Best Play Food for the Toy Kitchen

Growing up, I loved playing with my toy kitchen!  It was so awesome to be able to cook up anything I wanted without the limits of resources, time, ingredients, or ability.  I think every child should get some time playing pretend before their grown.  Companies like Melissa and Doug make it very easy to find play food options that will engage your child's imagination and storytelling skills.  I think I write about play food every few months, but here's another collection.  For this year's All Wrapped Up series, I'm focusing on the best play food for the toy kitchen!

If I was only going to buy two basic things for my kids' play kitchen, I would buy the pots and pans and the bowl set.  The Melissa and Doug Pots and Pans are one of the most durable toys we've owned.  They've gone from the house to the mud kitchen (even staying outside in the snow for months) without any problems.  The pots are adorable and durable, which is the perfect combination for play kitchen things.  Plus, they can be filled with so many other pretend foods and objects, like the inserts from the Melissa and Doug Fill-A-Bowl Set.  Your child can use the pots to cook up the tomato soup, chicken soup, or mac and cheese, and then put them in the bowls to serve it.  The set also includes cereal and a salad.  Click on the links to buy the basic play food sets.

The addition of other kitchen accessories makes the playtime more realistic.  Add a set of colorful plastic dishes like the Melissa and Doug Wash and Dry Dishes Set  and some metal utensils from the Melissa and Doug Mealtime Utensil Set.  The Melissa and Doug Drink Set comes with two empty cups and slide in refills with several options.  Add some Melissa and Doug Stir and Serve Cooking Utensils for mixing up fun and a Melissa and Doug Condiments Set that really squirts and shakes.  Click the individual links to go to each product.

For the most variety in food options, I recommend the balanced meal play sets.  The Melissa and Doug Combine and Dine Blue Set includes protein options (steak, chicken, shrimp, and a veggie burger), veggies (peas, broccoli, and corn), starches (rice and beans, sweet potatoes fries, bread roll, and baked potato), and desserts (ice cream, apple slices, cake, and a cookie).  The Melissa and Doug Combine and Dine Red Set is similar with meat (ribs, lamb chop, chicken leg, and salmon filet), veggies (green beans, carrots, cauliflower, and beans), starches (rice, spaghetti, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes), and desserts (pie, brownie, orange, and cupcake).  The two Melissa and Doug Combine ones come with menus, which makes them great for restaurant pretend play.   Click on any of the links to go directly to the products.

If you're looking for a bit of variety in the menu, you can't go wrong with multicultural set.  This Melissa and Doug Pasta Set has many different types of pasta and sauces, perfect for the budding chef.  If your child enjoys raw fish, the Melissa and Doug Sushi Set offers lots of slicing and dicing fun.  To buy either of the sets, click on the product links.

Some of the play food sets are simpler, while other have many pieces, allowing for a lot of involved food preparations.  For example, the Melissa and Doug Pizza Set has 54 pieces of playing potential, including slices of pizza and toppings.  Or, teach healthy salad making with the Melissa and Doug Slice and Toss Salad play set.  If running a sandwich shop is more your kids' style, then the Melissa and Doug Sandwich Set has everything they need to make food for several customers.  Outdoor kids will enjoy the Melissa and Doug Grill Set, which has shish kabobs with lots of pieces for patterning play and a grill for cooking them up.  Fans of baking will love Slicing up a tube of fake refrigerated cookie dough, baking them, and then decorating them with the Melissa and Doug Slice and Bake Cookies.  It also comes in a Christmas Cookie version for tons of added play potential.  Click the links to go to any of the sets.

Entrepreneurial children can set up their own pretend store and start serving customers with these adorable selection of shops and counters.  Bakers will love the Melissa and Doug Make-a-Cake Mixer Set with bread pan, bread loaf, mixer, eggs, mixing bowl, recipe card, butter, and box mix.  Pair with the other sweet treats like the Melissa and Doug Scoop and Serve Ice Cream Counter and the Melissa and Doug Frozen Treats Sets  to fill your Sweet Shop with toothsome delights.  If your kid dreams of owning a diner, the Melissa and Doug Restaurant Set and Diner Table and Chairs (not pictured) are the perfect solution.  Add the Melissa and Doug Toaster Set to expand your line of offered foods.  Or, maybe your kid loves all the toppings and slices of a pizzeria and would enjoy the Melissa and Doug Top and Bake Pizza Counter.  All of these collections encourage math, reading, writing, logic, sequence, money handling, and more.  Click on the links to read more about each product.

I wouldn't help adding the Melissa and Doug Pots and Pans Set to this list as well- they're my favorites and I think every family needs them.  If your child enjoys playing ice cream shop, the Melissa and Doug Dessert Toppings are a necessary addition, allowing them to serve up yummy sundaes and treats to everyone.  The Melissa and Doug Condiment Set and Melissa and Doug Favorite Condiments Set really squirt out pretend sauces, which make them fun accessories for the play kitchen.  For kids who enjoy putting small things into other things, the Melissa and Doug Grocery Cans are perfect, since they have removable lids.  The Melissa and Doug Juice Bottle Set has disappearing liquid for extra fun pretend play.  The juices would pair nicely with the Melissa and Doug Breakfast Caddy Set, which has syrup and jams with removable lids.  Kids who enjoy baking will love the Melissa and Doug Baking Spices Set with clicking lids and real shaking sounds.  Or, if your child fancies himself more of a pizza chef, then the Melissa and Doug Pizza Spices would be just what he needs.  To hold all these awesome and adorable accessories, be sure to grab at least one Melissa and Doug Shopping Cart.  Click on any of the links to read more about a specific product.

I hope this gift guide gave you lots of ideas.  Thanks for joining me for another day of this year's All Wrapped Up Pre-Christmas Series.  So, now it's your turn to talk- do you prefer store bought play food or handmade?

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