Once you've arranged a playdate, it's very easy to start wondering how you're going to entertain everyone. The answer, thankfully, is that you probably don't need to.
At Binky we're big believers in giving children a few good starting points and then letting them take the lead. The best playdate activities for kids don't need complicated instructions or an afternoon timetable; they just need to give children enough inspiration to start playing together.
Have something ready when they arrive
For a first playdate, having one simple activity on the table can be a great icebreaker, particularly when two children who apparently spend their entire school day together suddenly become painfully shy in your hallway.
Drawing, colouring, stickers, beads or a craft kit work beautifully because children can chat while they're making something. Have a look through Binky's Arts & Crafts collection for easy creative and rainy-day playdate ideas.
Games are another favourite, particularly for school-age children. Choose something relatively quick and easy to understand, explain the rules if necessary and then leave them to it. Our Games & Puzzles collection has lots of options that work brilliantly for friends, siblings and family game nights.
Give them something they can make their own
Construction toys are particularly good for playdates because there isn't one prescribed way to play with them. Put magnetic tiles or building pieces on the floor and before long they could be making a castle, zoo, marble run, race track or an entire town.
It's one of the reasons we love open-ended toys at Binky. Children are playing, but they're also sharing ideas, negotiating, solving problems and working together without an adult having to organise any of it. Browse our Educational & STEAM Toys for magnetic tiles, construction toys and other hands-on play.
The same applies to imaginative play. A play kitchen can become a café, a market stall becomes a shop and dolls suddenly need to go to school. Sometimes putting out fewer toys actually results in better play because children have to decide what to do with them.
Get outside when you can
If the British weather is vaguely cooperative, send them outside. A treasure hunt, chalk, bubbles, skipping ropes, a ball or a trip to the park can easily fill an afternoon without much planning at all.
Our Outdoor Toys & Games collection has plenty of ideas for active play, but don't overlook the simplest things. Hide and seek has survived generations without requiring instructions, batteries or an app.
And when it rains, resist automatically reaching for a screen. Building the tallest possible tower, making friendship bracelets, creating a den, doing a puzzle or drawing portraits of each other can be far more memorable. You can also browse our 5–8 Years collection for more creative, construction and game ideas for school-age children.
It's fine for them to be bored
You don't have to respond immediately to "We're bored." Give them a little time to work it out themselves. Boredom is often the point at which children stop waiting to be entertained and start inventing their own games.
Towards the end of the playdate, something quieter such as drawing, a puzzle or a snack can help bring the energy down before collection.
If you're arranging your child's first nursery or school playdate, read our First Steps into Playdates: Starting Nursery, School & New Friendships first. And our Top Playdate Tips for Parents has a few more tricks we've learnt along the way.
Most importantly, don't over-plan it. Some of the best childhood friendships are built while making dens, inventing ridiculous games, falling out for three minutes and becoming best friends again.
