DIY Kids Play Market

A few months ago, I had the really great idea that Santa would bring the boys a Play Market. Then all of a sudden it was Dec 20th and we had nothing. But thankfully Santa is really talented and he can stay up really late and he did just that :) I told my husband Santa just what I wanted and I drew it out. Then I came home from dinner with some girl friends one night and pulled up to the garage to see a market! He's the best.

Imaginative Play is my favorite mainly because it's what I would do if I was 3, and I'm here all day too so I am really catering to myself. But seriously who doesn't love to play pretend? My mom and I used to play "checker lady" when I was little. I think I could go to the Children's Museum without the kids and have fun.

I don't have specific measurements or steps but here is kind of what we did. As usual, Bryan constructed and I designed and staged. He used a little over a half sheet of plywood for the top and the shelves. And scrap wood for the posts on the sides and the legs. We used metal dowels for the awning and I used the most perfect fabric ever for the top.

It is big and it does take up a lot of room but I wanted it "L" shaped so it felt more like a market with a counter. I also gave Bryan the measurements for the Land of Nod shopping cart and he custom built the little lip so it fits perfectly to that size.

For the Chalkboard  he cut me a piece of scrap plywood with two holes and I added a ribbon and sprayed it with Chalkboard Paint. Oh good they're serving hot dogs this week.

I really wanted the baskets to sit at an angle so Bryan built them just to my liking and added a little lip so they stay in place.

He Braced everything and added these brackets for the back part that has legs. We also white washed the whole thing because I still wanted the wood to show through but I didn't want it raw.

I found the shopping basket at a teacher store and the Shopping Cart and Register are from the amazing people at Land of Nod, who sent us these to review and giveaway last month. They boys still love them! Finn is only 3 so we pretend that everything is $1 to make it easy and he rings me up :)

This little critter snuck into my photo shoot :) Rough hair day.

I would say Santa did good under pressure. You always hope when you spent time on something that your kids will love it, thankfully this time they do! They still play with the Play Kitchen from Santa 2 years ago every single day! That Santa does good work.

What other "pretend play" toys do your kids have? I unfortunately don't have any doll houses, doll beds, cute tiny ironing boards or washing machines, I'm the only girl here remember.

Love to hear what you think!

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