Buy Several Varieties of Play Food to Encourage Your Child's Imagination

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Imagination is a wonderful thing, and buying toys that encourage the use of it among children is often recommended. Play food is typically perfect for helping little imaginations along. Children of any gender and age enjoy using props to mix up their play time and make it more realistic. It is up to you to buy play food that looks real while being safe for kids of any age.

Tea parties are some of the most well-known ways to use play food, but there are plenty of other games that are less traditional but also beloved. If your kids still enjoy tea parties, small plastic cups and saucers are of course expected. While some kids fill their teapots with water, others simply keep them empty and imagine the presence of real tea. However, many kids enjoy using plastic play food to stand in as the typical snacks one might see at such a party. You can buy a whole plastic cake that is cut into pieces, complete with a plastic serving spatula. Cupcakes, muffins, and pieces of various fruit are also often seen on small plastic plates at tea parties. Just think of what you perhaps used as a child to make your tea party more realistic, and consider purchasing such play food for your own kids.

Some kids prefer to pretend to make their own food rather than enjoy it at a gathering of stuffed animals and imaginary friends. For this reason, there are plastic blenders filled with fake fruit so that children can pretend they are mixing up a cold smoothie. Plastic cupcakes can serve as a blank canvas for little artists who will enjoy using the included markers and unique candles to decorate their own play food. Your children can also pretend to make their own cookies or ice cream for dessert with specialized play sets.

Many kids enjoy creating their own entrees rather than just desserts. One of the most popular food sets includes pizza and all the ingredients to create their preferred combinations. Such sets typically use Velcro to help the toppings stay on, and come with a plastic pizza cutter to practice serving up their own pizza. There are even large plastic grills that come with realistic kabobs and tongs to pick up the plastic vegetables and meat from the grill. Some sets of play food can help your kids practice to make a sandwich, fill their pantry with healthy food, slice up sushi, and fill up their shopping cart with produce.

Clearly, the possibilities are endless. No matter your children's favorite food, you can likely find a play set that they would love to experiment with. You may choose to participate, encouraging your kids to make healthy entrees or pizza combinations, or you can let them use their stuffed animals as experimental customers at their fake restaurant. Either way, play food is an inexpensive way for your children to stay busy for hours while learning about items in the real world.

Review Feature Office 2010