April 22, 2023

Cafe Play

I'm thrilled that Soren has hit the stage of pretend play, as in dressing up and play-acting "real life" scenarios.  Other than the ones that involve pretending to be me ("I said No!!"), I really enjoy watching him and his friends play pretend and dress-up in costumes.

We've gotten hours of play this week from our own mini cafe, tucked into a corner of our laundry/mud room.
Over the years, I've collected various things for such a space, the table and chairs having appeared one trash-day in our alley (ah, the joys of living in town), the vintage spice tins came from Gigi's kitchen, and the kitchen was a birthday gift from a few years ago. It's gotten lots of use from boys and girls alike.
Soren and I created a special menu for the Cafe, and though the prices are a bit high, the place has been a hit right from the get-go. 
I highly recommend the Salad Stew and Sugar Spices.  Apparently, the menu is a seasonal one, and changes frequently. That in itself is a fun activity to imagine with children.
I find that the kids really like playing with real things, like ceramic cups, a fresh flower arrangement on the table, water for drinking and snacks like fruit, vegetables, and popcorn for the tiny plates.
It's a great way to get your kids to eat their veggies! Soren must have had a dozen baby carrots.
Even if you don't have all these props at home, you can still fashion some pretend kitchen items from boxes.  There are lots of options via an online search for "cardboard box kitchen".  This one from Family Fun magazine is adorable and do-able,
as is this one from Parents magazine.
The best part about our cafe--it's always open and ready for play.
Hope you're enjoying some imaginative play on this lovely Sunday.

3 comments:

  1. This is such a cute space! I am quite envious of the black and white floor :) Raileigh has a play kitchen in our kitchen just because the space worked out perfectly there for it when we moved in. I love it, though, because she "cooks" while I do and it is so sweet to watch!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would totally eat there! What a cheerful space!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Okay, THAT is the cutest and most imaginative thing I've seen! It's so great, I kind of want my own little cafe like that xD

    Although I must say, $5000 for an ice cream cone is definitely a little steep. Hehe!

    ReplyDelete

Feed the Comment Monster!
(sorry, anonymous comments are currently disabled due to the amount of spam comments received)

Related Posts with Thumbnails