Toys etc to encourage imaginative play

[PoppyPainting]

Hi, I'm looking for some toys and props to encourage imaginative play. Currently main toys we have are her play kitchen, and dolls house. Also my 1970s fisher price farm and chalet house. And i got her a tent for Xmas.

I was looking at the happyland pirate ship and castle but they look awfully clumpy and possibly quite limited.

However id love some inspiring ideas for play figure sets and anything else...

 

[SarahBear]

Sounds like you've got a good start. We have duplos and since Christmas, she has over 20 duplo people! She also has some duplo animals. She has a doll as well. The duplos are certainly her favorite by far.

 

[OmarsMum]

Tea set, washing machine, iron with board, toy food with cutting board, toaster, serving trolley, supemarket trolley, I'd go for duplo sets instead of happyland they are more heavy duty there are many nice themed ones. Car garage and cars with traffic signs, wooden blocks, magnitic shapes,

 

[Agoo]

She plays with her tea set a lot, invites different toys for tea every time, has picnics with it outside in the summer... we also have a bunch of puppets which are great for story telling and just chatting to. She'll also chat with random things around the house - loves talking to her water bottle and to my toes for instance. She just got a set of Peppa pig soft toys for Christmas which are being played with right now.

 

[d_b]

In terms or real toys, DS2 has lots of imaginative play with Lego and bristle blocks. But really his most imaginative play comes from random items around the house, like a piece of string (tail, snake, etc), socks/leg warmers (he wears them as 'monster hands' or tries to make hand puppets).. Over Christmas he seems to have mostly played with the empty rolls the wrapping paper came on (sword, trumpet, etc). He will spend some time on trains, magnets, baby doll, farm animals, and play kitchen.

 

[greats]

I made a toy chest for my dd for Xmas and filled it with a bunch of dress up clothes, shoes, fairy wands, pretend doctor outfits, etc. I did the same for my niece and they both love it!

 

[SarahBear]

Dress up might be a fun thing to add for Violet soon. I made her a spider costume which she was into for a short bit, but not so into by Halloween. It has been tossed aside but in the toyroom ever since. She was really not into it and wasn't willing to put it on when suggested. Today, however, she mentioned it, so I pulled it out and she was excited. She then wore it for most of the day. She also sometimes talks about being a princess or pretends to ice skate. She'd probably be into dressing up as something or someone.

*note: I think this is where her understanding of a princess comes from:

https://youtu.be/v9nq-HUHpdY

 

[Desi's_lost]

My DD loves vinyl figures which I find good for imaginative play because you can get sets of figures that correspond. Like she has all the characters from Teen Titans Go which she makes up her own little stories with, plus adds in cameos with her other figures haha.

 

[AngelofTroy]

Micah loves to play with playmobil, both 123 and the traditional sets. He loves all the little detailed bits. For Christmas my mum gave him a playmobil family camping set which has a tent, little folding stools and table, washing line with pegs and towels, camping stove with food, cool box, electric hook up etc etc, it's amazing and he loves it!

 

[w8ing4bean]

Phoebe has been into imaginative play for as long as i can remember; she has dolls, doctors set, tea party & picnic set, kitchen & fake food, mega bloks. And to copy mummy she also has handbags, keys, phone, purse. I love watching her play cant wait for her to talk and explain her games!!

 

[jd83]

Dress up, Lego Duplo, blocks, play doh, arts and crafts (painting with different kinds of paint, chalks, markers, gluing things, etc), pretend food

 

[icklemonster]

Tea set and play kitchen, handbag filled with my old cards, box turned into a post box with letters for posting, her cuddly toys, we have playmobile but at the moment she is more excited by weebles, the wind up play house has quite a lot of fun things to do and with the car she does lots of imaginative play x