Oh no! Some sweet and silly aliens want to get back to outer space and they need your help! Grab some fabric and filling and soon your kids will be playing this easy beanbag toss game. Or perhaps they’ll be coming up with their own little space man scenes!

These aliens are quick to put together, but so much fun to play with. The silly shape makes them flop around quite a bit, and you never know how they’ll land.

Toss them onto the moon (or other planet) game mat and assign points for each crater. You can mark the craters with their point value, but if you leave them blank, the moon can be used for other kinds of play too.

Let’s do some space-creature sewing!

• Colorful fabric – (5) 6-in. by 5-in. pieces
• Gray felt – half yard
• White felt – scraps
• Black embroidery floss
• Rice or beans
• Scissors
• Needle
• Pins
• Sewing machine

Step 1
Draw and cut out a circle of white felt. A quarter or other large coin works well for this. Place the circle about 1/3 of the way down from the 6-inch side of one of the fabric rectangles.

Draw a small circle and embroider around the circle with backstitch, then fill in the circle. Use three strands of embroidery floss. Draw a small smile under the eye and embroider it with backstitch.

You can skip the embroidery by sewing a small black button on for the eye and using a fabric marker for the smile.

Repeat this for each alien beanbag.

Step 2
Fold each rectangle in half so the 5-inch sides meet. Pin and sew down the long side and one short side.

Turn each alien right side out and poke the corners into shape. Fold in the top edge by about 1/4”.

Step 3
Fill each beanbag with about 1/3 cup of rice or beans. Center the seam on the back with the eye on the front and secure the opening with a few pins.

Sew across the opening with matching or neutral thread. Sew about 1/8” from the edge and be sure to back stitch when you start and stop.

Once you have the beanbags done, you can stop and just enjoy your new alien friends. Or, continue on to make the moon game mat!

Step 4
Cut two large circles from gray felt. Tracing a serving tray works well for this.

Grab some smaller circular items and trace and cut out a few circles from one of the large circles. I used a small bowl, a small mason jar, and a spice jar.

Step 5
Pin the two felt circles together and sew around the moon crater circles and around the edge of the mat.

Now it’s time to toss those aliens onto the moon (or whatever you want to call your planet!). Aim for the craters and see how close you can get!

Even though this works as a beanbag toss game, it’s just as fun to use the set for imaginative play. The aliens can interact on their home planet and act out all kinds of intergalactic scenes. Your kids may even ask you to sew up some more planets and moons!

Plus the beanbag creatures are perfectly pocket-sized to travel with your little ones.

Happy crafting!