and duct tape or a heavy duty tape

To create a toy guitar:

1) Cut a hole in the top of the RITZ® box to fit the paper towel tube. Also cut a hole in the front of the box as a guitar body has a hole in the front as well to amplify the sound of the vibrating strings (in our case, rubber bands) from within the hollow body.

2) Secure the paper towel tube inside of the top of the RITZ® box with heavy duty tape. Use a lot of tape. A lot. Seal the entire top of the box shut.

3) Cut dashes into the top of the paper towel tube to place your rubber bands inside of. Then wrap your rubber bands into these slits and stretch around the entire box. Use tape to keep the rubber bands in place around the top of the paper towel tube and also tape the bottom of the box to keep bands from sliding around down there as well.

4) Enjoy!!

It may appear that I was having the most fun but indeed, all of us got quite the kick out of this project. My munchkins took turns strumming the guitar and by the end of the hour we started our own rock band with a few other instruments we have around the house. My husband was on camera duty and I am so in love with the videos that he took of our rock show. My 4 year old was running around head banging with her recorder and my 10 year old was singing her heart out with the keyboard… we put on quite the performance!!

Annnd… we worked up quite the appetite. Have you ever had a BBQ-Chipotle Pulled Chicken Topper?? It’s just another amazing thing you can do with the deliciousness of RITZ®! You’ll want to down a handful of these after all of your arts and crafting, for sure. Find the yummy recipe here!

You’ll also be excited to know that assorted varieties (including Fresh Stacks) will be on sale this month at the commissary, from June 16-30th! Only $1.89 for a 11.6 – 15.1 oz. box!!

The RITZ® Bits are going on sale, too! Both peanut butter and cheese varieties, 8.8 oz. boxes, for only $1.89 from June 16-30th!

The RITZ® Bits come in a smaller box. What difference in sound would different sized guitars create? There’s only one way to find out!! 😉

Visit MyMilitarySavings.com for more fun, family crafts and to find additional Commissary and Exchange savings!! It’s an all-around great site full of awesome information!!