Alternatives to Tuff Trays

Messy play without the tuff tray... a friend was talking to me about my blog the other day and she commented "I like looking at your posts but I don't have a tuff tray". My initial thought was "I need to put up more of my party posts" 😜 but it also lead to the idea for this post!

A lot of the activities I do in a tuff tray don't actually NEED to be in a tuff tray - they can be set up on a dining or garden table - I just use the tray because it's a good way to contain the mess and keep my tables free! An ordinary kitchen tray would also work to set up many activities.

For those that do need containing more, there are other alternatives if you don't have the space, budget or inclination to buy a tuff tray!

How about using a sand/water table, a sandpit or an inflatable paddling pool. I got this little pool for £1 from a pound shop but you can obviously use bigger pools if you want a bigger 'tray'.

It is sometimes better to have a smaller tray, for example when it's a simple activity for one child or if you want to make something quite deep without spending a fortune, like I did here with this play mud. This inflatable tray is great - I bought it from Amazon for £2, it's easy to clean after play and takes up no room to store it.

This play tray from Tescos is a bit more expensive at £4 but is a great 'individual tuff tray' with high sturdy sides and is better to use if you're wanting to re-use the contents - it's easier to scoop out products such as kinetic sand from this tray than an inflatable one.

I haven't tried this one myself but I have seen many people on Facebook sharing play set-ups in this nifty table from Ikea. This is good as a small indoor tuff tray and you can even take off the tray if you wanted to transfer it to the floor.

Do you have any other suggestions for tuff tray alternatives? I'd love to hear them!