How much play food?

[Charlie]

I did a search on play food and it seems like the concensus is less is more....but how much is a good amount? DS is getting the Plan Toys kitchenette for Christmas (scored a great deal at a consignment shop) and I bought Ikea pots and pans and cooking utensils to go along with it. Should I get the Learning Resources food at Costco and be done with it? I want cutting food too though as I think food that does something will be more interesting to him right now. Is one set of cutting food sufficient if I don't get any other play food (I prefer the Plan Toys set but the M&D seems to have more in it)? Thanks for any input - I am having a hard time making up my mind right now!

[MommyAllison]

We started with the M&D breakfast set when DD got her kitchen at age 2. We've gradually added to it over the last 2 years, and now have the pizza set, lunchbox sandwich set, and a bit of soft fabric playfood. The kids are getting some crochet fruits & veggies for Christmas. I think we'll probably stop there, as it should be plenty for two kids. I'd start with one set and add more as needed. Especially when they're young, less is better!

[Charlie]

Thanks! Maybe I will just get the 1 set of cutting food right now and I can get another for his birthday if he's into it. I don't want to have to pick up tons of play food every night.

[hillview]

Thanks! Maybe I will just get the 1 set of cutting food right now and I can get another for his birthday if he's into it. I don't want to have to pick up tons of play food every night.

That makes sense to me.
/hillary

[maylips]

We were planning to buy a kitchen last Christmas but never ended up pulling the trigger. However, in preparation for that, I bought some M&D cutting food and DD loved it. She plays with it often, "cutting" the food up to make soup. So I'd definitely recommend getting some cutting food.

Nice score on the Plan kitchen!

[WatchingThemGrow]

We keep the cutting food on a shelf in OUR kitchen, so they will often occupy themselves with the knife and cutting board imitating what I'm doing. The cheap plastic food we have from a neighbor is uninspiring and junky, so it will slowly disappear over the next few weeks. It will be replaced by the Costco LR food for Christmas, which looks so much nicer.

[alien_host]

DD has had her kitchen since she was 20 months old. She is 4.5 and I'm still adding to the collection.

I agree with PPs, buy a few key things now and see if he takes to it. You can add over time, I pick them up when i see a good deal (same with accessories - toaster etc, and dishes) and save them for some sort of occassion or do an upgrade for her.

We have a cheap plastic with cardboard boxes set from Target that I got for $2.50 after Xmas clearance...it's OK, great for playing grocery store (lots of options) but not the best IMO since the pieces get scattered all over the place.

Have fun!

[Seitvonzu]

oof. i have not followed the "less is more" principle in terms of play food for my child. we don't even have a kitchen yet (12 more days!!!), but we have TONS of dishes/cooking stuff/food. it started with me knitting fruits and veggies,then it sorta blossomed. wait, it started with me buying wooden food on sale at target, before i even had a baby....

ACK!

i love the different M&D sets for variety but i love the quality of the plan foods. i like the colors they use, and how they are very natural looking to me. i like haba, erzi,djeco, santoys, voila, etc. we don't have all of these, but i see pieces of all of this in our future. (oh perhaps the le van toy stuff too) it's just all so very nice. my inlaws, who are gifting the kitchen, are bringing some food/accessories so i'm really trying to hold off on adding to our collection until we see what they bring. that said, i just bought a confectionary set at PIER 1, and a friend just brought over the mini pizza i resisted :)for her daughter they call their's a "quiche" and it kinda does look like that. my child shouted "PIZZA!" :) hahaha :)

lucy would probably really enjoy a wood toaster. i'm thinking we'll end up with the plan one...but i LOVE LOVE the le van toy breakfast set. i want to get the new santoys mixer that's on LON's website. oh so many wants! i'd love to see alien's daughter's collection... we share the same addiction!

[Charlie]

Thank you for all the input. I am getting sooooo excited about giving him the kitchen and all the accessories. I hope he likes it....otherwise, I will just have to play with it myself! I am trying to show some restraint and just get one set of cutting food for now - but it's all so cute and I just want to go wild!

[Melaine]

I don't know about less is more for play food either, but I like adding a set here and there. Last Christmas they got the cutting food and the cookies from M&D (both big hits). For their birthday they got the M&D ice cream cones, pantry foods and fridge foods. Somewhere along the way they got the plan toys dishes and a couple muffin sets, not to mention the all-important tea set.
Since the kitchen is a big toy that will hopefully be used for years, I like the idea of getting new food every once in awhile to renew the interest. We've been happy with all the food so far though.

[Melaine]

Ooops I forgot we bought the Ikea pots and pans as well a couple months ago and those get daily use too.