A penny isn’t worth much these days, so what can you do with them? I will name 20 things that you can do with pennies. A variety of things can be done, including crafts, games, creative gifts, teaching children and much more. Let’s begin our count from one to 20!
1. Glue pennies over the center of flowers when making pictures and cards. The penny will make the flower shine and come to life.
2. A fun craft for children is to allow them to color with crayon on a piece of paper. Next have them color over the other colors with black crayon. Use a penny to rub off the top layer of black to create unique designs.
3. Help children trace pennies to make perfect circles. Circles can turn into bubbles, eyes and more in pictures.
4. Clean pennies with a mixture of vinegar and salt to make them shine.
5. For a fun, creative and inexpensive gift, roll several sets of pennies. Set the rolled pennies on top of wrapping paper lining them up one in front of the other. Roll the wrapping paper around the rolled pennies like a burrito. Tie the ends with ribbon. This is a great gift for children.
6. Create a unique birthday party favor bag for children aged four to six . Put wrapped pennies, lollipops, silly straws and temporary tattoo’s in the goody bag.
7. Hide pennies in a sandbox and let children search for “treasure.”
8. Take pennies and quarters with you when you go to amusement parks and museums. Many amusement parks and museums offer machines that turn pennies into souvenirs. These penny press machines usually cost two quarters and one penny. Children enjoy using penny press machines to make a souvenir out of their penny.
9. Have children sit in a circle for a fun game with pennies. Put several handfuls of pennies in the center and let children search through them quickly to see who can find the penny with the oldest date.
10. Stack pennies on top of each other to see who can make the highest tower without it falling. This will make for a fun game that children will enjoy.
11. Put pennies in a penny bank. Take the pennies to a store that has a machine allowing customers to put change into it in return for a receipt. Allow your child to pick out a special prize or treat.
12. Put pennies in a pile. Have children pick one penny at a time and look online to see what happened in history for each year.
13. If you are missing game pieces, use pennies, dimes, nickels and quarters for the game board.
14. Abraham Lincoln is on the penny. Teach children about Abraham Lincoln.
15. Take a walk and look for “lucky pennies.”
16. Take a walk and throw pennies so other children can find a “lucky penny.”
17. Play a game of toss the penny. Have children take turns trying to toss a penny into a fish bowl or jar. Toss the penny is a fun party game.
18. Take pennies with you to the store. If children are well behaved let them roll pennies down the spirals that benefit different charities. Children will be motivated to be on good behavior. Take at least 10 pennies per child.
19. Bring pennies with you when you know there will be fountains to throw pennies in. Young children enjoy throwing pennies into fountains and making a wish. My four year old demands we stop at every fountain in an amusement park to throw pennies. We are at an amusement park and she wants to throw pennies!
20. Count pennies to help children learn to count and do simple math.
Have fun with your pennies and remember:
A penny a day keeps the boredom away!
