14 Best Imaginative Play Toys for Children

Encouraging Imaginative Play is not only fun but can be essential for a child's development. In this blog we will be sharing a selection of the best imaginative play toys from various categories of imaginative play that can be used to ignite creativity and spark imaginations. From dress up costumes to play kitchens and small world transport toys, there is something here to inspire every child's imagination!

1.Dollhouses

Despite the name, dollhouses can be a fantastic open ended resources with which children can play creatively, explore various family dynamics and develop storytelling skills. What other items will your little ones introduce into their dollhouse? Below are a handful of some of our favourite dollhouse resources:

• Open Ended Doll's House
• Complete Doll's House
• Rose Cottage Dolls House

Observing your child whilst they engage in dollhouse play can be an effective way to gain an insight into how your child views their family dynamic and how they viewed certain experiences.

2. Play dens and Playhouses

Play dens and larger playhouses are a fantastic resource to facilitate pretend play as they offer children a dedicated space within which to create an entire imaginary world of their liking. Some popular resources to consider include:

• Wooden Teepee Tent
• Indoor Role Play Panels

What will your little ones transform their play den or playhouse into? Will it be a bear cave, a traditional castle or maybe a spaceship? Each structure can be transformed and even decorated in line with your child’s interests – giving them a safe and separate space to play in.

3. Dressing Up and Role Play

The benefits of role play and dress up are endless for childhood development. It is a great way for children to pretend and explore the world around them in a simple way that they can comprehend. Providing a range of costumes and role play accessories is key, for example providing role play uniforms of people who help us will give children a chance to explore these roles and perhaps develop empathy. Alternatively providing accessories that allow children to dress up as a character allows them to explore aspects of themselves that they may not know or have recognized before which is key for their social development. Some of our recommended role play resources include:

• Storytelling Hats
• Careers Dress Up

4. Play Kitchens

Play kitchens are incredibly popular. Children can pretend to cook, host meals for friends and family, manage their 5-star restaurant or simply imitate adult routines. It is a safer alternative to a real kitchen which allows them to pick up and mimic real scenarios of cooking. Play kitchens can come in a range of sizes with all manner of different accessories including:

• Kitchen and accessories set
• Refrigerator
• Role Play Pizza Oven And Paddle

Tinkering in their own play kitchens also helps to encourage fine motor skills, teamwork, planning, organization and understanding of real life activities

5. Food & Shopping

Playing with resources associated with food and shopping is a fantastic way to introduce children to early curricular topics like maths. Children can begin to understand the basic concepts around money, decision making and early calculations to pay for their groceries. It can also be a great way for children to learn about healthy eating, nutrition and what our bodies need. Below are just a few resources that can be used to this benefit:

• Wooden Food Crates
• Breads Of The World Set
• 3 Meals Role Play Food Set
• Shop Till With Scanner

6. Real life toys

Real life toys allow children to mimic daily activities, practice daily routines and act out real life scenarios in a safe space. Some great examples of resources include:

• Bioplastic Dinner Set
• Kettle and Toaster set
• Ironing board
• Bakers Mixing Set
• Coffee Machine

These “real life” or home corner resources are a great way to teach children about future responsibilities, daily living and social roles. They can also be used very effectively to support children’s language skills, vocabulary and social skills

7. Dolls

Doll play is often synonymous with imaginative or pretend play and for good reason! Engaging in doll play offers children the opportunity to re-enact real life scenarios, develop emotional intelligence, empathy, language and communication skills and foster a sense of responsibility. Including a range of diverse dolls is important as it gives children the chance to develop their understanding of the world and the different people in it that are represented in the doll form. Some brilliant diverse doll resources include:

• Doll with Down's Syndrome
• Multicultural dolls outfits
• Doll Nursing Set

8. Small World People

Children can use small world people to create groups of families or communities that mimic those of the real world around them. Small world people can be used in pretend play to reenact scenarios that children have witnessed or want to recreate. Resources in this area can vary widely from specific people and characters to more generic and open ended peg people. These open ended variants allow children to further exercise their imaginations whilst they play:

• My Unique Family - Multicultural Wooden Play Figures
• Wooden People Set
• Wooden Children Around The World
• Wooden People With Disabilities

9. Small World Animals

Toy animals can take imaginative play to the next level. Beyond using small world animals to create zoo or safari scenarios, the animal toys can be used by children as a comfort companion. Children will often assign toy animals with an imagined character and this will serve as a friend or pet that accompanies your little one.

• Sensory Play Stones - Butterflies
• Wooden Animal Families
• Safari Ltd Coral Reef Toob
• Jumbo Farm Animals

10. Small World Transport

These toys, consisting of anything from pirate ships to space ships allow children to introduce movement into their small world setups. A toy vehicle can quickly become a key element in pretend play about travel or adventures. They can elevate what was once a simple imagined story to one where characters jet off to new undiscovered lands or planets.

• Wooden Cars And Trucks
• Bigjigs Vehicle Pack
• Classic Wooden Train Set
• Barbarossa Pirate Ship
• Cosmic Rocket Set

11. Small World Accessories

Small world accessories are a must have resource for any imaginative play zone or area. These do not have to be purchased resources but instead can be crafts or items you have made yourself. Resources like wood offcuts, glass pebbles or open ended chalkboard pieces are a great way for children to set a scene for their pretend play.

• Woodland Tree Set
• Set Of Chalkboard Block Shapes 10pc
• Felt Toadstool Pack Of 5

12. Playmats and Trays

Like with playdens and playhouses, play mats and trays can be used to create an environment that encourages imaginative play but on a smaller scale and in a more confined area. The added benefit of this is that mats or trays can be picked up and moved around accordingly to facilitate play in any area. Some of the best resources to consider in this category include:

• Tuff trays
• Themed tuff tray mats

13. Puppets

Puppets are a fantastic resources with which to support imaginative play. Children can use puppets to create their own stories and bring imaginary characters to life. This is not only beneficial for creative thinking and imaginative play but also helps to support the development of language skills, storytelling, emotional expression and narrative structures. Take a look at some of our suggestions below:

• Career hand puppets
• Storytelling puppets – rainbow and lipstick
• Wild animal puppets
• Chinese zodiac puppets

14. Fairytales and Superheroes

And finally an imaginative play classic, superheroes, princesses and fairies! These are common imaginative play resources for a reason – children are able to create their own “out of this world” storyline and scenarios using their favourite or imagined characters. Whether it’s a superhero adventure or a princess rescue, this genre of toys encourage children to really exercise their creativity! Check out some of our favourite resources below:

• Traditional Tales 6 Stories, 42 Figures
• Story Stones Fairy Tales
• Wooden Superhero Figures With Cards

We hope you have found this blog useful and insightful. To browse our full range of imaginative play toys & resources simply click the link below!