- Often I have bought Avent products like teats or cups that come encased in a clear hard plastic case. I have used one of these cases and put a heap of coloured rattly things inside, such as an old beaded bracelet, little bells, curling ribbons etc. I then taped around the entire outside of the case with wide clear tape to seal it up. Makes a great shaker, and looks interesting too!

- (This next one is for adults to use to entertain their kids... )
Get an old wire coathanger and snip off a 20cm length. Use pliers to curl around the top end of the wire into a circular shape, and leave enough wire at the bottom for your hand to hold... should look roughly like the shape of the letter P without that sharp corner. Then make a mix of dish washing detergent and water, I think its about 3 parts water to 1 part detergent (experiment if necessary). You can now blow lots of bubbles for your child... gauranteed to get smiles and squeals

- Someone has suggested before in another thread to use empty forumla tins as drums I think? you could always decorate the outside with contact or coloured paper too...