Fall Coffee Shop Dramatic Play

Last Updated on July 28, 2025 by Sheryl Cooper

Inside: Invite your children to put their imaginations in gear while playing at this fall coffee shop dramatic play activity!

Young children love to pretend to make coffee and tea, serving it in cups and mugs to their friends.

This fall coffee shop has everything you need – signs, forms, and labels along with coffee makers, tea kettles, and baked goods.

We love including this during our pumpkin theme! Watch the video:

In October we have two weeks of the apple theme and then two weeks of pumpkins and Halloween.

This means our dramatic play area goes from an apple orchard to a fall coffee shop, and I love setting up this activity!

Fall Coffee Shop Dramatic Play

The dramatic play area is offered every day as part of our free-choice centers time.

This center allows children to strengthen social skills as they share space, learning how to work together while using their imagination.

During our school year in the two and three year old classroom, most children start the year playing side-by-side. As the year progresses, they start playing together. Through imaginative play they are strengthening their verbal skills as they engage in conversations.

I like to set up play invitations that are meaningful, that the children have had experience with.

Going to a coffee shop, perhaps enjoying a baked treat, is something the children do with their families.

Materials for the Fall Coffee Shop

As I mention in so many of my posts, if you can use what you already have, that’s the best! We teachers are always dealing with a budget so we can’t just out and buy new items every time we set up a new dramatic play theme.

I love to take advantage of garage sales and thrift stores. We also get items donated by families. You can even send home a list of desired items. When families are gathering what they no longer need, they might have something that will be useful for the dramatic play area!

Items We Used:

Real (non-functioning) coffee maker (we were lucky to find one with a stainless steel carafe, as we didn’t want glass)
Pretend coffee maker
Paper cups and lids
Tea set
Pretend baked goods
Empty spice containers
Muffin tins
Baskets and trays
Aprons
Cash register
Phones
Signs, labels and forms from our Pumpkin Packet

You can find our favorite dramatic play items in our Amazon Storefront!

Invitation to Play

When the children first enter the coffee shop, they will be curious how everything works.

Coffee will be poured and brought to the table.

Baked goods will be set on trays, maybe placed in the oven for awhile, then passed out to friends.

The children will learn the important skill of sharing space and materials, something that can be challenging for toddlers and young preschoolers.

The Importance of Having a Teacher Available

I am all over the classroom during centers time, and that includes the dramatic play area.

When I sit down to join their play, I will ask questions such as, “Can I please have a cup of coffee?” Of course, I will then be given multiple cups of coffee and many baked goods!

If you provide well-timed, tuned-in feedback and gentle task support, you can scaffold a child’s learning—guide her to learn and accomplish something she can’t do by herself right now. By describing the ongoing action, asking open-ended questions, coaching interactions, and providing materials when a child needs them, you expand the learning possibilities of any play scenario. (NAEYC)

Learning Through Play

If someone were to ask me to share an example of how children learn through play, I would tell them that our entire classroom is set up for open-ended exploration and play. However, it’s really evident in the dramatic play area. I try to share this when I upload snippets of our morning in my Instagram stories. It’s a very busy area with non-stop movement as the children use their imaginations.