Looking for the best imaginary play toys to spark your child’s creativity? Whether they’re hosting teddy bear tea parties, building fairy dens or running a pretend vet surgery, toddlers and preschoolers thrive when given the tools to explore their imagination. Not only is imaginative play great fun, but it also supports key areas of early development – from language and social skills to emotional resilience and problem-solving. In this guide, we’ve rounded up twelve of the best imaginary play toys that inspire hours of screen-free, open-ended play. Perfect for growing imaginations, these toys are ideal for children aged 2 to 5+.
Wooden Puppet Theatre
This gorgeous wooden Puppet Theatre from Le Toy Van will get hours of imaginary play. It’s beautifully made, and designed to sit on a tabletop, so it doesn’t take up as much space a freestanding puppet theatre. We loved all the little details, like a blackboard on the side for writing show times and tickets that you can cut out of the box. This is a toy that will be loved and passed down for many years to come.
letoyvan.co.uk
Picnic play set
This little picnic play set from Djeco is the perfect imaginary play toy for summer. Little ones will love hosting teddy bear tea parties, and playdates in the garden and park. Stow everything away in the little basket, which is pretty enough to be on display in your little one’s room.
tickety-boo.co.uk
Wooden Pizza oven play kitchen
This cute wooden pizza oven is the perfect toy for budding mini chefs. It comes with a pizza slicer and serving spatula – so that little ones can hone their motor skills ‘cutting’ the velcro pizza slices. We loved all the felt toppings, which are great for imaginative play, as well as sparking conversations about food, and flavours.
hippychick.com
Flower Fairy Dress Up
This flower fairy dress up set from Avery Row is so beautifully made – definitely the antithesis to the usual polyester dressing up sets. Avery Row has a really gorgeous range of dressing up to please both boys and girls, including superhero capes, mermaid tails, and crowns. My daughter could dress up endlessly (we often change outfits several times during a play session), and this set is quickly becoming a favourite.
avery-row.com
Vintage Dolls House
My daughter is a big fan of small world play, so much so that we have several doll’s houses. This one from Classic World Toys at Hippychick is great if you’re short on space, because it’s not too big. It has stairs inside (something that we’ve found that not all doll’s houses have), and it comes with all the furniture, making it really good value. The design is really pretty, so you won’t mind it being on display as part of the decor in your little one’s room.
Country Cottage Cream Tea Hamper
We have a Teddy Bear’s Picnic book that we like to read at bedtime, so my daughter was so excited to play with this pretty wooden Country Cottage Cream Tea Hamper from Jojo Maman Bebe! I love all the little details, including a little tea bag on a string, strawberries you can cut (great for fine motor skills), and the little scones. Perfection for little ones with budding imaginations.
Rainbow Fairy Wings Dress Up
One of our go-to brands for cute accessories, Rockahula has just launched their very first dress up collection and it’s as cute as you’d expect. My daughter hasn’t taken these rainbow spotty fairy wings off since she got them. They are perfect for dressing up, and we’ll also wear them to birthday parties with the sparkly ribbon wand. They are great value, making them a very sweet gift too.
rockahulakids.com
Vet animal hospital doctor’s kit
This play vet’s bag is perfect for little animal lovers. There’s so many cute details like the ‘Paw Balm’ and ‘Pet Shampoo’ and there’s a little brush, which my daughter loved using on all of her teddies. We extended our play by setting up a vet clinic, with a waiting area, receptionist, and operating room. We also talked about caring for animals, and the types of different pets you can have. Great for solo play and for play dates too.
scandiborn.co.uk
Wooden Post office toy
This cute little wooden post office set from Bigjigs toys at Soren’s House will inspire hours of imaginary play. It comes complete with a weighing scale, shop counter, post box, postcards, stamps, stamper, parcel boxes, a chalkboard sign, pad, shop sign, delivery sack, and credit card for paying. We enjoyed taking turns to be the customer and post office assistant, and delivering post for all of my daughter’s toys. We also used it to spark conversations about how post gets delivered and initiate a letter writing activity.
sorenshouse.co.uk
Soft dolly
My daughter’s favourite game at the moment is ‘mummies and daddies’ so dolls get a lot of playtime in our house. The Tendresse collection from French brand Kaloo is really sweet and I love that the dolls have soft bodies so your little one can cuddle them to sleep (the blue doll shown above right even has a little glow-in-the dark moon on her dress, which my daughter found really comforting at night). Machine washable, their outfits fasten with velcro and can be easily swapped. Very collectible, they make the perfect first doll.
Animal small world play
These colourful Animal Counters from Edx Education are great for counting, sorting, and early maths activities, but they are also really good for imaginative small world play. Set up a little farm scene by using a tuff tray filled with different grains such as corn kernels, rice, and quinoa (be careful with little ones who might still be putting things in their mouth).
Wooden BBQ toy
This is another imaginary play toy that’s fun for summer! A little bit different to a classic play kitchen, we love how gender neutral this design from Janod is. Little ones will have hours of fun serving up sausages, burgers, and kebabs, hosting garden parties and catering to their cuddly toys.
janod.com
See our outdoor play edit here.
