In Praise of the Empty Box

When I was a kid, playing usually meant something involved with a ball. There was baseball and basketball and football. But there was also kickball, punch ball and dodge ball. We even used the hedges in my front yard as a net for volleyball. I still think that's why soccer never took off in this country - the sport didn't end in "ball."

But while I had a love of ball sports, there was something else that was great, too. It didn't happen too often but when it did, it never failed to provide hours of fun. It was always a great day when someone purchased a large appliance and left the box intact for the kids to play in.

Yes, I used to get excited about a large empty box.

By far the best was a refrigerator box. Those were big enough for multiple people to be in at once. Climb in the box and roll down the hill. It was like sledding without the cold. They also made great forts, good obstacles to jump over, especially if you could make a ramp with something else for your bike. And whenever the box started to rip and tear, you could make it into a weapon.

Good times!

There's a Sponge Bob episode now where he and Patrick buy a big screen TV. But they throw out the TV and use the box to play in. Squidward, the neighbor who thinks he's above the childish play of Sponge Bob and Patrick, asks if he can have the TV. Sponge Bob willingly gives it to him. But Squidward cannot enjoy his new TV because Sponge Bob and Patrick are having too much fun in the big empty box.

It's one of my favorite episodes because it celebrates imagination. Also, it doesn't hurt with some classic bad things happening to Squidward, either. But would 21st Century kids still enjoy what entertained us back in the dark ages? Would kids raised on 24-hour TV networks, laptops and the Wii still relate to something as low-tech as an empty box?

I'm happy to say the answer is yes.

We were trying to clean out the junkyard known as our garage. Most of the stuff in there is my wife's but I admit to being responsible for some space-wasting items - empty boxes. You see, there was a 10-year period in my life where I moved virtually every year. And when you constantly move, you need good strong boxes. So, I have a hard time throwing out a sturdy box.

But as we have been in our current house for nearly eight years, I decided that it was kind of silly to still be hoarding boxes. I started to break them down and put them in the recycling can but I kept one intact and left it for the kids. I didn't make any big deal about it - just placed it in the front yard. Soon, both the four-year old and the seven-year old were arguing about whose turn it was in the box.

Then the neighbor across the street came over and the three of them came up with even more ways to play with the box. They wanted to be mobile with it, so they ended up getting a pair of scissors and cut out a circle in the middle so they could see while walking with the box on their head. They wrote on the box and decorated it and basically invented all different games to play.

They had a blast, proving the timelessness of the empty box.

So, the next time you're searching for a way for kids to enjoy an afternoon, forget the video store or structured activities or anything that requires a trip to Hobby Lobby. Instead give them a big empty box. You will be amazed with the results. And if you have to buy yourself something in the process so there's a giant box - well, it just goes to show how you'll do anything for your kids.