This Christmas, in an effort to not spoil the kids and not buy too much "stuff" the gifts we bought them were well thought out and sought for their creativity and staying power.
Or so I thought. I bought my 5 -1/2 year old son a Lite Brite. Oh the memories I had of mine from when I was a kid! And my son loves anything that glows in the dark, flashlights and the like, as well as drawing pictures. So, when he picked out the Lite Brite for another child (a rouse to see what he would like for himself) I was delighted! My son loves to play with his Lite Brite, especially at bedtime.
However, last night I noticed (not for the first time) that it came with only a few sheets of the special paper with patterns on it. That was something that escaped me when I bought it. He has already used a few of the sheets and I am sure the day is coming soon when he needs new ones. It's just not the same to use a pattern over and over again, the white light shines through the holes, and you don't get that satisfying "punch" through the paper. Sigh.
So I looked up refill sheets online, and they retail for approximately $4.00 for 15 sheets. At first glance it looks like a simple $4.00 = happy kid equation... but then I realized, he'll use on average 20 sheets a month, so one package a month would be frustrating for him, PLUS $4.00 x 12 = $48, $48 dollars a year, plus shipping or gas money to get to the store... that is horrible considering the toy sells for $25. So, if he keeps this toy a few years and uses it often, as is the wish when you purchase a toy, it could add up to over $200.00 Hmm... frustrating!!! So I am on the hunt for ideas to make our own, I don't remember what I did as a child, I'm certain my parents would not have bought me refill sets.
Can anybody else help me out?
Scholars Choice.... $3.19 for 50 sheets of black construction paper, 12x18; depending on the size you need you could trim them down to size and possibly get 2 sheets out of one.... if you become a member the price is cheaper... 2.87
ReplyDeleteThis way you could use a white crayon or pencil crayon to draw your own designs... fun, fun, fun! Hope this helps a little ;)
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ReplyDeleteWow Julie - I didn't know you could buy a full block of just black construction paper - if it didn't work to cut in half, perhaps a smaller pattern would work by using newspaper to block out the unused holes... so he could get 50 full size sheets, and 50 smaller ones hmm. Your idea takes the price to $0.06 or even $0.03... (or even less!!!) down from $0.27 each sheet. Taking the total price down to like $10 a year (or 1/2 that!) saving me approx. $160 - $180 for 4 years. And I could customize them too!!! Awesome!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJulie beat me to it..but I was thinking some place must sell the sheets of paper and you can always go online to get designs for the paper.Glad to hear you have a pretty good solution!
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