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Gift Guide for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Dramatic Play Toys

Gift Guide for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Dramatic Play Toys

December 2, 2015 By Katie Chiavarone 15 Comments

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Do your kids love to play pretend?  Quickly outgrowing the baby toys, yet not quite big enough for smaller-piece toys, it can be a challenge to find developmentally appropriate and safe toys for the 2-3 year old age range. Notice that some of my favorite brands included are Melissa & Doug, Hape, KidKraft, and MiO, because of their amazing quality and durability. These dramatic play toys with get your kids playing creatively, and learning a ton!

This gift guide for dramatic play offers a number of toys for preschoolers and toddlers to engage in creative and imaginative play.

*This post contains affiliate links. Read more about this here.

My Top Picks for Dramatic Play Toys

As a big proponent of learning through play, I have written before about the importance unstructured play and my affinity for wooden toys. While my kids do enjoy (and have more than enough of) the push-button, make-music type toys, I tend to prefer those that inspire creativity, imagination and dramatic play. So this gift guide is just that.





Learning Resources Pretend and Play Doctor Kit

Melissa & Doug Stamp and Sort Mailbox

Aeromax My 1st Career Assortment A Costume

Melissa & Doug Let’s Play House! Dust, Sweep and Mop

Melissa & Doug Cutting Food

Melissa & Doug Felt Food Sandwich Set

Schleich Portable Barn with Accessories 

Hape Pound and Tap Bench with Slide Out Xylophone

Hape Coffee Maker Playset (they also have an awesome toaster and mixer that I love!)

Exciting Shimmering Water, Rainbow, Sound, and Sand Wooden Blocks

Green Toys Tea Set

KidKraft Uptown Espresso Kitchen

Plush Happy Kids Hand Puppets Set – 8 pc – Multi Ethnical Collection

KidKraft Doll Family

Hape My Handy Workshop

MiO Sleeping Wooden Building Playset (check out the eating playset and the people too!)

This gift guide for dramatic play offers a number of toys for preschoolers and toddlers to engage in creative and imaginative play.

Do you have any of these on this list? Any that you would recommend? I would love to hear!

Photo Credit: DepositPhotos

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Filed Under: Christmas, Gift Guides, Holidays, Parenting, Sponsored Work Tagged With: Dramatic Play, gift guide, gifts, Holidays, learn through play, presents, reviews, shopping, toddlers, Toys

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Comments

  1. Shann Eva says

    December 2, 2015 at 2:54 pm

    This is such a great list. My favorite thing about the holidays is buying things for my kids and seeing their excitement when they open it. I LOVE that play kitchen and wish my boys would play more with things like that instead of always trains. Maybe we’ll give it a try.

    Reply
  2. Ashley says

    December 2, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    Love this list!! I just bought the pound and tap bench from Hape for my daycare boy. I LOVE Melissa and Dog toys. I feel they old up so well. The M&D mailbox is on my daycare bucket list. Thank you for all these wonderful ideas.

    Reply
    • kchiavarone@gmail.com says

      December 3, 2015 at 12:46 am

      Thanks for reading! He will love the pound and tap bench!

      Reply
  3. DebbieZ says

    December 2, 2015 at 5:40 pm

    One of my favorite things about the holiday is the decorations and lights. Everything feels so warm and special! I love this list. Pretty much anything Melissa and Doug is great in my book!

    Reply
    • kchiavarone@gmail.com says

      December 3, 2015 at 12:46 am

      I’m obsessed with Melissa and Doug! Thanks for reading 🙂

      Reply
  4. Joanna says

    December 2, 2015 at 6:14 pm

    Great list! My daughter would love the doctor kit. She’s obsessed! I’ve actually never tried anything from Melissa and Doug but it looks like a neat brand.

    Reply
  5. Alana says

    December 2, 2015 at 9:46 pm

    Sometimes I wonder if we were separated at birth. Lol. Hape, KidKraft and Melissa and Doug are some of my ABSOLUTE favourites. I think Santa will be getting my daughter a KidKraft Dollhouse (NOT the 4ft tall one from Costco though). Love this entire list and am going to have to check out some of these toys that I didn’t know these brands made.

    Reply
    • kchiavarone@gmail.com says

      December 2, 2015 at 9:58 pm

      I feel the same! I’m planning on getting Ava the kidkraft dollhouse for her birthday 🙂 the Hape workbench is new this fall…I want it for myself! X would love it

      Reply
  6. Sue Parke says

    December 2, 2015 at 10:51 pm

    GREAT list of toys! I think my daughter would love the doctor kit and the barn! I entered your giveaway! Thanks!

    Reply
    • kchiavarone@gmail.com says

      December 2, 2015 at 11:41 pm

      I hope you win!!

      Reply
  7. kchiavarone@gmail.com says

    December 3, 2015 at 12:45 am

    Thanks! My kids love cooking in the pretend kitchen, it’s definitely what they get the most use out of

    Reply
  8. Tarynn Playle says

    December 3, 2015 at 2:34 am

    I love this gift guide!! I wouldn’t mind if my kids got any of these gifts! My parents got my daughter a play kitchen and I am so excited!!! I hope she likes it!!

    Reply
  9. Ana says

    December 3, 2015 at 10:22 pm

    What a fun list! We have a couple of these and really love letting the kids get creative with toys like the medical kit, pretend food and music!

    Reply
  10. CourtneyLynne says

    December 3, 2015 at 11:36 pm

    Omg I’m Melissa and Doug obsessed!!!! Thankfully so is my daughter so she loves it that I buy here everything M&D I see lol

    Reply
  11. Tanisha @ ThriftyNYmom says

    December 4, 2015 at 11:25 pm

    These are some great ideas for gifts! I personally like anything by Melissa and Doug, they really encourage pretend play and their products really helped my son in the past. He had an occupational therapist that would come to my house with the wooden fruit set and it would really help with his fine motor skills. I’ll pin this post to pinterest holiday gift guide board. 🙂

    Reply

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