The best Play-Doh sets offer an imaginative release for children, along with quite a few educational advantages as well. The prominent modeling compound helps children ages three and up with fine motor skills as they squish the dough around to create shapes. Also, the dough can help with spatial reasoning as they figure out how to implement a design.
In addition, playing with Play-Doh is a fabulous group activity and can help to foster teamwork along with social skills. Beyond the educational and imaginative benefits, Play-Doh is fun! Kids love to pull, twist, squish, and squeeze the dough, even if they don’t want to build a pony or a pizza.
Check out the best Play-Doh sets below to inspire your child’s interest.
| The Top 5 Best Play Doh Sets | Why It's Best | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Magical Oven | Baking Fun With No Heat! | ♥♥♥♥♥ |
| Play-Doh Fun Factory Deluxe Set | Includes 30+ Play-Doh tools! | ♥♥♥♥♥ |
| Play-Doh Stamp 'n Top Pizza Oven | Make a Yummy Play-Doh Pizza! | ♥♥♥♥♥ |
| Play-Doh Sweet Shoppe Cookie Creations | Cut Out and Decorate a Bunch of Cookies! | ♥♥♥♥♥ |
| Play-Doh Doctor Drill N Fill Playset | Let Your Child Practice Oral Hygiene! | ♥♥♥♥♥ |
| Play-Doh Play-Doh Touch Shape to Life Studio | Bring Creations to Life Online! | ♥♥♥♥♥ |
The Best Play-Doh Sets of 2020
Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Magical Oven
Children who always want to help bake cupcakes in the kitchen may enjoy the Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Magical Oven.
Forget an Easy Bake Oven, there’s no lightbulb necessary for this Play-Doh oven. Parents will love helping their kids “bake” without the chance of getting burned plus there are no dishes to wash.
Made in primary colors, this set works for any gender. A great set for a fun birthday party. Let the kids make fake cupcakes instead of getting sprinkles all over your kitchen floor. The oven includes a few shapes to squish the dough into, plus a fake timer and buttons. However, kids will love the lever on the side to move the “cake” in and out of the oven.
Set Includes
- Oven
- 5 Baking Trays
- 3 Cutters
- Roller
- Knife
- Fork
- Spoon
- Plate
- Instructions
- 1 Creation Card
- 6 Cans of Play-Doh
Issues
The set requires 3 AA batteries but don’t worry, they only power the lights and a necessary “ding” noise to know when the Play-Doh is done cooking.
Play-Doh Fun Factory Deluxe Set
If your child has never experienced Play-Doh before, or they’re in need of extra accessories, the Play-Doh Fun Factory Deluxe Set is the one to buy! This set includes 6 Play-Doh colors and over 25 accessories including lots of animal-shaped cutters. The included roller comes with cutter attachments to add to the creativity.
Set Includes
- 6 Play-Doh Cans
- 30+ Tools
- Fun Factory Squeeze Tool
- Roller w/Cutter Attachments
Issues
The main issue with the Fun Factory Deluxe Set is the size. Many parents thought they were buying more Play-Doh than they received and a bigger set than they received. With this in mind, you may need to purchase a few additional Play-Doh cans if you want extra Play-Doh for your child to play with.
Play-Doh Stamp ‘n Top Pizza Oven Toy
If your kid really loves eating or making pizza, they will love the Play-Doh Stamp ‘n Top Pizza Oven Toy. With this pizza oven, your little one can spin up a crust, grate cheese, and make all kinds of toppings from pepperonis to veggies. This set comes with 5 Play-Doh cans plus accessories.
Set Includes
- 5 Cans of Play-Doh
- 3 Creation Cards
- Pizza Oven
- Pizza Slicer
- Paddle
Issues
Play-Doh “crust” and “toppings” can get stuck in the molds.
Play-Doh Sweet Shoppe Cookie Creations
Your little one can bake up some delicious cookies with the Play-Doh Sweet Shoppe Cookie Creations set! With 4 different cookie cutters, your child can make cookies in the shape of hearts, stars, squares, and circles. They can even add fun patterns with the rolling pin!
Set Includes
- Cookie Stand/Maker
- 4 Cake Cutters
- 4 Extruder Tips
- Cupcake Liner
- Cake Server
- Plate, Plastic Knife, Fork
- 4 Cans of Play-Doh (2 Regular and 2 Plus)
Issues
- None that we see!
Play-Doh Doctor Drill N Fill Playset
Some kids dream of growing up to be a dentist. If that’s your kids get the Play-Doh Doctor Drill N Fill Playset. Even if you just want your child to better understand oral hygiene or how braces work, this set will work for your family. It’s a great learning tool to teach about teeth and gums.
Next, kids will love the Mario look-a-like patient and squishing teeth into his square teeth slots. Later, they can drill his teeth. Make sure they keep the drill far away from their own teeth and yours!
Lastly, your child can put in new teeth they make out of the mold. Don’t worry about the straightness of the teeth as your child can set them straight with braces. A great way to learn how fun going to a dentist can be while enjoying an imaginative toy!
Set Includes
- Human Head
- Drill
- Set of Tweezers
- Roller
- Toothbrush
- Tooth Mold
- Instructions
- 5 Cans of Play-Doh
Issues
Putting batteries in the drill might cause issues. Children with bad experiences at the dentist may not find the set entertaining.
Play-Doh Touch Shape to Life Studio
Hasbro launched a new app to allow children to turn the Play-Doh creations into fun animations! All you need is the Play-Doh Shape to Life Kits and the app.
First, use an Apple device to scan an image. Second, once scanned, the kids can interact with the 3D digital character they created and play activities inside the app with their creation.
The kit comes with a base and some action stampers to help your child make their little creation. Place their dough creature on the base and scan. Now your kids are ready to play on the app. A great way to save your child’s work and allow the fun to continue.
Set Includes
- Studio Base
- 5 Character Stamps
- 4 Tools
- 5 Action Stamps
- 15 Cutters
- Instructions
- 7 Cans of Play-Doh
Issues
Some people dislike that the app isn’t available for Kindle Fire. It is available on iOS and Android phones and tablets though.
Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Drizzy Ice Cream Playset
We all scream for ice cream! Your child will love serving you up a multitude of ice cream flavors with the Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Drizzy Ice Cream Playset. First, they can use the ice cream maker to pour soft serve ice cream into cones and cups. Then, they can drizzle pretend syrup on top. The syrup turns into a candy-like shell when drizzled onto the Play-Doh!
Set Includes
- Ice Cream Maker
- 2 Drizzle Bottles
- 6 Play-Doh Cans
- 4 How-To Cards
- Play-Doh Drizzle
- 5 Cups/Cones and 2 Spoons
Issues
There’s a major issue with the Play-Doh drizzle compound. Many parents despise it because it’s very messy, runs out quickly, and some say the drizzle stained their table. Yikes! But with this in mind, you can prepare to make sure everything is covered before using the drizzle.
Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Delightful Donuts Set
Let your child try their hand at making donuts with the Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Delightful Donuts Set.
The design of this set gears a little bit to girls over boys, although younger boys won’t care a bit as pink isn’t the overriding color. Besides, some donuts need strawberry swirl frosting.
Once the donuts are made, add frosting, sprinkles, and fun shapes with stamps. Donuts need their best friend coffee to make an appearance. This set runs like a bistro, with a little coffee cup and saucer. Although, kids will love swirling the dough more than any other part of the set.
A fun set with room for lots of imagination. The set may be difficult for younger children, but works for children three and up. It even includes a serving tray for the colorful donuts.
Set Includes
- Stand
- Sprinkles Crank
- 4 Donut Molds
- Donut Hole Tool
- Frosting Tool
- Coffee Cup
- 2 Creation Cards
- Instructions
- 4 Mini Cans of Play-Doh
Issues
The push-through tools to make the swirls can clog up and take extra effort to push the dough through. Make sure all the dough is out of the tools before storing.
Play-Doh Burger Barbecue Set
Buy the Play-Doh Burger Barbecue Set if your little one would love flippin’ burgers like his parents! This cute Play-Doh grill lets your child “grill” burgers and hot dogs and then make fries! Squirt on condiments with the decorator tool and you’ll be served one delicious meal.
Set Includes
- Grill
- 5 Play-Doh Cans
- Decorator Tool
- Plates, Knife, Spatula
Issues
The size of the grill is a bit smaller than some parents expected to receive; this could be good for little hands though.
FAQs About The Best Play-Doh Sets
If my child eats Play-Doh, will it harm him?
The best Play-Doh sets are non-toxic, non-irritating, and non-allergenic. All doughs by Play-Doh meet these criteria.
The dough does contain wheat gluten. If this is a known allergen, then you need to avoid Play-Doh completely. The main ingredients are water, salt, and flour.
If your child eats a small amount, they should be completely fine, but if they eat a large portion it could cause problems because of the salt content. If you think your child has consumed a whole lot of Play-Doh, like a whole can, contact their doctor for further instructions.
Also, do not allow animals to eat Play-Doh, as it can cause problems because of the salt as well.
Can I keep the Play-Doh creations my child makes?
Play-Doh is meant to be reusable and not meant to dry and harden. If you allow it to dry out, it will crack and break. Better to use clay if you wish to keep your child’s artwork.
How can I clean up a Play-Doh mess on my carpet?
If the dough gets stuck into the carpet, the best bet is to let the Play-Doh dry before trying to pull it up.
An even better bet: keep dough far away from carpets. Soft dough may come out of many surfaces, but try to keep it on a table or even a vinyl table cloth for easy cleanup.
If your child is too short to work with dough while sitting at the table, try using a step stool at the kitchen counter.
Can a child younger than three play with Play-Doh?
The best Play-Doh sets are for children over the age of three for liability purposes.
More mature two-year-olds who do not shove lots of stuff in their mouth and have the patience to work with a kit can use these sets as well, but only with full adult supervision.
If your child is too young for Play-Doh, try an art easel instead, but make sure the crayons stay out of their mouth.
Final Thoughts About the Best Play-Doh Sets
Above all, play dough is a time treasured activity for children. The best Play-Doh Sets help children use their imaginations, learn a few skills, and have a blast while fostering social skills and teamwork.
If you only pick one set above, go for the Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Magical Oven. Let their imagination guide them!
