How CUTE are these little Toy-rariums? We like to take the girls to a local kids museum where they sometimes have fun craft activities, and a couple of weeks ago they had these little kits for toy-rariums and I thought it was such a fun, cool idea to boost your child’s creativity that I had to share about this fun spin on kids’ terrariums!

In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m definitely not responsible for coming up with this idea. This was a really fun activity that we did while at the museum and I wanted to share because I think other mamas out there would love the opportunity for a cheap, fun craft to do with their kids!

Here are the steps we used to make this really creative little terrarium for kids inside of a toy, along with some other ideas I had about creating terrariums with your kids!

Step 1- Choose Your Toy!

We used a cheap, plastic animal for this. I also think this would work really well using a cute kids cup or bowl, or maybe another kind of toy that can stand up well on it’s own and has enough room to plant something in it. I even think using a cute old sneaker that doesn’t fit anymore could be cute!

Step 2- Create A Hole

The museum already had holes made, but it would be really easy to just take a quick drill and put a hole into the top of your animal toy, then use a pair of heavy-duty scissors or wire cutters to cute a rounded or oval hole large enough for a plant. I would say at minimum, you’ll want your hole to be 1 ½ inches long (again, either rounded or oval, depending on the shape of your animal that you’re using)

Obviously, if you’re using something that already has a hole or opening, like a toy teacup, this step could be skipped.

Step 3 – Pack in the Dirt

Use a little spoon and pack in as much dirt as you can get into the sides of the hole. If you’re using a plastic animal like we were, you’ll want to fill the empty cavity where the head is on one side, and where the back of the animal is.

Make sure to leave enough room for your plant!

Step 4 – Add a small scoop of pebbles

For this, you could either go outside and find a few tiny rocks, or you could just use some decorative pebbles, like the kind you put into a fish tank or use in crafts. This will help so the water doesn’t just sit in the bottom, if that makes sense. You’ll want to put a small scoop in at the bottom or your hole, after you’ve packed the sides full of dirt.

After you add your scoop of pebbles, cover them up with a thin layer of dirt.

Step 5- Plant your succulent

There are tons of different types of succulents you can use to create a terrarium, just make sure you are getting a very small-size! The museum told us they ordered these in bulk off of Amazon (freaking brilliant, they’re so cheap! I found some options here and here) but you could also go to a local garden section and choose a small one.

Make sure you are getting a succulent because they survive better in the limited growth space and with less water than other plants do.

If you are doing a larger toy or something like a little cup or bowl, it could be fun to add two or three plants together to create your terrarium.

Step 6 – Add the finishing touches

You’ll want to pack in as much dirt around your plant that’s been re-planted into your kids’ terrarium as you can so that it holds its place and won’t fall out. From here, you can add a few decorative pebbles on top and voila! Your toy-rarium is complete!

Caring for your toy-rarium

You will want to care for your new little plant the same way you would care for other succulents. Check the dirt once per day to see how dry it feels. If it is dry, add some water slowly to your terrarium until the dirt is wet. A great way to do this is by getting an ice cube and letting it melt on the dirt. If the dirt happens to still be wet, it doesn’t need to be watered. You want to avoid over-watering! Make sure your plant is in a place where it can get some regular sunlight as well.

For other tips on keeping your little plant alive… I’d suggest pinterest. I’m not exactly a green-thumb, hehe!

Other fun ideas for kids terrariums

-Building a kids’ terrarium out of legos and using lego accessories/people as decor

-Using a toy tea set to create a set of kids’ terrariums that could be displayed together using the teapot, the teacups, the sugar bowl, etc.

-Build a fairy garden with your kids and use your toyrarium as decor

-Create a more traditional terrarium following these same instructions using a glass bowl or vase instead of a toy

Have fun building your toyrariums! (P.S. If you want to see more fun mom-life stuff, make sure to pop over to instagram and say hi!)

XXOO Sunny