What Kids Really Want For Christmas? Just The Box

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- It's happened to most parents -- give your children a new toy and all they want to do is play with the box.

Now, a new St. Paul company is hoping your child plays with cardboard.

Sometimes thinking outside the box, brings you right back in.

"Forget the expensive gift," says CEO of Play From Scratch Jeff Freeland Nelson. "We sell you the box."

Along with a few other tools like tape, tubes, even playing cards.

The idea is to "Play from Scratch."

"We're giving them permission to build anything they want," Nelson said.

Nelson's son, Graham, took a box and made everything from robot heads to rockets.

Nelson's son and daughter come in most days to play.

"If you want to teach kids the skills they need to succeed in this sort of technological world, having them do hands-on play is really the key to doing that," he said.

Even though they've only been open since Monday, workers say they're packing up way more orders than they expected.

Many of the orders are from Minnesota and the coasts.

Prices range from $14 to $85.

The pieces are all made from recycled materials, so once your child is done playing, it can all be recycled.