Kids Playhouse Blog

As a kid, were you fascinated by exotic and wild animals and now your child has the same love of animals?  Is your child enthralled by the movie Madagascar and dreams of going on his own wild adventures?  Your child can have a “wild” time in their own kids playhouse by creating an African Serengeti wild life refuge of their own!  It’s easy.

Here’s how you can create the ultimate safari adventure for your child:

Make life-size drawings and cut outs of African animals.  Purchase long rolls of paper, in bright colors, so can make life-sized images of wild safari animals like lions, tigers, and giraffes.  Then go to your child’s story books or do research on the web to find pictures of lions, tigers, elephants, zebras, giraffes or hippo’s to draw.

After you’ve drawn the animals on the paper, have your child color, decorate, and cut out the final images.  Now it’s time to hang the drawings all over the kids playhouse, even hanging them from the ceiling, walls and windows.

Don’t forget to draw huge animal foot prints, like an elephant, and put them outside the playhouse to pretend that the animals are on the loose!  However the images are drawn, traced, or cut out, be sure that they are really big for a more authentic safari experience.

If you really want to go “wild”, help your child choose animal print fabric for window treatments, chair coverings and a table cloth. The more animal print stuff, the better.

Kids love scavenger hunts and a safari themed scavenger hunt is no exception. Go through your child’s toy box and find some plastic and stuffed exotic animals.  Hide the animals around the playhouse for the scavenger hunt.  The kids can look for the animals, animal tracks, or other objects found in the ‘wild’.

If your child is younger, face painting is a huge hit with the younger crowd.  Go to the library and find a book on face painting, purchase some water-based face paints and you’re ready to create some fierce looking animals!

Your child can be quite the adventurer in their kids playhouse, yet still be safe from all the “wild animals” loose outside.  Try these suggestions, and you will be on your way to transforming your children’s playhouse into a wild safari adventureland.

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Here’s a very unique kids playhouse that is made of felt.  This playhouse has four panels each with a different theme and a “roof”.  What’s great about this playhouse is that it fits over a card table to make an instant playhouse!  The playhouse stores and travels very easily.  So if your child needs a playhouse while visiting the grandparents, this is an amazingly simple solution.

I fell in love with it because it is very interactive for young children.  The front of the playhouse has a felt flap for a door, a mail box that opens, and a flower pot that kids can “plant” their flowers.

A side panel of the kids playhouse is dedicated to a garden theme with apples that can be “picked” from the trees due to the wonders of velcro.  There are carrots and corn that can be tucked into the “ground” for easy garden growing.

The back panel has a window where the curtain can be rolled up and down.

Another side panel was custom made as a baseball diamond with pockets to hold baseball cards at the various positions around the baseball diamond.

This clever felt kids playhouse was made by Katie who was inspired by another Mom blogger, Jill.   If you’ve ever wanted an indoor kids playhouse that was fun, interactive for kids, portable, and stored easily, then this playhouse may be something to check out!

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I recently took my two girls to the American Girl Doll Store at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.  Imagine my surprise when I saw that Kit and Ruthie, two American Girl Dolls, had a kids playhouse or rather a tree house.  My girls went wild over the playhouse, so I took a picture of it. Even American Girl Dolls have a kids playhouse to call their own!

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When is a kids playhouse not a playhouse for kids? It’s when the playhouse is built in the tree tops and is used specifically for adults and families looking to unplug and get away from the constant running around, overwhelming work stresses, and distractions of every day life to experience the great outdoors in a unique and memorable way.

Playhouses and tree houses aren’t just for kids. They can be unique get-aways for adults and family members. There are several tree house resorts that cater to people who want a memorable outdoor experience. These tree house resorts move beyond the generalization of the Swiss Family Robinson.

These tree houses don’t require you to rough it, which most families will appreciate, while enjoying a tranquil and rustic outdoors adventure.

If you are in the upper northwest, there are two tree house resorts that are located in the Cave Junction, Oregon area and a third in central Washington, near Mount Rainier. The first is the Out ’n’ About Treesort with 10 different tree houses. The tree houses range from small and cozy to almost grandiose with a tree house suite including a kitchenette.

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There are two story tree houses with an observation deck or a family complex where the kids and parent tree houses are connected by a swinging bridge. The upper observation tower can be used by all family members for creative kids play, to enjoy the forested mountain view, or for bird watching.

There’s plenty of excitement and uniqueness in getting around the resort using suspension bridges, “Tarzan swings”, and ziplines.

The second resort, Vertical Horizons Treehouse Paradise, offers three tree houses from rustic cottage, enchanted grandeur (The Shiitake), to elegant Tudor-style (The Calypso) with access only via a bridge.

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The final tree house resort, Cedar Creek Treehouse, is upscale and luxurious.  It is nestled in the 200-year old mountainous red cedar forest of central Washington.  It boasts a five story staircase leading to a wondrous tree house.

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The tree house has a kitchen, refrigerator and bathroom. There are breathtaking views of Osborne Mountain and the Sawtooth Ridge Peaks. Getting away from civilization, it makes connecting to nature and all it has to offer easy in this tree house setting.

Although technically a tree house is not a kids playhouse, it will surely capture the imagination of your children and encourage family interactions with each other and with nature enriching, positive and extremely memorable.

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Who doesn’t love a tea party especially when it’s held in a kids playhouse?  A tea party in a kids playhouse can be a very memorable “kids only” event.  An event that your child would be happy to hostess and be excited when the big day finally arrives.

To make this an amazing event for your child and her friends, it doesn’t have to be hard to organize, but for best results you should plan it out in advance.  There are invitations to make, a menu to decide, food to prepare, tea to steep, and a formal table to set.

I like to start with the menu which I try to keep as simple as possible.  I also keep in mind what little kids would like to eat versus what an adult would like at a tea party.  That’s why I recommend serving food items in the “mini” form or a smaller portion size.  Food that works well in the “mini” form are:  brownies, slices of lemon pound cake, scones, and sugar cookies.

Finger foods like strawberries, grapes, carrots, celery sticks, and snack mixtures such as trail mix or a blend of gold fish crackers, raisins and M & M’s tend to go over very well with kids.   Small ham and cheese sandwiches or PB and J sandwiches with the crusts removed and cut into fun shapes are also big hits.

Try to avoid foods that are sticky, that can stain, or desserts that are too crumbly.  I also try to stay away from foods with frosting and minimize serving chocolate.  They’re just too messy.  However, because the tea party is in the kids playhouse, it’s not as big an issue as if the tea party were in an adult house.

Kids don’t generally like tea, so pink lemonade, apple cider or fruit-infused teas may be served in place of traditional tea.  Having sugar cubes in a sugar bowl is a fun addition to any tea party.  “One lump or two?” is a qustion that they can playfully ask each other.

For tea sets, if you don’t have real tea cups, saucers and a tea pot, you can scout out local yard sales, flea markets or thrift stores for these items at reasonable and inexpensive prices.  Preferably, you would want to get tea cups that are smaller for little hands.  While you are out looking for these things, you might want to pick up several small spoons used for adding the sugar cubes and stirring the “tea”.

A real linen table cloth and linen napkins make an elegant touch to the kids playhouse and the tea party theme.  When setting the table for tea, I like to use silver flatware, small china plates, tea cups, and saucers as well as the tea pot.  It makes the table formal and grandiose.  The girls really enjoy it because it’s so grown up.

Girls love to dress up and the tea party should be no exception. Ask your young guests to come already dressed up or you can provide a clothes chest that have a variety of dresses, hats, boas, tiaras, high heels, gloves, purses, necklaces and bracelets.  If you are really ambitious, you can have perfumes, hair barrettes and make up available so the little princesses can be Queens for the day.

The invitations are always fun to make and your little girl will love to help out and even design them.  Tea pots or tea cups cut out and decorated with paints and sequins make an eye catching invitation.  Don’t forget to request your guests to come dressed up and to arrive directly to the door of the kids playhouse.

Having the tea party in a kids playhouse will provide the perfect environment for this themed-celebration and an incredibly fun experience for your girl and her friends.

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Fill up a kids playhouse with a menagerie of six or eight legged insect friends and everyone involved is sure to have a ball! A playhouse makes an ideal gathering spot for a birthday party that has a natural theme such as those involving the world of insects. From ladybugs to wiggly worms, there are so many ways that a parent can incorporate these little colorful arachnids and insects into a party that is fit for your little doodlebugs! Here’s how:

1. Feed your guests lots of “bugs”! This is one of the easiest steps for creating a bug themed party. Provide bowls full of “worms” (gummy worms) and “spider legs” (black licorice bites) for the kids to snack on. You can make another interesting bug food out of celery, dressing, and carrots. Simply shred the carrots into “hairs” or use tiny stick carrots. Dollop dressing in the middle of the celery and place the carrots on it so that they look like legs hanging out. This will make a funky and delicious millipede that guests won’t be able to get enough of. A bug themed cake or cupcakes are a must have for real “authenticity”!

2. Put bugs all on the walls and table! You will need bug themed decorations such as party plates, cups, and balloons. Another option is to make your own bugs out of brown paper bags and chenille stems that can be put onto the walls or hung from the ceiling. Wooden playhouses make a perfect place for setting up a  bevy of bugs. You can even introduce some real life bugs into the fun by having some bugs in a few bug boxes that kids can look at or touch when they are not eating, of course.

3. Put bugs on the guests, in their pockets, and bags! Kids will love having “bugs” stuck to them. You can either get bug stickers and have a contest to see who can wear the most bugs in the shortest amount of time or parents can hide bug stickers all over the wooden playhouses for a fun bug gathering race!

Letting bugs invade a kids playhouse for kids birthday parties will be a lot of fun for the parents that have to come up with creative ways to add in insects and the kids that will have to wear them! Whether they are actually chomping on a worm or putting a bunch on their jeans, the fun will definitely be non-stop and the birthday party will be an event that will be well remembered!

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Imagine trekking into a kids playhouse after enjoying a warm batch of grandmom’s cookies. For a kid, life just doesn’t get much better than that. That’s why it’s so wonderful when grandparents recognize that there are ways to add to their little one’s time away from home during their visits. Some grandparents have found that purchasing a kids playhouse, like the KidKraft Kids Playhouse, can make the time spent in their backyards extra special. Here’s why:

1. After being with adults for an extended period of time, children want and need to get some serious playing in, just to feel like a kid! Often when they are visiting older adults such as grandparents, they may be in an environment with lots of antiques, important mementoes, or just expensive stuff that they are not allowed to touch, or even brush up against. Being able to retreat to a fun place like a kids playhouse makes these types of environments more bearable for a child, and actually gives them even more reason to want to visit again.

2. A kids playhouse is great for sharing moments with grandchildren. Whether grandparents decide to share stories from their own youth when they may have had their own playhouse to creating new worlds and stories with their grandchildren now, the possibilities are endless and the fun could be non-stop! Playing in a playhouse can help the older adult to feel less inhibited and more open for being silly or experiencing things on the child’s level. It could be incredibly refreshing to break away from the rigors of everyday life and get in some light and playful moments with their grandchildren.

Grandparents everywhere love having a kids playhouse in their backyard because it is an integral part of the relationship that they relish with your grandchildren. No matter how the time is spent playing, sharing experiences, or being creative together, there is sure to be plenty of opportunities for everyone to relish and hold on to.

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It’s amazing how a kids playhouse can make a regular run to the mall seem like a really cool play date! Many malls around the country are adding children’s play areas to give the children a respite from the in and out shopping activity that adults so love. While it may be fun for a child when they first head out to the store, by the third or fourth trip through the aisles, they are ready for a break and a kid-style respite. Some malls are more forward thinking and provide a “fun area” for kids. These fun areas are always made better with the incorporation of a kids playhouse.

As a parent, you can create a little strategy for your next shopping trip that will allow you to maximize the time that you have in  the stores, while giving your child a chance to be a kid also. Hit the stores that you definitely want to shop at first because your child will have the most patience. Then, when you realize that he or she is about to melt down, whisk your little one away to the kids playhouse in the fun area. There, you can start a play session that will be have multiple steps. You may say something like, “While we take a break from shopping, let’s bake a cake! Then, we will shop a little bit and come back when it should be ‘finished’”! That will give you a chance to run to other stores for a moment.

The kids playhouse at a mall’s fun area is also great because it is not a “don’t touch” zone like most stores are. With the playhouse, kids can touch all over and get out that sense of curiosity and that need to have a tactile experience. For an adult, you are touching clothing and looking at tags as you shop. For a child, they aren’t really doing all of that, but they have that need also.

Shopping can be fun. A kids playhouse can help to break up the monotony that kids sometimes feel when they are out for a day of buying with parents. It can give them a sense of relief from the stuffiness and “restrictions” that they deal with in stores. From touching to pretending, all of that can make a shopping trip a lot more enjoyable and manageable for a young child. A kids playhouse can be a big part of making that happen.

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