Playdough Pizza Shop (Roll, Top and Bake)

Clear one end of the kitchen table. Put down a tray or a placemat as the counter, and tape a paper sign to the edge: "Pizza Shop. Open."

Give the chef an apron or a tea towel tucked into their shirt. It sounds silly, but a costume tells a toddler the game has started.

Tip: A tray with a raised edge keeps the toppings from rolling onto the floor.

Pick one color for the base, like tan or white. Show your child how to squish it into a ball, then flatten it with their palm or roll it with a small rolling pin.

No rolling pin? A plastic cup on its side works. Thin or lumpy is fine. Every playdough pizza in this shop is a good one.

Tip: Warm hard dough in your hands for a minute so it's easier for small fingers.

Press an upside-down cup into the flat dough and twist. Lift it off, and there's a round pizza. Big cup, big pizza. Small cup, a slice for the baby doll.

A set of silicone stacking cups gives you seven sizes in one go, and they're soft enough that small hands can press them. The con: one buyer said a cup split at the bottom after a couple of days.

Tip: Line the pizzas up from biggest to smallest before you top them.

Red dough becomes sauce, yellow becomes cheese, green turns into peppers. Pinch off small pieces and press them on. Then roll tiny snakes for spaghetti-style cheese.

Keep all the toppings made of dough. Skip beads, buttons and dried pasta, since those are choking hazards for children under 3.

Tip: Use a kid-safe plastic knife to cut the pizza into slices.

Fold a few scraps of paper into a little notebook. You're the customer, so order: "One cheese pizza, please, with green peppers." Your child can scribble the order, draw a circle or just nod.

Older kids like to read the order back. Then add a twist, like a pizza with no cheese, and see what happens.

Tip: Order a silly topping now and then. Banana pizza gets a laugh.

Draw four circles on the lid of a shoebox for burners, and cut a flap in the side for the oven door. Slide the pizza in on a piece of card and count to ten together.

Then "ding!" and the pizza is ready. This step is where many toddlers want to repeat the game over and over, so let them.

Tip: A kitchen timer makes the bake feel real.

Every shop needs a till. Hand your child a few coins and let them post each one through the slot when you pay. A wooden coin box with a drawer makes a good cash register, since the coins drop in and the drawer opens to give change.

The con: the coins are small and could fit in a mouth flat, so only use them with kids who no longer mouth toys, and stay right there.

Tip: Count the coins out loud as they go in.

When the game winds down, flip the sign to "Closed". Squish each color back into a ball and put it in its tub. Then wipe the tray.

Make clean-up part of the shop, not a chore after it. Real chefs clean their kitchens too.

Tip: Check the floor and chair seats for stray bits of dough.