Sometimes we forget how important the imagination can be. How else can you turn an egg carton into a fantastic insect or a simple kitchen table into a secret fort? With plastic gadgets overflowing our toy boxes and the ever-present temptation to sit and watch cartoons, old-fashioned fun still has a place in our lives – perhaps more than ever.

"I think 'old-fashioned' becomes more and more important as the world continues to speed ahead with technology [and] video games," says Stephania Munson-Bishop, a long-time human service professional who publishes the ezine, Tidbits From the Pantry. She regularly exercises her imagination by making ant farms or growing crystals with her grandchildren. Here are a few ways you can join in the fun:

Kitchen Duty
Put on an apron and try some of these ideas. Christine Nicholls, founder of Creative Kids at Home, gives the following suggestions for old-fashioned fun in the kitchen:

• Play dough – Depending on your child's age, let him help you mix together ingredients for homemade play dough. You can roll out the finished product with a rolling pin, cut it with cookie cutters, ball it up like meatballs or just squish it between your fingers.
• Potato stamps – Cut a potato in half and carve out a design on the cut surface. Dip the potato in child-friendly paint and stamp onto heavy paper.

Pretend Play
Using the imagination to become doctors, dancers or movie stars can provide hours of fun for your kids.

• Dress up – Fill a box with your outdated or otherwise unwanted clothes, or scour the thrift shops for interesting items. Watch kids light up with the costume possibilities.
• Charades – With your kids' help, write down a number of characters, animals or movie titles – whatever your children choose. Put the scraps of paper in a hat and let each child take a turn miming before the audience.

Rainy Day Diversions
A few extra-special activities should be kept in reserve for those days that no one can go outside to play, but everyone is climbing the walls.

• Make a fort – If your kids are old enough to build a fort themselves, constructing it is half the fun. Just pile up materials like blankets and pillows and let them go at it.
• Indoor scavenger hunt – Kids love to hunt for treasure. Take a small reward like a favorite snack and hide it somewhere in the house. Help one child write clues to plant around the house and lead the other children to the reward.

Old-fashioned fun never goes out of style. Your kids will never be bored as long as you have simple ingredients in your kitchen, a few blankets to hide under and a big imagination.

Want to see more?

• Crafts From Trash
• Recipes for Fun!
• Homemade Fun: Games to Make – Then Play – With Your Child
• Talk about it!