We love setting up the Christmas Hot Chocolate and Cookies shop during the holiday season.
Pretend play like this is fun for children who relish the opportunity to mimic adult roles, and it’s a good way to keep a little one occupied while you work on another holiday project. Dramatic play is especially fun for kids ages 4-6, and once they get the hang of it, they’ll invent all kinds of fun ways to expand this store. You’ll have a budding entrepreneur in no time!
Sometimes, we set up the hot chocolate shop so the kids can have some pretend play while the grownups are having an after-dinner chat. We love it when they take orders for our favorite Christmas cookies and deliver them freshly decorated. Our printables include Hot Chocolate Shop Open and Closed Signs, and a second set that includes an order form, money, and a menu.
If you want to really go nuts, you can order fun hot chocolate play food online. There are several different kits available. This one from Learning Resources is particularly adorable.
The Learning Resources “Hot Cocoa Time” set is one of several fun play food sets available online. Search for “hot chocolate play set” or “coffee shop play set” to see the options
We re-purpose our puppet theater into a storefront, but a simple cardboard box or kitchen chair will work nicely. Add a kid’s apron, a small clipboard to hold order forms, a play cash register if you have one, and then let the kids help you brainstorm for other supplies they can gather. Building out the storefront is half of the fun.
Add some simple supplies like paper cups and straws or even real cookies kids can “sell” to other family members.
Create an Easy Hot Chocolate Shop Gift Playdatebox
You can make an inexpensive but fun Playdatebox with some simple supplies: A child’s apron, cookie mix and frosting,
our printable signs, some festive paper cups and straws, and some hot chocolate mix.
For more Christmas playdate ideas, including more holiday fun with a Polar Express theme, visit the Polar Express Playdatebox page.