I know that many of you don’t have enough space to fit a full-size play kitchen set in your house set so I have included play kitchens of varying sizes, starting from small and going all the way to medium, large, and epic.
The kitchen are arranged from smallest to largest, so if you want something truly epic just scroll to the end of the section.
I’ve also broken the play kitchens down by material as I know some of you may have a preference:
Wooden Play Kitchens
Hape 2-in-1 Kitchen & Grill Set
Best Tabletop Play Kitchen
Hape’s 2-in-1 Kitchen & Grill set is by far the smallest kitchen playset on our list. It’s the best play kitchen if you just want to dip your toes in the water and try one of these out before committing to a bigger model.
Even the youngest members of your family can play with this little kitchen since Hape claims even three-month-old babies can use it. When you order it, you’ll get a realistic-looking 6-piece grill set with the utensils included! In fact, you’ll receive a pot, a pan, lid, spoon, and spatula, all made from stainless steel.
Of course, when making this playset, Hape had your little ones’ safety in mind, which is why it was finished with non-toxic paint and features high-quality materials.
Things to Consider
While we love that the paint is non-toxic, it’s not UV-resistant and it’s likely to fade if exposed to the sun. Also, even though Hape says that kids up to eight years old could play in this kitchenette, we think they wouldn’t find it too interesting.
- Materials: Wood
- Age: 3 – 8 years
- Size: 11.8 x 9.1 x 10.1 inches
- Weight: 2.2 pounds
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Teamson Kids Florence Wooden Play Kitchen with Accessories
If you’re looking for the best play kitchen that can fit just about anywhere and will keep your kids entertained for hours — look no further than the Teamson play kitchen. This gorgeous playset boasts a ton of features and a cool retro design that will inspire your kids’ imagination.
It comes in two color schemes: Burlywood or a combo of White, Green, and Yellow. It has an oven and microwave doors, two burners, three knobs, as well as a removable sink.
You’ll also get a ton of accessories that include a spatula, three shakers, and a cordless phone so that your little chefs can make important calls while cooking. We think it’d be the perfect choice for all children that are between three and ten years old.
Things to Consider
One thing you have to know about this product is that it comes with lots of moving parts. So if you’re not particularly handy with tools, the assembly might take you a while. Fortunately, all the nuts and bolts are properly labeled, so as long as you follow the instructions, everything should be fine.
- Materials: Wood
- Age: 3 – 10 years
- Size: 21.5 x 11.6 x 38 inches
- Weight: 28 pounds
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Hape My Creative Cookery Club Kids Wooden Play Kitchen
Best for Small Spaces
Another Hape playset that we wanted to show you is actually made of high-quality wood. This stylish set features a combination of both painted and natural wood surfaces and it comes with a ton of utensils and food.
Of course, both the oven and cabinets can be opened, and your children can store all of their accessories in them. Also, there are a couple of hooks in the wooden kitchen where your kids can hang their little aprons.
One of the best things about the Hape playset is that it’s extremely easy to assemble and all the tools you need for it are included in the shipment. What’s more, you can take it apart in less than an hour if you ever want to put it away or store it.
Things to Consider
While the company says that the playset is perfect for kids who are three or older, it does have some smaller components. For example, the mushrooms are potential choking hazards, so you might want to consider removing them if your kids are really young.
- Materials: Wood
- Age: 3 – 15 years
- Size: 21.3 x 11.8 x 31.1 inches
- Weight: 13.2 pounds
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Hape Gourmet Kitchen Toy Fully Equipped Wooden Pretend Play Kitchen Set
Best Bang for the Buck
If you want to expand your Cookery Club kids set and add some more pizazz, you should check out the Hape Gourmet Kitchen. Just like the former model, this one’s also made of wood and has all sorts of fun accessories your little chefs can play with.
The Gourmet Kitchen includes a stovetop, sink, oven, cabinets, as well as a spice shelf. There’s also a transparent oven door that your kids can peer through to see how the food’s coming along.
What’s more, the kitchen has adjustable knobs that make a clicking sound every time you turn them. Once they’ve prepared their feasts, your children can put away all of their utensils and gadgets back to the spacious shelves.
Things to Consider
Unfortunately, one of the areas where the Cookery Club and Gourmet Kitchen differ is the ease of assembly. While the former is incredibly easy to put together, the latter is way trickier. The installation booklet is all over the place so expect to spend a couple of hours working on it.
- Materials: Wood
- Age: 3 – 12 years
- Size: 21.7 x 12.6 x 27.8 inches
- Weight: 20.1 pounds
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Another great thing about the Hape Gourment Kitchen is that you can get this super cute matching refrigerator to compliment it. It’s a great place to store all your play food and cooking sets when not in use and much more fun than just buying some plain-Jane IKEA cabinet.
KidKraft Vintage Kitchen
Best Vintage Play Kitchen
The KidKraft Vintage is the best play kitchen if you’re looking for something realistic with life-like accessories. If your kids ever dreamed of becoming chefs or bakers, the KidKraft is the right place to start since it boasts a ton of different features.
For starters, your children will have a fridge with an ice dispenser, as well as a freezer. They can also “turn” the stove off and on or heat up their delicious meals in the microwave. Once your kids are done playing, they can do the washing up in the removable sink.
There’s also a cordless phone in the vintage kitchen in case your little ones need to make some serious business deals while cooking. When they finish preparing delicious fake food for you and your family, they can put away all of their utensils and cooking equipment in a couple of storage spaces provided.
The KidKraft Vintage Kitchen comes in a bunch of different adorable colors including the ever popular Pink model shown above. The other colors are Light Blue, Dark Red, Off White, and Pure White with gold accents.
Things to Consider
The only thing you won’t love about the KidKraft Kitchen is the assembly process because it’s pretty time-consuming. Even if you’re handy with tools, it’ll take you at least two and a half hours to put the whole thing together.
- Materials: Wood and Plastic
- Age: 3 – 8 years
- Size: 33 x 11.7 x 35.7 inches
- Weight: 35.6 pounds
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Melissa & Doug Cook’s Corner Wooden Pretend Play Toy Kitchen
Editor’s Choice
Melissa & Doug Cook’s Corner Wooden Play Kitchen gets my nod for Editor’s Choice. It is not necessarily the best at anything – but it is great in all the categories that matter.
At around $100 bucks this awesome little playset is reasonably affordable, it’s compact design packs alot of play surface into a small package, it has ample storage to hold all your play kitchen accessories and the space-age design and colors are always a big hit with kids.
If you’re looking for a compact wooden play kitchen that has a clean and simple design — look no further than Melissa & Doug Cook’s Corner Play Kitchen.
This kitchen playset has an oven and a stovetop with clicking knobs, as well as a fridge, and storage shelves. There’s also a working timer to ensure your children don’t burn any of their delicious pretend-meals.
With your convenience in mind, Melissa & Doug also included a removable sink that’s extremely easy to clean up. We think that this is the best play kitchen for toddlers who are between three and five years old.
Things to Consider
Unlike the Hape Creative Cookery kitchen set, this one isn’t as easy to dissemble. In fact, once you put it together, taking it apart is extremely difficult. So keep that in mind if you’re planning on moving soon or want to relocate it every so often.
- Materials: Wood
- Age: 3 – 5 years
- Size: 16 x 20 x 36 inches
- Weight: 29 pounds
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Hape Playfully Delicious Cook ‘n Serve Wooden Play Kitchen
Award Winning Play Kitchen
We absolutely love the thoughtful, minimalist design of the Hape wooden play kitchen. Crafted with wood that’s sustainably sourced, its thoughtful design has parents in mind.
This kitchen is both compact and also stylish, meaning you won’t mind it being visible in your play space, but it won’t take up too much room. It features a pull out counter so multiple kids can play at once as well as wheels so little ones can move it around easily.
The Hape kitchen features a compact oven with clicking knobs, grill, sink and our favorite inclusion, a chalkboard to easily display the day’s specials. It doesn’t come with any accessories though, so you’ll need to supply your own.
The extension has a shelf for handy storage and there are also two shelves in the oven so you’ll be able to easily store any additional accessories you purchase.
Things to Consider
Lots of parents complained about the oven door breaking, even with gentle play. The good news is that Hape seems to act quickly and replace any broken parts reliably. Also consider Hape ages this toy at 3-8 years, but we don’t think many 8 year olds would be interested in this kitchen.
- Materials: Wood
- Ages: 3 – 8 years
- Size: 37.08 x 11.82 x 38.02 inches
- Weight: 26.9 pounds
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TP Toys Muddy Maker Mud Kitchen
Best for Outdoor Mud Pie Making
Designed to be an outdoor play kitchen, the TP Toys Muddy Maker Mud Kitchen has wet & dry activity areas to encourage messy fun in the backyard. The TP Toys kitchen features a hob, oven door, removable splash tub, storage, hanging rail, chalkboard and stainless steel pots, pans and whisk.
We do wish that there was some play food included, but this is an easily added accessory. We love this play kitchen for encouraging outdoor play as well as imaginative play to keep kids healthy and engaged.
Things to Consider
The wood is pre-treated for weather, but lots of parents added extra coats to ensure its durability outside. You have to drill your own holes which means measuring and ensuring your dimensions are level.
- Materials: Wood
- Ages: 2 – 7 years
- Size: 17 x 37.4 x 38.9
- Weight: 27.9 pounds
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Ikea DUKTIG Play Kitchen
Most Hacked Play Kitchen Ever!
We would be completely remiss if we didn’t include this incredible play kitchen from Ikea. It’s solid and as study as they come and also happens to be one of the most hacked play kitchens of all time, so it offers creative parents a blank canvas to personalize for their kids.
You can add paint, a splash back, stencils, stickers or even take it apart to create two completely new spaces for play.
The Ikea DUKTIG play kitchen features a microwave, oven, removable sink, cook top with working lights and plenty of storage.
The height of the legs can be adjusted so this kitchen can grow with your little ones. While the light diodes are operated by low electric voltage, they do not get hot so they’re safe for little hands.
It doesn’t include any accessories, but Ikea offers plenty of options which you can buy separately to truly tailor this adorable kitchen to suit your home perfectly.
Things to Consider
While this is a high quality and extremely popular wooden Play Kitchen, it is a bit plain in its stock form. For roughly the same price you can buy something with alot more details and accessories, like the Wooden Chef’s Pretend Play Kitchen from one of my all time favorite manufacturers, Melissa & Doug.
But if you’re looking for a stripped down kitchen that you can customize, you really can’t do better than the DUKTIG. If you are a DIYer you really should check out these 20 Ikea DUKTIG Hacks before you make a decision about which play kitchen to buy.
- Materials: Wood
- Ages: 3+
- Size: 28.3 x 15.7 x 43
- Weight: 39 pounds
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KidKraft Grand Gourmet Corner Kitchen
Best Toy Kitchen Set for Girls
Right off the bat, we love the KidKraft Grand Gourmet kitchen because it features an innovative corner design. So even though it’s pretty large, you can tuck it away somewhere and it won’t take up a lot of room.
The kitchen has a retro design and it’s painted pink and white. Your little ones can cook up all sorts of yummy delicacies on the stovetop, in the oven, or even in the microwave. Of course, they’ll also have a fridge and freezer to play with and store their groceries in.
Unlike the Step2, KidKraft’s assembly, although time-consuming, is pretty simple. All of the parts and tools are labeled properly and it shouldn’t take you more than a couple of hours to finish the whole thing.
Things to Consider
The one area where the KidKraft falls short compared to some of the other kitchens we’ve mentioned is in the accessories. The whole thing is pretty bare-bones and you get only four accessories with it. So if you’re looking for something with lots of bells and whistles, this probably isn’t the best play kitchen for you.
- Materials: Wood and Plastic
- Age: 36 months – 12 years
- Size: 35.8 x 36.1 x 36 inches
- Weight: 58 pounds
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KidKraft Uptown Espresso Kitchen
Best Rated Play Kitchen
If you love KidKraft, but want something a bit more upscale and modern than the Grand Gourmet, you should get the KidKraft Uptown Espresso Kitchen.
This kitchen is sleek, stylish, and comes in a couple of different colors. If darker tones are what you prefer, go with the Espresso. But if you’re looking for something with a more neutral color palette, KidKraft also does a Natural Version. There’s even a Pastel Uptown Kitchen that’ll make any toddler jump for joy.
The Uptown Espresso Kitchen has a fridge, freezer, oven, microwave, and four burners. There’s also a paper towel holder, as well as a cordless phone with a stand. Once your kids are done cooking up a storm in this fabulous kitchen, they can store all of their toys away in one of the many cupboards and storage spaces.
If you like this design but want something a little larger, KidKraft also makes the Ultimate Corner Play Kitchen which also includes a play washing machine.
Things to Consider
The Uptown Espresso Kitchen has the same problem as some of the other KidKraft playsets — badly written instructions. The booklet that’s included with the kitchen almost has no words in it and all you have as a reference are photos.
- Materials: Wood and Plastic
- Age: 36 month – 3 years
- Size: 41.8 x 17 x 41 inches
- Weight: 3.52 ounces
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KidKraft Deluxe Big & Bright Kitchen
Most Colorful Design
If you want to buy the best play kitchen that comes in extremely bright colors, you need to get your hands on the KidKraft Deluxe kitchen. This playset is made of high-quality wood that’s coated in non-toxic paint.
It has storage spaces above and below the removable sink that you can easily take out every time you need to clean it. While they’re in the kitchen, your kids can open and close the fridge and freezer doors. Also, the oven and microwave have working, see-through doors, so your chefs can always check on their food.
To ensure their playing experience is even more realistic, every time they turn the knobs, your kids will hear a clicking sound.
Things to Consider
One thing that was a kind of a letdown were the screws, which weren’t properly labeled. That’s why we recommend carefully taking everything from the packaging and organizing it before you start putting the playset together.
- Materials: Wood
- Age: 36 month – 3 years
- Size: 42.3 x 17.6 x 43 inches
- Weight: 82.5 pounds
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KidKraft Farm to Table Play Kitchen Set
Best for Older Kids
If you want to get your kids the best play kitchen that has a mix of modern and vintage elements, nothing beats the KidKraft Farm to Table set. This cool kitchen comes with an 18-piece accessory set that includes all sorts of utensils and foods.
When your kids “turn on” the faucet, it’ll light up a bright blue color. Also, the stovetop has motion sensors, so it turns red and makes a noise when your children put a pan on it. Next to the two shelves that come with storage boxes, there’s an ice dispenser that can “make” three whole ice cubes.
If you’re having trouble following the instruction booklet, KidKraft recommends that you download the free BILT app. There, you’ll find detailed instructions on how to put together the playset in no time.
Things to Consider
The one thing we didn’t like about the KidKraft Farm to Table playset is that some of the components can’t be screwed in. For example, you can’t secure the stovetop with screws, so it moves around.
- Materials: Wood and Plastic
- Age: 3 – 10 years
- Size: 44.2 x 26.3 x 43 inches
- Weight: 2.2 pounds
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Melissa & Doug Wooden Chef’s Pretend Play Toy Kitchen With “Ice” Cube Dispenser
Best Wooden Play Kitchen Set
If you love how the KidKraft Uptown Espresso looks, but want something more lightweight, Melissa & Doug have just what you need. The Wooden Chef’s Toy Kitchen is sleek and stylish, and it comes in three color schemes: Charcoal, Cloud, and Pink.
The company says it’s the best play kitchen for kids who are between three and six years old and that it’ll help introduce them to the basics of nutrition. But one of the reasons we love it so much is that you can get it in a couple of different options.
For example, if you already have a ton of kitchen gadgets and accessories, you can buy the kitchen as a single. On the other hand, if you want some extra toys, you can choose between three play sets:
Things to Consider
When it arrives, you’ll see that the Melissa & Doug kitchen has lots of moving parts. Even though the instruction booklet is pretty straightforward, be prepared to spend a couple of hours assembling the set.
- Materials: Wood
- Age: 36 months – 8 years
- Size: 39 x 15.5 x 43.25 inches
- Weight: 31 pounds
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KidKraft Ultimate Corner Play Kitchen with Lights & Sounds
Best Overall
The Ultimate Corner Play model is one of the most stunning pretend kitchens out there, with a corner design that’s bound to impress anyone. This beautiful kitchen comes in Espresso and White so you’re sure to get something that fits into your home decor.
The Corner Play Kitchen from KidKraft boasts a stovetop with two spider burners that light up when your kids turn them on. Also, the microwave has a see-through door and the faucet has knobs that your children can twist and turn.
But if they ever get bored of cooking, they can just do a load of laundry in the realistic washing machine with working doors.
Things to Consider
Unfortunately, the KidKraft Ultimate Corner Play kitchen has the same problem as almost all of the previous KidKraft kitchens we’ve mentioned — poorly written instructions. Since the kitchen has a ton of different moving pieces and screws, putting the whole thing together with the hard-to-follow booklet will take more than a couple of hours.
- Materials: Wood
- Age: 36 month – 8 years
- Size: 42.5 x 32.5 x 36.8 inches
- Weight: 61.5 pounds
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Plastic Play Kitchens
Little Tikes Home Grown Kitchen
Big Fun in a Small Space
If you are looking for a budget conscious, accessory packed play-kitchen for your little one, then look no further than the Little Tikes Home Grown Kitchen. This compact, lightweight kitchen comes with 20 accessories and recipe cards to encourage creative and imaginative play.
It’s designed to fit into a corner and includes a refrigerator, working oven doors, sink, grill and battery enabled cooking and water boiling sounds.
Things to Consider
This play kitchen is very compact, so may not be appropriate for older kids, despite Little Tikes saying it has an age range of 3 – 7 years old. Some parents mention that they wish the kitchen had more storage and included more play food, but we think it’s a great value option for any little budding chefs.
- Materials: Plastic
- Ages: 3 – 7 years
- Size: 22 x 18 x 30.25 inches
- Weight: 20 pounds
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Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Servin’ Up Fun Food Truck
Super-Interactive Food Truck
- Materials: Plastic
- Ages: 18 months – 3 years
- Size: 21.97 x 22.99 x 27.88 inches
- Weight: 14 pounds
We absolutely love this really fun take on a play kitchen that doubles as a car! The goal of this toy is all about educational play and has three Smart Stage levels to encourage fun learning.
One side is a car with a steering wheel, dashboard and bell. The other side is a food truck kitchen featuring a light up grill, cash register, menu cards and so much more in the 20+ removable play pieces.
This great developmental toy includes 125+ songs, sounds and phrases to encourage learning. The three phases also mean that it’s versatile and will provide hours of fun.
Things to Consider
While I love the “Food Truck” theme of this play kitchen it does come with some disadvantages.
The serving window really is pretty small, which is fine if you have a kid in the 18-36 month old age range. But If your kids are at the upper age range you may want to go with something a bit bigger so they don’t outgrow is as quickly.
That being said, lots of parents who review it say that their older kids love this play kitchen and want to use it as well.
Another problem with the Food Truck design is the lack of storage. This toy comes with a ton of accessories (which is great) but many parents complain that their is no built in storage to hold all the play food while not in use.
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Step2 Best Chef’s Kitchen Playset
Best Budget Pick for Toddlers
Step2 makes the absolute best play kitchen for toddlers that want lots of gadgets and gizmos. This little set is only 36 inches tall and 34.5 inches wide, so it can fit almost anywhere. Still, its size doesn’t prevent it from looking completely realistic — it has everything your children need to make delicious pretend-meals.
The Step2 features an electric stovetop with burner lights and sounds that kids can activate by placing a pot or pan on. Also, the appliances are pretty life-like and mimic what you’d find in most kitchens nowadays.
However, what sets the Step2 apart from the crowd is that it comes with no less than 25 accessories! There are enough cups, plates, utensils, and condiments for your kids to cook, boil, and brew all day long.
Things to Consider
The one area where the Step2 Chef’s Kitchen falls short would have to be the assembly. For starters, not all of the parts are labeled, so you might have a tough time putting everything together. What’s more, the instructions are all over the place and they’re difficult to follow.
- Materials: Plastic
- Age: 2 – 5 years
- Size: 11.5 x 34.4 x 38.5 inches
- Weight: 21.4 pounds
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Little Tikes Ultimate Cook Kitchen
Appliances Galore!
Little Tikes makes some of our favorite, high-quality playsets, so it comes as no surprise that the Ultimate Cook Kitchen is on this list. This brightly-colored set is extremely inviting and it’s sure to keep your kids entertained for hours on end.
Just like the previous Little Tikes kitchen we mentioned, this one also has light and sound features. One of the reasons we fell in love with this particular playset is the fact that it features so many incredible appliances.
Of course, it has all the staple pieces like the rest of the sets, including a stove, fridge, and shelves. But on top of that, your kids can also make coffee in the little cappuccino machine or look up recipes on the toy phone.
Things to Consider
One thing you should know about this product is that it’s pretty lightweight, which means it can sometimes fall over. To prevent that from happening, we recommend putting it on a sturdy, flat surface, and if possible, weighing it down with something.
- Materials: Plastic
- Age: 2 – 6 years
- Size: 32.1 x 24.2 x 19 inches
- Weight: 26.6 pounds
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Step2 Great Gourmet Play Kitchen
Best Play Kitchen for Toddlers
Now, the Step2 Great Gourmet kitchen is a bit of a step up from the Best Chef’s kitchen. It’s bigger, heavier, and has more features and accessories.
The Great Gourmet kitchen is a modern-style kitchen that comes in three different colors: Lavender, Pink, and Tan.
It has an electric stovetop that has light and sound features. Also, there’s an oven and a fridge with doors that can open and close, along with large storage bins and cabinets.
Your little chefs can write down their grocery list on the chalkboard under the microwave. They can also cook up quite a storm with the 36 pieces that come included with the Step2 Gourmet Kitchen.
Things to Consider
Keep in mind that once you get this kitchen playset, you might not have all the screws and decals you need to put it together. You also might need to bust out some power tools to put everything in place.
- Materials: Plastic
- Age: 2 – 6 years
- Price: $124.99
- Size: 17 x 39 x 46 inches
- Weight: 30 pounds
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Step2 Sweet Bakers Kitchen Playset
Best Kitchen Playset for Girls
If you love the idea of the Step2 Best Chef’s playset but want something more colorful and quaint — the Sweet Bakers Kitchen is the best play kitchen for you. It has realistic features, a ton of storage space, and comes with 30 incredibly fun pieces.
Of course, you’ll see all your regular favorites there, like a stove top, fridge, and microwave. But one cool thing about the Sweet Bakers Kitchen is that it has a high chair for dolls. So your little ones can keep an eye out for their pretend babies while creating culinary masterpieces.
Also, with this kitchen, your kids will get a special frying pot and pan that activate the burners to make realistic bubbling and frying sounds.
Things to Consider
One thing we’ve seen some people complain about is the size of the holes. While Step2 says that all you need to assemble its kitchen set is a screwdriver, we think that a drill might be better. With it, you can add or widen a few more holes so that all the pieces fit together better.
- Materials: Plastic
- Age: 24 months – 8 years
- Size: 14 x 28 x 41.5 inches
- Weight: 29 pounds
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Step2 Fun with Friends Kids Play Kitchen
Best Toy Kitchen Set for Boys
Do your kids want a place in their kitchen where they can feed their stuffed pets? If so, there’s no kitchen that beats the Step2 Fun with Friends playset. This beautiful cooking station comes in two colors: Pink and Brown, so you can choose if you want a bright or neutral color scheme.
It’s a bit of a step up from the Step2 Little Bakers because it comes with an astounding 40 cooking accessories. Not only can your children bake, fry, and boil, but they can also make the best pretend cup of Joe in the world with the coffee pods.
The Fun with Friends model is probably the best play kitchen if you want something with lots of storage space. It has plenty of shelves, bins, and cupboards.
Things to Consider
If you decide to go with the Fun with Friends kitchen, prepare to spend more than a couple of hours putting everything together. There are lots of tiny pieces that you need to assemble and instructions can be pretty difficult to follow.
- Materials: Plastic
- Age: 2 – 6 years
- Size: 12.5 x 35.8 x 41 inches
- Weight: 22 pounds
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Step2 Heart Of The Home Kitchen Playset
Lots of Accesories
The Step2 Heart of the Home Kitchen is probably the best play kitchen if you want something with a ton of different accessories. This gorgeous playset comes with 41 pieces that include pots, pans, utensils, and various pieces of food.
In addition to all the standard features, like the fridge, freezer, and stove, the Heart of the Home also has a pet nurturing station and photo frame. There’s also ample storage room in the cupboards above the stovetop and next to the oven.
What’s more, the phone and the stovetop produce realistic sounds so that your kids can get really immersed in the whole cooking experience.
Things to Consider
One thing you should know before you get the Step2 Heart of the Home Kitchen is that it doesn’t come with pre-drilled holes. So before you hit Add to Cart, make sure you have a drill at home that’ll make assembling this playset possible.
- Materials: Plastic
- Age: 24 months – 8 years
- Size: 12 x 45.13 x 48 inches
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Step2 Elegant Edge Play Kitchen Playset
Best Accessories
The Step2 Elegant Edge kitchen features a luxurious design with deluxe detailing, like faux granite countertops and subway tiles backsplash. There are also some stonework details, as well as a frost effect on all the cabinet doors.
Your little chefs can use any of the numerous lifelike appliances, such as the fridge, freezer, oven, or the two-burner stovetop. Among the incredible 78 accessories that they get with the Elegant Edge kitchen are a blender, popcorn machine, and “copper” cookware.
There’s also a ton of built-in storage space where your kids can put away all their toys when they’re done playing.
Things to Consider
The one thing we’ve seen multiple people mention was that they didn’t like the handles in the kitchen. If not secured properly, they can appear a bit flimsy and even break over time. To ensure that doesn’t happen to you, you should use a power drill to screw everything in place.
- Materials: Plastic
- Age: 3 – 8 years
- Size: 65.8 x 14 x 50 inches
- Weight: 27 pounds
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Step2 Grand Walk-In Kitchen and Grill
Best For Multi-Kid Play
If you want a high-quality kitchen with a ton of accessories and gadgets, you need to put the Step2 Grand Walk-In Kitchen and Grill in your shopping cart right now. This is the absolute best play kitchen if you’re looking for something that’ll last you a long time and that your kids won’t get tired of.
The Step2 Grand has a beautiful, rustic design, an eat-in station, and a barbecue grill. Your kids can activate light and sound features on both the grill and stovetop.
This kitchen comes with 103 different accessories, that include play food, utensils, cookware, condiments, and so much more. Of course, there’s also lots of storage space for them to put all of their toys away once they’re done cooking delicious meals.
One of the best things about the Grand Walk-In Kitchen and Grill is that is has multiple self contained play stations, which means several kids can use the set at the same time without getting in each others way. If you frequently entertain multiple kids, this play kitchen would be a great choice.
Things to Consider
As you can imagine, this kitchen has lots of little pieces, screws, and moving parts. That means that, no matter how skilled you are, the assembly is going to take you a few hours. One way to make the whole thing easier is to get a power screwdriver and it can shave off hours on the installation time.
- Materials: Plastic
- Age: 24 months – 8 years
- Size: 47.2 x 36.6 x 50.8 inches
- Weight: 33.8 pounds
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Kitchen Playset Buyers Guide
Pretend or imaginative play isn’t just a fun activity; instead it acts as an important part of cognitive and social development for your kids.
In recent years, more and more educational play has been incorporated into early learning centers and schools. This is because it’s widely recognized that the benefits of play are crucial to childhood development. Imaginative play is an essential part of this and maybe most importantly, it’s also super fun.
Play kitchens offer a really great opportunity for parents to allow some of this imaginative play and therefore, social and cognitive development, to occur at home before your kids attend school.
Toddlers especially love play kitchen and it’s a great way to sit back as a part and watch your little one play, explore and develop all on their own. Play kitchens also have a raft of other benefits, such as safe experimentation, learning about healthy foods and more as discussed below.
This guide will also cover what we look for in a play kitchen and how we picked the ones we reviewed so you know what to look for when doing your own research.
Why should you buy a play kitchen for your kids?
There are many reasons why it’s great to have a play kitchen at home, as outlined below, but let’s be honest, the most important reason is that they are so much FUN!
Improved Cognitive Flexibility
Improved cognitive flexibility is a scientific way of saying that early pretend play is shown in research to promote imagination and creativity in kids. This is important because we need creative thinking in so many aspects of life.
Consider all the things we do as adults, such as problem solving, understanding new concepts, making plans and visualizing and enjoying books, arts, films. These things all require our brains to be flexible, creative and imaginative.
Social and emotional development
If we have a conversation with someone who has a different perspective to our own, this cognitive pliability allows us to be more understanding, more likely to see their side and increase the chances of our own mind’s being changed.
Now consider parenting a stubborn teen and I bet you’ll be quickly introducing more imaginative play into your household!
A play kitchen allows little ones to make up recipes, play different roles (chef, waiter, sous-chef, patron, waiter), use utensils and appliances and play out scenarios they’ve experienced with their own unique creative twist.
Language and Communication
A play kitchen is inherently a social activity. Kids love to engage one another and the adults around them in their play. With a play kitchen, kids can work together easily to create a play scenario, which will promote teamwork and encourage development of social skills.
This will also allow them to experiment and learn about language as they communicate their wants and needs and negotiate with their playmate. They can try and learn new vocabulary (their play kitchen may be located in a restaurant or maybe they’re stewards on a plane serving their passengers) and learn how their words have impacts in real life.
Additionally, pretend play offers kids an opportunity to play out scenarios they have experienced or imagined, as well as playing different characters. This is their way of learning who they are by experimenting with the different social and emotional roles of life. Pretend play will improve their self confidence, self-esteem and their self awareness as they safely experiment and test new boundaries.
Fine and Gross Motor Skills
In their play kitchen, your little ones will have the opportunity to practice chopping, sautéing, frying and serving up their delicious imaginary meals. This is a unique creative play scenario that offers a chance for them to practice both fine and gross motor skills.
This of course can be dependent on the accessories included in your play house, but regardless, kids love practicing the actions that they see Mom and Dad doing in the kitchen, which naturally involve both fine and gross motor skills.
Life Skills
Play kitchens offer kids the opportunity practice many life skills essential to being an adult that you might not find in other types of imaginary play. These include planning and organization, numeracy, cleanliness, making healthy food choices and so on.
Consider a child practicing the preparation of a meal, they can plan their meal, count out their ingredients, set the table, serve their food, pretend to clean up and finally, put everything away at the end of their play session.
You can also use their play kitchen to teach them about healthy foods and the importance of unhealthy items being “sometimes” foods.
By encouraging these types of life skills in their creative play, you will start to ingrain in them these crucial life skills that will set them up to be successful adults later in life.
What to look for and things to consider when choosing a play kitchen
As both professional reviewers and parents, there are some essential qualities that we look for in any of our toys, but especially the ones that are built for pretend play. We want to encourage maximum imagination and creativity for our little ones when they’re enjoying their toys, as well as looking for something long lasting to be passed down to siblings or friends.
Accessories
When it comes to play kitchens, accessories are everything! For some parents, the more accessories the better, but others hate the idea of having to keep track of and store lots of different play-kitchen accessories.
The majority of play kitchens will come with at least some accessories, such as some pots/pans, basic utensils and a few play food items. You can, of course, choose a full play kitchen, including almost everything a normal kitchen would.
Some play kitchens could have more accessories than even your kitchen at home and could make Mom and Dad a little jealous!
This decision will often come down to your child’s individuality. If your kid can occupy themselves for hours with their own imagination, then probably more is better as then enact their scenarios. If your kid is the type to only have their attention held on a toy for a short period, the basics will likely be fine.
Also consider whether the play kitchen you have chosen has the option of purchasing additional accessories. This is a safe bet if you’re not ready to commit to lots of accessories in the initial purchase.
If you’re not fussed about matching accessories then there’s plenty of additional play food and utensils you can pick up. This is great to continuously teach your child new vocabulary, foods and so on.
Storage
Also consider storage. Some play kitchens come with helpful storage – this is a great option for parents who are running out of space and would appreciate a toy that doubles as additional play storage.
Tech
Tech has entered the play world and you can purchase play kitchens that have lights, make noise or even sync to your smart phone.
Wooden Vs Plastic
The choice of wood versus plastic is a personal one. We’ve included both in our list and often it comes down to a design aesthetic. Some people love the clean lines and minimal colors of wooden toys, while others love the bright and cheerful plastic look.
Both materials will last for a long time depending on how vigorous our little chefs are in their play. Wood will usually be a more eco-friendly choice, but plastic can be left outside for reasonable periods will less degeneration.
Most play kitchens are easy to assemble, but it’s still worth keeping in mind how savvy you are with a screwdriver or power tool when choosing your kids’ play kitchen.
Size
Size is a big consideration depending on the space you have to house your play kitchen. They come in all shapes and sizes, from flat simple standing oven, sink and grill set ups, to full size rooms that kids can create completely immersive play in.
You also want to consider whether your child will grow with their kitchen. If you’re buying for a creative 3 year old who may still play with their kitchen when they’re 6, then you may want to size up, or choose something which will work for both ages.
If you’re unsure, start with one of the smaller tabletop options – we personally love the inclusion of a sink so you can start teaching little ones about the joys of washing up as soon as possible!
Final Thoughts
Before you make your final decision on any of these kitchens, think about how much room you have. Also, to ensure you’re getting the best one, consider how old your kids are, and how many of them will be playing in the kitchen at the same time.
But no matter which one you end up getting, you’re bound to love them as these are truly the best play kitchen sets money can buy. All of them are stylish, durable, and have a ton of features that’ll keep your kids entertained for years to come.
