If your kids love their play kitchen/play food, what food do you have?

[mhornby56]

I keep reading about how kids love their play kitchens and play with them all the time. My husband built our girls an adorable wooden kitchen last year for Christmas, and they love to play ON it, hide in the cupboards, etc. They rarely make food with it. We have some wooden fruits and vegetables, and a wooden breakfast set from Plan Toys. I'm wondering if they would use it more if we had a bunch of plastic food like this set that sells at Costco for $20.

 

I prefer wooden food, but maybe kids just like the plastic stuff better? What kind of play food do your kids love?

[*Jen*]

The only things in our play kitchen that get a lot of use are the metal pans (because they make a ton of noise) the tea set from Green Toys, and the wooden cutting food and sandwich set from Melissa and Doug. My kids like to cut the food and they also like to put random pieces together and make up names for their creations.

[justasque]

Ideas -

Cans and containers from your kitchen - like an empty cocoa container, or cans that have been opened from the bottom and taped with duct tape so the edges are smooth.

Silk flower leaves.

Chestnuts and other "real" food items.

Sticks and flowers from the garden.

 

But you know, some kids are pretend kitchen kids and some aren't, and as much as you love looking at the great food they have out now, if your kids aren't into it, perhaps something else would be a better bet.

 

I read a great book about toys once, and they talked about dollhouses this way. They said some kids were dollhouse kids, and some weren't, and the best thing to do would be to build one from a cardboard box first, and if it didn't fly, perhaps skip the investment in the really nice one.

[GoVanGogh]

DS still has his play food, though he got rid of the kitchen several years ago. He is really way, way past the playing with pretend food stage, but he still likes to sort the food by the food pyramid several times a month. Geeky homeschooler.

 

He had a generic set of food from Target that included a whole range of food - fruits, veggies, cheeseburger makings, cans, cartons, etc. He also had a set from Lakeshore Learning that 'cut' in half with a play knife. The pieces could be stuck together with velcro. He loved those pieces when he was younger, because he could pretend he was making a straw-apple by mixing half a strawberry with half an apple.

[mhornby56]

Yes, I have wondered if they are just not play kitchen kids. I wasn't a doll house kid growing up, so I can understand.

 

We do have a cucumber, carrot, and lemon that have the velcro so you can cut them up, and they like those. I also like the idea of using stuff from around the house. My three year old was using unifix cubes as cookies the other day.

[Belacqua]

A relative once asked for gift suggestions and we asked for play food. She couldn't find any except in the pet section, so she carefully wrapped up a rubber hamburger and hotdog. That was the Christmas we, who have no dog, received the Gift of Squeaky Toys.

[Cera]

We have that set and my kids play with the food all the time. They also play with their felt food all the time. The wooden food usually winds up in the block bin.

[LittleIzumi]

Mine love the fabric food from IKEA, and the Melissa & Doug cookie set.

[Annie G]

At our children's museum, they have a play kitchen area that has play stuff to make pizza. Oh my - kids flock to that. Our grandkids LOVE making pretend pizza because they can take orders, make it, serve it, etc. It's easy to make play pizza stuff out of felt. Crust, a smaller circle of red for sauce, and felt pieces for mushrooms, sausage, etc.

 

The other thing my grands like is small play food- small enough that they can get several pieces on a plate. They ask what we want and pretend to cook it, then arrange on a plate and serve.

 

I loved the squeaky toy story!g

[justasque]

Here are some lovely inspirational pics of felt food from Flickr. Kids 5 and up could probably help make it - that age LOVES, in my experience, to sew felt, though of course you'd have to do some of the more complex stuff.

[minuway]

We are a big play food family here - all four kids play with it. I especially like soft felt food (from etsy sellers or some Melissa and Doug sets) and the wooden Melissa and Doug sets. My only problem with the wooden pieces is that the paint chips over time. So if I was starting over I would stick to mostly fabric/felt pieces like Ikea's or handmade. When I picked up our first little play kitchen at a yard sale though I just made play food from boxes and such I had laying about, and that got us through a few months too!

[*Lulu*]

My kids adore their play kitchen! The favorite foods are the sturdy plastic set, the velcro set, and the cookie manipulative set we use for school. These are what they look for if they want food but half of the time thay just want the pots and pans and create imaginary dishes. They have aprons and a chef hat and those are really important to DS4's play.

[AndyJoy]

A giant bag of colored pom-poms are a bit hit with my ds and his guests (some as old as 7). They separate the colors to pretend they're different foods (spaghetti sauce, eggs, etc.) or just mix them up for a very colorful stew. I bought 3 or 4 small bags of mixed colors at Dollar Tree.

 

We also love the Melissa and Doug food cutting sets.

[Willow Creek Academy]

The kids got a set last Christmas from "Santa". It was for their playhouse, which is actually like a little restaurant. It had over 200 pieces to it and darned if I can find maybe 50 of them. What they do use still are the pots and pans, cups, utensils, and mini appliances. The child sized WINE GLASSES (seriously? in a kids set?) are also used. What they don't use is all the play food items like hot dogs, fried chicken, meatballs, bread, and such. THAT part was a waste.

 

It was purchased for around $60 by my inlaws from, I believe, the ABC Catalgog.

[annlaura]

My boys love the Melissa & Doug pizza set, food groups set, and cutting food set. They also love our few pieces of wood food from the Nova Naturals catalog. I think they would like plastic food, but our dog would chew it. We have a bunch of plastic tomatoes, and a number of them have tooth marks. We have a felt camping food set that has to stay up in a closet because of the dog too.

[Tranquility7]

I think it can really just depend on the kids. We have a set from Costco similar to the link you provided, and our kids play with it all.the.time. It is a true favorite in our house. They love cooking and plating up a scrumptious plastic meal for daddy and me!

 

(Incidentally, we really like the Costco set because (strangely enough) they had a lot healthier food than the stuff we found at Toys R Us - TRU had donuts, ice cream, pizza, etc., but our Costco set is chock full of fruits, veggies, grilled chicken breast, etc. It has a few unhealthy items too, but it is mainly good stuff, kwim?)

 

Also, make sure they have some plates and forks (we just gave our kids the plastic plates and forks that came with our picnic set). Frankly, we discovered it is hard to play with pretend food when there is nowhere to put it, and nothing to pretend to eat it with ;)

 

A relative once asked for gift suggestions and we asked for play food. She couldn't find any except in the pet section, so she carefully wrapped up a rubber hamburger and hotdog. That was the Christmas we, who have no dog, received the Gift of Squeaky Toys.

 

:lol:

[LittleIzumi]

I think any food with velcro for fake cutting is going to be a winner. That's my kids' favorite part.

[littlebug42]

There is a Melissa and Doug apple pie set that my 8 year old loves. The orthodontist has one in the waiting room and she plays with it constantly when I take her older sister.

[ElizaG]

My children have this velcro food set that can be "peeled" as well as "cut up": Kidoozie Garden Fresh Fruits and Veggies (though ours says it's from iPlay). We also have some generic cheap play food from a discount store.

 

It all gets played with, although the velcro set is their favorite.

 

At first, it made me cringe to see all the plastic stuff in their lovely hand-made wooden kitchen. But I never got around to making felt food, and five years later, it seems a bit silly to do so. Add that to the list of things I've let slide. :tongue_smilie: :D

[Lily_Grace]

That set you linked, op, it's a good company. I have their "Healthy Snacks" set tucked away for Christmas and I was impressed at the realism of most of it.

 

We purchased/made food items that the baby sees or eats often and is familiar with, along with the cutting food from Plan toys. I'm hoping that since he can cook what daddy is cooking it'll entice him to play with it longer (at least until he's ready for simple spreader knives and real foods to play with)

[TheReader]

maybe they are too young yet?

 

We have a few wooden food sets from Melissa & Doug brand -- the pizza set with velcro-on toppings, the cutting set with "sliced" foods that velcro together, a BBQ set with skewers and food w/holes to stick on the skewers....my son loves them (he's 6, turning 7 in Feb.).

 

He has friends who have a basket of play food, the plastic kind, but no kitchen; he will play with that as well. But we don't have any play kitchen, he plays with just the food by itself. Still, the Melissa & Doug sets have been a huge hit around here.

[mhornby56]

Well, it sounds like it really just s personal preference thing for the kids. I might go ahead and get the food for Christmas if I see it at Costco, but I won't worry about making a special trip. I've wanted to make some felt food for years but I never had. That might be fun to do too. Thanks for all the input. I think they would love a pizza set!

[Veritaserum]

We've had plastic food and wooden food. My kids prefer wooden. The plastic stuff crushed and broke.

 

We have several different Melissa and Doug sets. :)

[Parker Martin]

My sons love their Melissa and Doug play food. Their favorite is the birthday cake. They set it up, sing happy birthday to each other, "cut" it up, then start over again.

[alisoncooks]

ETA:  GAH!  I did not resurrect the thread!  Whoever bumped it has disappeared!!

 

My kids have plastic food similar to that linked in the OP. They still play with it, at 6 and 8, though not in a play kitchen. Mine never really warmed up to the kitchen set, though they love the play food. We also have assorted pretend plates/cups/bowls, which they set up as elaborate picnics for various toys.

Mine also like craft Pom-poms. They use them in so many ways...

[Kerileanne99]

My dd has several of the Melissa and Doug sets. Her favorites have been the felt sandwich set, the Velcro pizza set, and particularly the birthday cake set to have tea parties (coolest set we got in the UK from the Early Learning Company, I can link it if you are interested). She loves the regular groceries and the ice cream set as well.

 

On the shelves of the walk-in closet I made her a 'grocery store' with empty boxes of real groceries, and an extended selection of plastic produce. Those styrofoam mushroom containers got filled with colored paper, Pom poms, and anything else I could come up with and Saran wrapped over the top to make them more realistic. A shopping cart, aprons, cloth grocery bags, cash register and a scale to weigh all give hours of fun. The food from the kitchen and store routinely get mixed and used interchangeably.

 

One other thing that has gotten a ton of play: when she was two I entered the living room to discover she had pulled all the individual tassels (silky but not the braided rope kind, thin) out of a drapery tassel tie-back. It looked so much like cooked spaghetti noodles that I put them in a pot in her kitchen. They 'stir' really well and she has played with them for three years! I have also given her dried beans and dried pasta shapes such as mini bow tie that she loves.

So many things around the house can be used! She had a jar of different sizes of new nuts and bolts we gave her when she was little to practice matching sizes and fine motor skills--she loves to cook them in a metal pot because of the hideously loud noise it makes:)

 

The only thing I vetoed was when she asked for the cardboard carrier for daddy's beer, lol. Probably not something to get overly worked up about, but unnecessary and I had that visceral reaction:)

[Sahamamama]

Three girls here -- 8, 8, and 10. They still play with their kitchen stuff, haven't outgrown it yet, although at this point they (of course) prefer real cooking to pretend cooking. ;)

 

They do have a set of plastic food, but I think they like their felt food better. We've also put things from around the house in a cabinet that is part of their "kitchen." So, they have things like empty:

• Spice containers
• Corn muffin, brownie, cake mix, baking soda, cereal & pasta boxes (taped or glued shut)
• Baking soda & salt containers
• Egg cartons (washed & dried)
• Dish detergent bottles (the small kind)

They also have old pot holders, old dish towels, and old place mats. They have cloth napkins and an old tablecloth (for picnics), along with a basket (for packing the picnic). ;)

 

They have wooden spoons, whisks, play pots & pans, small mixing bowls, plates, cups, a small (old) cutting board, and sponges cut in half (for washing dishes).

 

They have a small, white cabinet with doors, and they pretend this is the refrigerator. Or the oven. Or the shelves at the grocery store. ;) Most of the kitchen stuff fits back in there when they're finished playing with it.

 

They have a small, white wire rack, and this is used for storage (when they are done playing) and for the "produce section" of the grocery store.

 

Oddly enough, they do not have a play kitchen set (fridge, stove, sink). Instead, the storage cabinet doubles as a fridge, a small plastic basin is their sink, and they have a small stove for "cooking." We used to have a cute kitchen set that I made. It was adorable, very much like this, but in pastel colors. They did outgrow that (last year?), but they still play kitchen. And dollhouse! And baby dolls! And ponies!

 

Hours and hours and hours with this stuff.

 

Last but not least, they have my old muffin tins and muffin tin liners in pretty colors. Their absolute favorite thing in the kitchen is (and has always been) the muffin tin liners.

 

Wow. After typing this out, I now realize why the playroom is a mess. :lol:

 

[Aurelia]

DD still has the metal pots and pans and the utensils (whisks, spatulas, etc), and when she was little, she had a bunch of the wooden Melissa and Doug stuff. Her favorites were the pantry-type foods, wooden "cans" of tomato sauce or carrot soup or "boxes" of spaghetti, etc. The fruit set got a lot of use, too, as did the pizza set that had the velcro toppings and was "cuttable." 

[Erica in OR]

Ancient thread. How did this one get resurrected?

 

Erica in OR

[alisoncooks]

Ancient thread. How did this one get resurrected?

 

Erica in OR

 

GAH!  I'm the first post now showing from today but I did not resurrect it, LOL!  It was on my first page, so I assumed it was a new thread... (maybe a SPAM was deleted?)

 

:001_unsure:

  :leaving:

 

How awkward... 

[pitterpatter]

Well, if you have to go with plastic, you already have the best in that regard. We having Learning Resources plastic food and a lot of Melissa & Doug wooden food. The wooden food hangs out with DD's wooden kitchen in our real kitchen. The plastic food hangs out in the playroom where her plastic Green Toys plates, bowls, teapot, etc. are. DD still plays with faux food daily...has for years. Green Toys is making more play food now. Might look into them as well. DD loves the salad set.

 

PS - Darn, I see now this is an old thread. Oh well, I typed it, so I'm going to post it.

[Sarah0000]

DS has a tiny set of play food. It hardly gets used. Mostly he uses empty boxes and containers from our pantry, real spoons and pots and pans, sometimes real food. Mostly he uses C rods to be various food, blocks to form a fire pit, Jenga blocks as fish to fry, etc.

[Jennifer132]

We have the Melissa and Doug pantry canned goods (surprisingly sturdy for cardboard):

http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Lets-House-Grocery/dp/B007EA6PKS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429561132&sr=8-1&keywords=melissa+and+doug+canned+food

 

The Haba toaster:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Hape-Playfully-Delicious-Pop-Up-Toaster/dp/B00712NTWQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429561171&sr=8-1&keywords=haba+toaster

 

The kidkraft blender:

http://www.amazon.com/KidKraft-Wooden-New-Smoothie-Set/dp/B007DE0MF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429561213&sr=8-1&keywords=kidkraft+blender

 

 

And the new sprouts food (durable plastic):

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_16?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=new+sprouts+food&sprefix=New+sprouts+food%2Caps%2C186

 

 

All get a lot of use.

[happypamama]

We have both plastic and wooden stuff, and they play with it all pretty equally. The plastic is sometimes more realistic looking; a lot of the wooden stuff has Velcro so can be cut or assembled. They slice bread, make pizza, and stuff bananas into the blender to make smoothies. We have tiny cast iron skillets, so today, DS4 made me a skillet sized chocolate chip cookie. DS3 made me a picnic of a fried plastic chicken leg and a slice of wooden watermelon, followed by a slice of plastic birthday cake with a candle. Oh, and their very favorite activity is to make coffee for mama, using a plastic kettle to pour pretend coffee into tall wooden cups, bringing it to me and saying they made me a mocha. They will spend hours bringing me food to sample.

[displace]

Mine love the fabric food from IKEA, and the Melissa & Doug cookie set.

Another vote for ikea fabric food. Healthy models and fabric, not plastic.

 

Eta their cookware is super awesome too! Pots, whisks, baking, etc