Bed Treasure Box

A Bedtime Treasure Box is a place for special friends to sleep and a place to keep secret treasures. We know that stuffed animals are special friends for our children. They chase away nightmares, they make great tea party buddies and they help our children calm down when they are upset. It only seems fair that these special friends should have a nice bed to sleep on and a comfy place to hide.

• Read a bedtime book or tell a bedtime story to the child(ren). Two of our current favorites are Don’t Turn the Page! by Rachelle Burke; illustrated by Julie Downing and Cozy Light, Cozy Night by Elisa Kleven. Talk about their favorite bedtime routines. What makes them feel cozy and ready to sleep?
• Now it’s time to make the Bedtime Bed Box. Cut a 2-inch strip of fabric that is twice as long as the perimeter of the box. We did not have fabric that was long enough so we used two strips of fabric.
• Run a line of glue two inches above the bottom of the box. Pleat the fabric to make it look like a bed skirt. Glue down each pleat with a drop of glue at the top of the pleat. This process was great for fine motor skills but did require adult help.
• Because we used school glue we taped the top of the bed skirt to the box while it was drying.
• We did not have any cotton batting so we folded some material to make the pillow shape and make the top of the bed soft.

• Cut a strip of fabric to wrap around the upper half of the bottom of the box and glue on. Measurement will depend on the size of the box.
• Cut a rectangular piece of fabric to wrap over the lid and the bed stuffing fabric. Wrap like you would wrap a present, pulling tightly as you glue.
• Allow glue to dry. Fill your bedtime bed box with bedtime treasures.