This birthday party dramatic play set up gives students something to celebrate! Preschoolers consider birthdays very important, very exciting, and very fun. It is hard to wait a whole year – so getting to pretend to have birthdays over and over again is a guaranteed win. This center offers opportunities for children to interact, talk, problem solve, read, write and even practice early math skills.
The recipe for this instant dramatic play center is simple – give a dollar store package of birthday plates, cups and party hats to an excited group of children and voila! Let’s celebrate a birthday!
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Birthday Party Dramatic Play
$4.00This Birthday Party Dramatic Play center encourages young children to celebrate their favorite day. Includes all the printables you need to easily transform your basic home living area into a special birthday party celebration.
Easy, Print & Go PDF
Party Planning
Creating a birthday party dramatic play center only requires a few inexpensive props.
- Party hats
- Gift bags and tissue
- Decorative plates and cups
- Paper streamers
- Clear tape – lots and lots of it!
- Some empty boxes for wrapping
- Wrapping paper (cut into large squares if needed!)
- A toy birthday cake like this adorable set from Melissa and Doug
Most of these items can be found in discount stores or dollar stores, but these things will need replaced periodically.
If you don’t have a play birthday cake, another option is to provide scented play dough and silicone muffin cups with some candles. Let the children make their own birthday cakes.
Decorating the Birthday Party Dramatic Play Area
A party just doesn’t feel like a party without some excellent decorations. In this case, let the students take the lead! Hand the streamers and the tape over to the students and watch as they work those fine motor and planning skills. (A quick “how to” on using the tape dispenser may be necessary.)
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
One of the most important part of any birthday party is the presents! Small fingers get a mighty workout when they practice wrapping center toys inside spare boxes. Holding the paper while placing the tape is a very complex skill! To practice estimating capacity, provide gift bags and tissue paper for even more gifts. Providing some pre-wrapped boxes with lift off lids helps keep frustration to a minimum. However most students enjoy the wrapping almost as much as the unwrapping!
The best part of this dramatic play center is how simple it is to set up. It fits in nearly any space, cleans up quickly, and students already know how to have a birthday party. It is one they will ask for again and again!
Want to see the Birthday Party Dramatic Play set up? Here is a video tour!
FREE Home Living Dramatic Play!
The dramatic play area is the center of our classroom community. So much fun, hands-on learning takes place there!
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Love this one! So simple, but kids love to have birthdays. My kids will place toys in gift bags with tissue paper and give “presents” all day long.