Here we are: Number 10. I've saved the best for last. As a reader noted on another installment of this series, the cardboard box is the Grand Poobah of low-tech toys. The old joke about returning the toys to the store and letting the kids have just the box isn't far off the mark: just set a spacious box on its bottom or its side, and you have a Clubhouse of the Mind that will keep little ones busy for hours.

But does the fun stop there? Hell no! Boxes are the fodder for many a crafts project. Robot costume. Miniature golf course. Toy train. Guitar. Dragon. Finger puppet theater. Box town. Puzzle. Picture frame. Or build a dollhouse, a hospital, an office building, a kitchen, or any other structure your child's mind can conceive. There's almost nothing that a few boxes, some tape, and a sharp knife can't do.

I love technology. But kids - and parents - can over-rely on technology to entertain. Perhaps your children contend that they're "bored" in a household of gizmos and gadgets. Perhaps you're going through a rough financial patch, and can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on video game consoles and books that read themselves. Either way, a return to basics may be in order. Often, a few scraps of clothing, some clothespins, or a pack of paper are all you need to set fire to a young imagination.

All previous low-tech toys:

• #1 - Alphabet blocks

• #2 - Toy Soldiers

• #3 - Paper

• #4 - Stuffed animals

• #5 - Hand puppets

• #6 - Dress-up clothes

• #7 - Everyday household objects

• #8 - Empty bottles

• #9 - Imaginary friends