What's in your play kitchen?

[jam224]

We bought DD a play kitchen for Christmas this year (this one from Ikea (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49874533/)) and I've started shopping for things to go with it. So far, I have a couple of M&D food items, the Green Toys cooking set (http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-Cookware-Dining-Set/dp/B0015466LM/), Ikea pots & pans (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00130167/) with utensils (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80130168/), and I couldn't pass up this incredibly cute tea kettle from PBK (http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/silver-tea-kettle-and-toaster/).

So, I'm curious: what's in your play kitchen?

[brittone2]

I've found through the years that too much stuff backfires. My kids play better with fewer choices. We started off that way, then they were gifted a lot of playfood, etc. from friends and family over the years, and I think it became overwhelming. We donated a ton of stuff and they went back to playing better with it.

My kids loved the coffee maker (wooden one and then that later was broken and replaced with a cheapie plastic one last yr for DS2, since he's the last kid and our playkitchen days are dwindling down). One year DS1 got a train table, etc. for Christmas, but he was the most excited about the wooden coffee maker and played with it for hours and hours on Christmas day ("breve latte, mama?").

Toaster is fun too I think.

Cutting food (like M&D where you can use a knife to slice through the velcro) is pretty fun if you don't have any.

[Seitvonzu]

i have a play kitchen accessories ADDICTION. hello, my name is Mary, and i LOVE toy food! seriously..i'm spending my child's preschool time pulling toys for donation and i found 2 breakfast meals on trays i completely forgot about it. i believe my rationale when like this "ohmygosh adorable maple syrup bottle with maple leaf!" and "we don't have sausage... like that!" (seriously "like that" - because, uh, we DO have sausage)

that said-- i agree with Brittone--less is more. i do serious rotating in our play kitchen. right now their is a jar of cinnamon cookies, some hot chocolate mugs, a recycled hot chocolate mix container, a ladle/pot for hot chocolate making, pretend milk..... ever since my child went to preschool and their kitchen had "recycled" food containers, she tries to get me to save EVERYTHING for her "little kitchen."

i think your list sounds like plenty to me. pots/pans (a couple), dishes (2 plates, 2 cups, whatever), a small amount of food. that's really probably enough. the tea kettle *is* cute and kids do gravitate to those in my experience.

i agree that a coffee maker if your child relates to that is GREAT. i bought a cheapy plastic at target which actually "works" (my child LOVES , still , at almost 5) to make "water coffee." actually...you might want to skip that ;) how old is your child?

we have more playfood/accessories than my child could ever enjoy. it's really too much. what your child doesn't need? a half a dozen tea sets....ugh! less is more. less is more less is more (this is for me mostly, not you ;))

[jam224]

Thanks, ladies! Yes, I agree: less is more! I don't want to be overrun with stuff, but I hope that what I do get, she will have fun playing with. Just wasn't sure if people preferred felt food, plastic food, or wooden food. For now, I have a couple of the M&D cutting boxes, but I'm wondering if I should buy/make some felt food for a quieter option, haha. DD will be 20 months old at Christmas... so too young for "water coffee!" :)

[katydid1971]

Ikea has great felt food. DD loves any food (wood, felt, plastic) and makes wonderful "meals" all the time. Plates to serve the food on are also important.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70185750/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30185747/

[Seitvonzu]

we have the ikea food (all the sets but one-- the "breakfast set" the one with the cutting board). it's adorable and you get lots of pieces-- it's a great value i think, esp for a 20 month old. it's not "all wool" or whatever like some of the felt food on etsy, but you pay for that. i'm crafty and had some delusions about making a bunch a felt food (i have knit a whole veggi/fruit market worth of various things, and ice cream cones, and cupcakes....but somehow the felt thing didn't happen (except for some eggs-- i did make some of those for "realism" with our white plastic easter eggs).

the great thing about plastic/fabric things at your child's age are that they are LIGHT WEIGHT. my daughter got amazing (read: pricey!) enamel pots but she would never play with them (she got her kitchen when she was just shy of two). i swapped out some green toys dishes/pots i'd bought and she was playing CONSTANTLY. same with the heavy wooden food. she would play and play with the fisher price meals my MIL bought her and ignore all the nice wooden stuff.

she'll play with any of it now, but she's nearly 5. her favorite thing to do is to use various craft supplies (punched out paper butterflies, pompoms, etc) and make stews/potions. silly kid! :)

[redhookmom]

There are 2 things that get a lot of play in my dd's kitchen.

First, the wooden food with the velcro that attaches the sides together. She can put them on her cutting board and actually feel like she is cutting them. She fills a bowl with her "prepped" food.

Second, the tea set! Lots of tea parties.

[MontrealMum]

We also have the Ikea play kitchen and it's a favorite toy around here still at age 5. For a younger child I actually prefer felt and fabric food, but this may depend on the child. Around my DS anything wooden (or metal, for that matter) became an unintentional weapon when he was in the toddler stages. I could kill my mother for giving him so many metal cars and trucks! So, it's only recently that I've branched out into the M&D sets which are fab. Up until he was 3ish he only had felt food (from Etsy sellers), fabric food from Ikea, and the Green toys kitchen and tea sets. We've got everything under the sun: fruit, veggies, cupcakes, hot dog and hamburger, pancakes, eggs, sushi, a burrito, bacon, sandwiches, and cake. He's also got oven mitts, napkins, a tablecloth, and an apron. We don't have room for a play table so we do a lot of picnics.

Now that he's safer to be around since he's more conscious about what he's doing we have acquired: the M&D brownie set, the M&D fridge food set, Ikea metal pots and pans, this coffee maker (http://www.amazon.com/Educo-Rise-Shine-Coffee-Maker/dp/B003E6NHSE), a cash register, and the M&D shopping cart.

This year he's getting another tea set from Plan toys (he thinks the other one is for coffee for some reason), and more felt food from Etsy. In fact, I was just drooling over cabbages, strawberries and a baguette which arrived today. So, if you're starting a 12-step program, Seitvonzu, you can count me in :D I'm obsessed with play kitchen items.

Cute story, when I'm not feeling well DS likes to bring me play food to make me feel better. Sometimes it's tea or coffee with some breakfast food...last time it was wine with a potato :bag

[Seitvonzu]

oh my gosh-- WINE WITH A POTATO??????????

i love it :)

we didn't have any potatoes... so about 6 months back i pulled up a memory from childhood of pantyhose potatoes at my grandmas. sure enough,a quick internet search pulled up "pantyhose potatoes" and we had a dozen potatoes in no time! :)

we have at least a half a dozen teasets ourselves :)

i'm pretty unashamed. i did let my child give her best friend one of our unopened breakfast sets the other day. and we put our duplicate macaroni and cheese set in the donation bin at toysRus ;) baby steps i tell you!

[jam224]

Ohmygoodness, wine with a potato!! Love it, MontrealMum! :ROTFLMAO: Now I've got my eye on that wooden coffee maker too -- thanks for the link!

And I picked up an adorable sectioned felt cake from the dollar section of Target the other day. For $3, I couldn't resist! :p

[MontrealMum]

I know, I think the choice reflects an attempt on DS' part to offer me "comfort foods". But I worry that potatoes and wine are considered to both be in that category!

[mcmanutm]

We bought DD a play kitchen for Christmas this year (this one from Ikea (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49874533/)) and I've started shopping for things to go with it. So far, I have a couple of M&D food items, the Green Toys cooking set (http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-Cookware-Dining-Set/dp/B0015466LM/), Ikea pots & pans (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00130167/) with utensils (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80130168/), and I couldn't pass up this incredibly cute tea kettle from PBK (http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/silver-tea-kettle-and-toaster/).

So, I'm curious: what's in your play kitchen?

Amazon appears to have the same cute tea kettle (and toaster) as PBK for a lot cheaper: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000296LJI/ref=ox_ya_os_product

Didn't get the best of reviews, but we will see.

[Nooknookmom]

we have the ikea food (all the sets but one-- the "breakfast set" the one with the cutting board). it's adorable and you get lots of pieces-- it's a great value i think, esp for a 20 month old. it's not "all wool" or whatever like some of the felt food on etsy, but you pay for that. i'm crafty and had some delusions about making a bunch a felt food (i have knit a whole veggi/fruit market worth of various things, and ice cream cones, and cupcakes....but somehow the felt thing didn't happen (except for some eggs-- i did make some of those for "realism" with our white plastic easter eggs).

the great thing about plastic/fabric things at your child's age are that they are LIGHT WEIGHT. my daughter got amazing (read: pricey!) enamel pots but she would never play with them (she got her kitchen when she was just shy of two). i swapped out some green toys dishes/pots i'd bought and she was playing CONSTANTLY. same with the heavy wooden food. she would play and play with the fisher price meals my MIL bought her and ignore all the nice wooden stuff.

she'll play with any of it now, but she's nearly 5. her favorite thing to do is to use various craft supplies (punched out paper butterflies, pompoms, etc) and make stews/potions. silly kid! :)

Our kids should play! DD2 is five and makes the neatest things in her kitchen. Her Auntie sews her little aprons and she just got a "mixer" that she turns on and tears up teeny pieces of paper towel and Kleenex and puts it in the clear bowl and the mixer really "mixes" it! She plates it all up with pretend food and she also uses Pom poms and other craft supplies as garnish!

She also goes for he less expensive foods and cookware. She hardly uses he wooden food...except the pizza. Loves the oddball items!

[jam224]

Amazon appears to have the same cute tea kettle (and toaster) as PBK for a lot cheaper: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000296LJI/ref=ox_ya_os_product

Didn't get the best of reviews, but we will see.

I saw that kettle and toaster set when I was looking at the PBK one. They do look veeeery similar! But as far as I can tell, just the PBK one makes the water boiling and pouring sound. (Here's a super short clip I found on YouTube that shows a little boy playing with it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3pLgSkQDZI.) That feature is what sold me! I've been able to play with it in the box and ohmyword, it's so neat!! :D Thanks for sharing the Amazon version though!

[sunshine873]

Ikea has great felt food. DD loves any food (wood, felt, plastic) and makes wonderful "meals" all the time. Plates to serve the food on are also important.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70185750/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30185747/

:yeahthat: DD loves the Ikea felt food and is constantly "serving" us meals. ;)

[elephantmeg]

a bunch of felt food I made-of which the most popular is the Christmas cookies I made (traced some of my smaller cookie cutters and then decorated them with colored felt and embroidered details)
M+D: cookies, pizza, apple pie, ice cream (ice cream gets the most play!) The cookie sheet doesn't fit in our play oven.
Tea set from green toys, extra plates etc
cutting veggies
mixer
an empty box of eggnog (washed out). The dolls LOVE eggnog, as does Rudolph (the stuffed reindeer)

[swissair81]

We have the Kidkraft uptown espresso kitchen.
Also, Hape and Kidkraft appliances (mixer, toaster, blender, coffee maker)
Alex pots
Wooden play food from plan toys, hape, m & d, and kidkraft
Plastic dishes of some variety

I admit we have a lot, but the kids all play kitchen together and 4 have to share (and baby sister will want to play too eventually)