Children are the masters of invention, and the lack of toys rarely limits the thrill of free play. When there are no toys, let’s make them ourselves! Beads can represent family members, a stone easily transforms into a super monster and a stick makes a bridge over a stream. When a child develops precision of hand, one can craft an entire sports game with athletes, podiums and rules, carve race cars out of clothes pegs, or build a multi-storey house for Barbie dolls out of cardboard and scrap material. A homemade toy can also be made by a family member.

Well into the 20th century Finnish toys were most commonly homemade. If a toy was purchased, it was most likely bought from local artisans at open market places. Toys provided a graspable scale for learning crafts at school. The sewing of a doll and its garments taught textile crafts in miniature scale. A wooden train was a good object for practicing skills in sawing, nailing, screwing, drilling and painting. Magazines published instructions for building doll houses and sewing your own Bonzo the Dog.

Do you remember a toy you’ve made by yourself?