Easy Mac & Cheese Box Bird Feeder
Throughout the seasons, your backyard birdies need nourishing, yummy food just as much as you do! You can help them get it by upcycling your Annie’s Mac & Cheese. No, we’re not asking you to feed them cheesy noodles — birds like birdseed! And with a few supplies you probably have around the house, you can turn your next box of mac into a bird feeder.
Wondering what kind of birdseed mix to get? Your local hardware store will have seasonal bird food. In the fall and winter, birds need high-fat foods so they can maintain their fat stores and stay warm. In the warmer months, they need high-protein foods to carry them through their breeding season. We’d also recommend getting food for smaller songbirds — your mac box will be too small to hold the big birds.
Supplies
- Unopened Annie’s Mac & Cheese box
- Scissors or box cutter
- Single hole punch (optional)
- String or twine
- 1 craft stick stick
- Seasonal songbird food
Steps
- Cut a roughly 3x6” hole in the back or front of your unopened mac & cheese box. Note: this will be easier with a box cutter if you have one, but be sure to do this step for your child.
- Transfer the noodles and cheese packet to a bowl for later use.
- Cut two small holes in each end of the mac box for the string.
- Cut two 2’-long pieces of string.
- Cut your craft stick into two 2 ½”-long pieces. Cut two notches in each of the craft sticks. (See photo shown).
- Tie a knot in one end of one of the strings, secure it in one of the craft-stick notches, and thread it up through the bottom of one of the holes in your mac box — and down through the next hole. Tie a knot in the end of the string and secure it in the remaining craft notch. Repeat with the remaining string on the other side of the box.
- Fill your birdfeeder with bird food and find a great place to hang it in the yard. We like to hang ours in front of the window, so we can watch the birds enjoying their meals.
- Now, go make yourself a great big bowl of mac & cheese — you’ve earned it!
