120 Pretend Play Ideas for Nurturing Imagination

The Really Big List of Pretend Play Ideas!

Does your child love to play pretend but sometimes run out of ideas? Especially in the summer time, kids have a lot of free, unstructured time and that inevitably leads to the familiar cry of all kids everywhere,…

“Mom!  I’m bored!” 

The common complaint of kids around the world and probably one you’ve heard in your house at least once. (Ok, maybe just a teensy bit more than once).  So, despite closets full of toys and a sometimes even a household full of people, your kid is bored and filling your ear with his groaning! Deep breath.

Well, I’m here to help you out!  When my oldest kids were little, I got tired of the, “Mom, what should I play?” question.  I was on a mission to grow creativity in my kids!  Nothing was going to stop me!  I had heard all the research about the positive benefits that come from creativity and pretend play.  Kids who use their imagination grow up to be successful adults! They learn how to process the world around them through their play.  There are so many blessings to having a vivid imagination!  Here’s just a few:

Benefits of using your imagination:

• Allows kids opportunity to create & tell stories (great for writing skills in school!)
• Develops social skills like empathy while imagining self in the role of others. 
• Develops fabulous problem solving skills!
• Fosters imagining possibilities & thinking outside the box (great for becoming an entrepreneur!)
• Encourages independence (yay!)
• Nurtures original thinking
• Provides opportunity to form hypothesis and test theories (an awesome science foundation!)
• Develops emotional awareness while roll playing
• Nurtures wonder at God’s creation and creativity (the best!)
• Aides kids in processing the world around them and its challenges

Doing Nothing is Doing Something

So we all know creativity is important, but how do we nurture it in our children? in order for kids to be able to create, they need lapses of quiet, unstructured time to daydream, to wonder, and to imagine. This needs to be time without screens!  Time without expectation!  Kids also need encouragement from you! A little parent “permission” to create fantastic worlds or glorious empires goes a long way! Sometimes kids need just a bit of inspiration to get their creative juices flowing.   As Pooh says, “Doing nothing often leads to the very best of something.”

Schedule FREE Time

As parents and teachers, we can foster imagination by prioritizing free time in our kids’ day.  For many years, while my youngest were napping, my school-aged kids had an hour or two of “quiet time” where they were required to be alone with nothing to do but play.  While littles slept and Mom got a much-needed break, the kids created the most amazing fantasy worlds!  Try to ensure that your kids get some imagination time everyday if possible! Unstructured free time provides magical opportunities for exploration! Play time is a gift you give to your kids!

Provide Engaging Props for Pretending

Sometimes kids just get bored of playing with the same toys over and over, but there is so much fun to be had with ordinary objects! They may need your help imagining that a toilet paper roll can become a microphone and a robe a suit to become a TV Reporter.  Who knew you could play with shoes?  But if you drag them all out to display them and add price tags, you suddenly have a super fun shoe store!  Invite the family to go shoe shopping!  Add some boxes and bags, a toy cash register if you have one, and maybe a few dolls to try on the shoes! Now we’re rockin’!

Big List of Pretend Play Ideas

So, my children and I started fostering a love for fantasy and imagination but they had so many “games” going on that I couldn’t keep track of them! One day I sat down and wrote out a long list of all my kids’ favorite toys and games.  Next, I made them into individual picture cards, easy for both readers and non-reading kiddos.  After that, I included a short list of props needed as inspiration to get them started in pretend play. 

We organized the cards into 7 groups: pretend play ideas, arts & crafts, building construction, play sets of toys, games, physical play, and special games.   Then, we wrapped each set in a rubber band and kept them all together in a baggie.  Whenever the kids came to me with the familiar, “I’m bored!” I would say, “Why don’t you go pull a card?” and they would dash off to dive into some fantastic realm of imagination.

If you have younger kids, say under age 6, you may want to only offer a few options to your child instead of ALL the options. Sometimes, my daughter would get overwhelmed by too many possibilities and too many toys. She needed a less stimulating environment. An older mother mentor recommended I put away two-thirds of her toys and rotate them! We changed them out from time to time. Success! As a result, she was less stressed and with LESS options I saw even MORE creativity.

For older kids, try choosing a category and letting them select one of the cards from it.  For a really fun day, pick 3 or 4 cards from EACH category and have them all pre-picked and ready to go to use one after another for hours of screen-free imagination-run-wild fun!

 The best part?  You can get your own FREE set of all seven sets of Pretend Play Ideas Boredom Buster cards below or just use this handy-dandy list as a reference and jumping off place. (But why not just download the cards? Did I mentioned they’re FREE?)

120 Play Ideas for Nurturing Imagination

Pretend Play Ideas

• Construction Site
• Camping
• Dress-up
• School
• Hospital
• Library
• Kingdom
• Shoe Store
• Pirates
• Indoor Beach
• Indoor Fishing
• Wedding
• Restaurant
• Super Heroes
• Toy Store
• Zoo Keeper
• Vacation
• Show Time
• Puppets
• Put on a Play
• Spy
• Magic Show
• News Reporter
• Dentist
• Grocery Store
• Play House
• Pet Shop or Vet
• Weather Meteorologist
• Church
• Junk Box Dump

Arts & Crafts

• Shaving Cream
• Playdough
• Coloring
• Water Color Paint
• Make Cards
• Trash Toys
• Foam Crafts
• Pipe Cleaner Creations
• Slime
• Magazine Collage
• Cut! Glue! Create
• Giant Coloring Books
• Pinterest Crafts
• Friendship Bracelets
• Color Wonder
• Pom Pom Art
• Finger Paint
• Egg Carton Art

Construction & Building

• Wooden blocks
• Small blocks
• Tinker Toys
• K’Nex
• Lincoln Logs
• Gears
• Wedgits
• PVC Pipes
• Legos
• Magnetic Shapes
• Building Sets
• Marble Run

Play Sets (Toys)

• Farm play set
• Zoo play set
• Dinosaurs
• Cowboys & Indians
• Little People
• Doll House
• Bible People
• Cars
• Trains
• Tsum-tsums
• Princesses
• Playmobil
• Power Rangers
• Star Wars
• Transformers
• My Little Pony
• Superheroes
• Barbies

Games

• Board games
• Uno
• Chinese Checkers
• Candy Land
• Chutes & Ladders
• War with cards
• Card Games
• Memory
• Dominoes
• Pick Up Sticks
• Marbles
• Sorry
• Connect 4
• Cootie
• Floor Puzzles
• Battleship
• Puzzles
• Checkers

Physical Play

• Nerf Guns
• Jump Rope
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Frisbee
• Trikes & Bikes
• Sand Play
• Water Play
• Roller Skates
• Lemonade Stand
• Laser Tag
• Tag
• Balls
• Sprinklers

Special (Might require some parent involvement!)

• Plant seeds
• Indoor Ball Play
• Tea Party
• Baking
• Mommy & Daddy’s old toys
• Nail Salon
• Obstacle Course
• Scooters
• Build a Fort
• Music & Dance
• Karaoke

There are so many toy possibilities, I can’t possibly cover them all, but with 120 pretend play ideas, I know you can find some that you already have right now in your home. Included in the download is also a blank template where you can write in ideas you and your kids have to add to the collection.

I’ve posted many affiliate links in this post to great products and I do earn a small commission if you make a purchase from one of these links. But, in all reality, children need very little of these “things” to foster a great imagination. A towel for a cape is just as much fun as an expensive superhero costume. Sometimes, though, it’s fun to supply a few store bought gems to spur the creativity. Be assured, I don’t recommend products unless I have used them personally (or something very similar) in my home or my classroom.

I hope this is a blessing to you and your family!  Today, give your children the gift of free time and watch where their imaginations lead them!

Click here to grab your free copy of Boredom Busters Pretend Play Ideas Activity Cards!