Are you looking for the easiest and cheapest way to make play food for your little one? This DIY play food craft is so simple you are going to kick yourself you didn’t try it before! Grab some old magazines, card, scissors and glue… it’s all you need to create some culinary delights for your child’s toy kitchen!
In these times of Covid-19 quarantine, we all need ideas to keep our kids busy. I sat down this morning and made a DIY play cookie and it kicked off a whole day of crafting and home school for my three kids. Their 8yr old play kitchen was given a new lease of life and I have been served many a delicious platter from the in-house restaurant 😉
How to Make Your Own Play Food Using Recipe Magazines
- Find some old magazines, preferably a recipe magazine (We used Food Network). If you do not have a specific food magazine, try any magazines you have because many feature food in ads. Another place to try is the grocery store coupon mags.
- Cut out a picture of the food you would like to use, ideally a ‘from above’ photo with no perspective.
- Stick the photo onto some card, we used an old box. Cut the card around the picture.
I told you it was simple!
The kids thought this was the best thing since sliced bread and we now have a play kitchen filled with cookies, pizza slices, a plate of fries, an omelet, a bowl of pasta. They actually turned out great and it triggered a bunch of other activities for the day.
Skills & Activities Sparked by Making Our Own Play Food
In making the DIY play food my kids got to practice cutting and sticking, something they struggle with. They cut the pictures out of the magazine and then I cut most of the shapes once they were stuck on the card to get a more detailed edge. Once the food was complete we started a role play game of ‘cafe’. This led to:
- Creating their own menu (literacy);
- Creating a complimentary kids menu with word searches, dot-to-dot, coloring in etc. (puzzling, art);
- Making staff name badges (literacy, art);
- Discussing the cost of food (life skills);
- Discussing nutrition (life skills, nutrition);
- Calculating the cafe bill (math);
It really was a fabulous day, using what we have at home to make a whole new set of activities. If you’re looking for another craft that’s easy to do with what you have, check out my Kawaii Bookmark Corners. I use origami paper but you can use whatever you have!
This is a super quick blog post because I am swamped with everyone out of school and at home. I am glad I got around to sharing because these guys have had a blast. Stay safe everyone and do tell me what you think of these cute food items!
