We have yet to buy a single toy for the Trikester (don’t feel sorry for him, as he his auntie-to-be provides some great ones), so most of the time we find ourselves “making-do” with whatever we have around the house.

Mrs. Bee wrote a great post on household items that double as baby toys, and I thought I’d add to the list with a second edition. Here’s what we’ve got lying around that the Trikester can’t get enough of.

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1)   Solo plastic cups. We don’t normally keep plastic cups on hand, but we had a barbeque a few weeks ago and gave the baby a cup to play with while we tried to finish eating dinner. He LOVED it. He’s not really old enough to stack them, but he loves knocking them over, picking them up, “drinking” out of them, crinkling them, and banging on the bottom.

2)   Playstation controller. Mr. Tricycle loves video games, so the baby occasionally gets to play with an out of commission Playstation controller. He digs anything with buttons, and this is no exception. The two mini-joysticks are his favorite part.

3)   The Trikester’s usually in my arms while I’m trying to make coffee in the morning, so I typically give him a filter to play with. It makes great noises when crinkled, and it’s sturdy enough that I’m not immediately worried about it disintegrating the instant he puts it in his mouth.

4)   Safety Glasses. If the baby had his way, he’d play with our glasses – he’s got no problem grabbing them off our face and flinging them around. As a substitute, we give him an old pair of Mr. Tricycle’s racquetball glasses to gnaw on.

5)   Measuring spoons. Measuring spoons are a classic. I especially like these plastic ones on a ring because they’re easy to grasp and make a great noise when he shakes them.

6)   Socks. What is it about rolled up socks? I think they’re easy to hold and the texture’s probably appealing. When I’m putting laundry away I can usually buy myself a few minutes by giving the baby a pair of socks to examine.

7)   Keyboard. We’ve got a lot of extra electronics lying around our house, and the keyboard is one of the Trikester’s FAVORITE things to bang on (maybe because he’s imitating daddy?). We used to let him use a real one, but he’s taken to picking the whole thing up off the desk and smashing it back down, so we’ve switched to an old one we have in the basement).

8)   Remote. Another thing with buttons. He loves exploring the remote control. If we’re watching TV, I’ve learned to give him the DVD remote, as he inevitably ends up changing the channel or muting the volume if he gets the real thing. I have an old one in the basement that I’ve been meaning to bring up stairs and remove the batteries from.

Those are our favorite household items turned baby toys. Do you have any good ones to add to the list?