Kiddipedia

Kiddipedia

Media kindly brought to you by Melissa & Doug

An active imagination is a defining aspect of the childhood experience, but it needs a helping hand to flourish and the wonderment of the holiday season is a perfect time to nurture this in your child. Imaginative play might seem unproductive to adults on the surface, but it’s actually the opposite; stimulating physical, cognitive and social development that will set young children up for life. When selecting toys and family activities to turbocharge their sense of imagination, consider skipping digital devices and gadgets in favour of open-ended toys and unstructured play that spark curiosity and creativity.

A trusted toy maker and advocate for the power of play, our friends at Melissa & Doug have supplied some great tips and gift ideas to enjoy over the Christmas and summer holiday period that spark imagination and creativity in kids of every age. Let’s take a look at how parents can encourage a sense of imagination this holiday season, plus explore how Melissa & Doug’s diverse range of puzzles, art & craft, pretend play tools and developmental toys can support parents by ensuring a gift your child will never forget!

On-the-go entertainment

There’s nothing like exploring the outside world to expand one’s imagination, but any eagerness to get out and about this Christmas/school holiday period is likely tempered by the challenges of being mobile with young children. Keeping kids entertained and during car trips, adventures in the park or at the beach can be tricky, and parents need solutions when the game of ‘eye spy’ gets a little stale. You’ll want compact, easily stored toys and activities, and to keep them the quantity at a minimum. This is where open-ended toys really shine in providing versatile and infinite play possibilities.

Not sure where to turn? Melissa & Doug’s range of ‘On the Go’ products are the perfect travel activity. We love the ‘Water Wow!’ range for no-mess painting with kids. The paint-with-water range of colouring books includes four reusable pages and a refillable water pen. The chunky-sized water pen is super easy for younger kids to hold and it neatly stores into the front cover! Use the pen to colour in each of the scenes – details and vibrant colours appear with every stroke – and let the page dry to erase the picture and fill it in again and again!

Pretend play and role modelling

Melissa & Doug products cover all the bases here in sparking children’s creativity and imagination. For example, children can be inspired to become a firefighter whilst playing in the Fire Chief Role Play Costume Set. Kids can act out an emergency with all of the accessories they would need to help save their community including a bright red jacket with reflective trims, fire chief helmet, “fire extinguisher”, bull horn with sound effects and a shiny badge. Don’t forget the all-important name tag to personalise!

Once your child is exhausted saving the community, they might like to do a spot of grocery shopping, and Melissa and Doug’s ‘Fresh Mart Grocery Store’ provides an authentic, mock retail experience. The free-standing play space with smooth, curved corners and edges lets customers three and older browse the shelves and pay for purchases on one side, and allows the grocer to ring up items on the other. Realistic features include beeping “scanner,” a hand-crank conveyor belt, a card-swiping machine, a keypad/calculator, and cash drawer!

Creative expression

Creative thinking is increasingly identified as a key skill children will need in the future to prepare them for adulthood. Although these outcomes may be hard to imagine for your little one at this point, it is food for thought in establishing early habits that children can carry with them as they develop. Creative play can involve acting, dancing, painting, drawing and has a number of advantages:

  • Provides an outlet for self-expression, both verbal and non-verbal
  • Integrating feelings with creative tasks promotes empathy
  • Social development and communication through shared creative tasks
  • Encourages nonlinear, out-of-the-box thinking to find unique solutions to problems

If you’re looking for a blank canvas for your kids to indulge in some creative play this holiday season, check out the range from Melissa & Doug. The budding artist can turn any room into an art studio with the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Easel. The easel is double sided and includes both a chalkboard and whiteboard. Use the chalkboard and white board surfaces of our wooden easel as the ideal practice surface for a child’s first letters and words. Multi-use easel to inspire painting, drawing, and countless ways to play creatively!

Or, try the Scissor Skills Activity Pad which harnesses kids’ love of cutting things! This creative yet practical activity pad offers an engaging, creative direction to scissor work, meaning more concentration and less mess. Equipped with plastic safety scissors, your child can practice different skills and techniques to produce 20 unique crafts, games and activities. Watch as kids develop creative focus and pride from a sense of achievement!

To explore more of the wonderful world of Melissa & Doug to make for a magical holiday season, visit the Melissa & Doug brand store.