How This Mom Turned Her Sons' Old Toys Into 'A Special Memento Of Their Childhood'

What can you do with your child's old and outgrown toys? You can sell or donate them, but this creative mom of three shared how she turned her kids' toys into a work of art.

In the Facebook group Home Buddies, Mommy Mhodylyn Perez of Las Pinas City shared photos of her do-it-yourself (DIY) project toy display that garnered thousands of reactions and comments from the community.

"Random toys of my kids glued to plywood!" she captioned.

In an interview with Smart Parenting, the 37-year-old mom shared that she is an abstract artist by profession. "I'm a very creative person. Recently, as I was cleaning my kids' room, I saw this box full of small toy that [are] just there for years and my kids don't play with them anymore."

"With my kids' consent, I glued those toys while reminiscing the past because each toy has its own story to tell. It's not just a simple toy display, but a special memento of their childhood."

Mhodylyn has three sons: Mateo Gabriel, 14; Marcus Rafael, 9; and Mikael Lucio, 5.

"Finally thought of what I'll do with the canvas boards I have in my mini art studio," she added.

"With my kids' consent, I glued those toys while reminiscing the past because each toy has its own story to tell. It's not just a simple toy display, but a special memento of their childhood," the mom emphasized.

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How her kids reacted

Smart Parenting asked Mhodylyn how her sons reacted when they saw her art. She said, "Kuya Mateo and Kuya Marcus were excited to see the outcome when I told them about glueing their small toys."

As for her youngest son Mikael, she said he was skeptical about the idea. She affirmed, "But he helped me do this project. We sorted out everything and had fun doing it."

"After it's done, they said, "Wow! So cool, mom!" 

Mhodylyn also shared with Smart Parenting that it's not the first time she did a toy display in their home. "Last year, I did a NERF/toy gun wall display using steel pegboard to organize them."

How to make the toy display

A lot of parents asked Mhodylyn what materials she used to make the toy display. Here's what she shared.

You'll need:

• plywood (Mhodylyn used an unused plywood canvas board from her painting orders)
• glue sticks
• glue gun

"Let your creativity flow! It's a fun project to do with your kids," she advised.

We also asked her what she can tell other parents who are stressing over their child's messy toys at home. As a mom of three boys, she resonates with Smart Parenting celebrity editor-at-large Rica Peralejo Bonifacio when she explained why her house is "always magulo."

"I personally love a clean house and keep things organized. But with 3 boys, yes, our house gets messy sometimes and it's absolutely fine. I'm okay with that "happy chaos."

Coming from experience, she said it's okay for parents to tell their kids that they can't be messy, but we have to lower our standards and set realistic expectations for them regarding neatness. Whenever her kids make a mess, she's the kind of mom who would tell them, "It's okay, let's clean together."

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Echoing what Rica said, "After all, they'll outgrow those stuff and won't remember all the fancy toys we bought them, but they will always remember the time we spent with them."

She concluded, "And when they're all grown-ups, [our] house will be quiet and lonely."

Thank you Mommy Mhodylyn for sharing this brilliant idea on how we can turn our kids' toys into a work of art that holds a lot of memories.

Check out her other artworks here.