Friday, February 27 marks National Strawberry Day, where we celebrate the popular fruit for its early taste of spring before the season arrives.
To celebrate National Strawberry Day with your little ones at home, you can prepare some fresh strawberries to enjoy together; whip up a strawberry-themed dessert; visit a strawberry festival in your area (if possible); or prepare a garden space at home to try and grow your own.
Here are some helpful tips the Melissa & Doug team learned about picking and eating strawberries from the National Day Calendar website’s National Strawberry Day page:
1. Only pick strawberries when they’re fully ripe. If you pick them too early, they won’t ripen later like bananas or pears.
2. Don’t wash your strawberries until you’re ready to eat them. Strawberries are very prone to mold and spoilage.
3. Eat what you pick as soon as possible, However, strawberries freeze well, and can be used for smoothies & desserts for up to six months later.
In addition, Melissa & Doug also offers a number of strawberry-themed toys to help you and your little one get into the swing of all things Strawberry Day. We’ve curated a special selection of our toys that feature strawberries for your kids to enjoy and learn more about this tasty social holiday.
BONUS STRAWBERRY FUN: We’re repurposing and reusing our FREE Smoothie Day and Ice Cream Day printable activities for kids for National Strawberry Day, since it’s one of the ingredients featured in each printable. Download your arts & crafts fun to celebrate the strawberry now!
Download Your Smoothie Day Printable Activity Now >>>
Download Your Ice Cream Day Printable Activity Now >>>
Top Fruit Toys for National Strawberry Day
Peek-a-Boo Berry Take-Along Toy
Entertain babies on the go while stimulating their senses with this super-sweet clip-on Melissa & Doug Peek-a-Boo Berry Take-Along Toy! The soft plush berry with ombre crinkle leaves and smooth ribbon tabs is easy for small hands to grasp, shake, and squeeze. Open the slices to reveal a peek-a-boo mirror to surprise and delight, and a silicone teething ring for soothing. Multi-patterned fabric is textured to tempt tiny fingers to touch! Bring the fun wherever the baby goes—easily clip the three-piece, multi-textured toy onto a stroller, car seat, diaper bag, or high chair to keep it close at hand.
Wooden Cutting Fruit Play Food
Who wants a piece of fruit? This beautiful wooden fruit set is ready for playtime. The Melissa & Doug Cutting Fruit set includes a wooden knife and seven pieces of sliceable fruit (including strawberry!) that can be cut into a total of 17 pieces. The pieces are held together with self-stick tabs, so the food makes a fun and satisfying "crunch" sound when sliced. Helps kids practice fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and with so many pieces, it's a great way to introduce counting, and the concepts of part, whole, and fractions.
Whip up delicious playtime smoothies with this pretend play blender! Use the wooden knife to slice wooden fruits (like strawberries!) and vegetables, choose other healthful ingredients, like kale or protein powder, and pop them in the blender. A great way for kids to learn about nutrition, colors, counting, and to build fine motor and social skills.
Scoop & Stack Ice Cream Cone Play Set
Serve up cool treats with this pretend play magnetic ice cream play set! A magnetic scooper picks up 4 scoops of pretend ice-cream (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and mint chip); press the lever and the scoops drop onto wooden cones. Pieces store in a fun plastic ice cream tub. This play set is a great way for kids to practice sharing, and encourages counting, sorting, color recognition, and fine motor skill development.
Scented Water WOW! Water-Reveal Pad - Fruit
Make early learning sweet and mess-free with the Melissa & Doug On the Go Water Wow! Fruit Scented Activity Pad. This reusable scented paint-with-water book features 5 spiral-bound pages and a refillable, no-leak water pen that reveals vibrant colors, fruity scents (including strawberry!), and fun surprises with every stroke—then dries to “erase” for endless repeat play. It’s a screen-free way to build fine motor skills and spark sensory exploration, at home or on the go.
Thirst Quencher Drink Dispenser
Quench a thirst for pretend play with this wooden ice and drink dispenser! Kids can order four different kinds of “juices” (orange, apple, strawberry fruit punch, or grape) on a reusable menu card. Load the durable plastic ice cubes and drink insert into the dispenser, turn the dial and press the lever, and voilà!
What's sweeter than 100 delicious desserts? One-hundred desserts with 500 candy, fruit and frosting toppings! With this tantalizing sticker pad, kids can run their own illustrated bake shop and decorate cupcakes, cookies, cakes and other sweets on 16 colorful background pages.
Disney Tropical Soft Serve Wooden Play Set
Whip up tropical-inspired cool Disney play food treats! The 23-piece Melissa & Doug wooden Tropical Soft Serve ice cream dispenser play set lets kids mix and match soft swirl flavors, then pull the lever to drop them into an ice cream or drink cup. Add flavor disks (illustrated for lime, pineapple, lemon, and strawberry), a fun umbrella straw, and even a pineapple upside down cake and dole out whipped play treats, just like they serve at Disney parks! Encourages counting, sorting, early numeracy, and imaginative pretend play.
Wooden Cool Scoops Ice Creamery
Scoop up cool pretend play creations with this full-service ice cream shop! The sturdy wooden counter features a pretend play ice cream and soft serve dispenser—drop wooden scoops or durable plastic swirls (mix and match!) in the top, place a cup or wooden cone underneath, press the lever, and watch the scoops drop down. This 42-piece play food set offers kids countless opportunities to develop early learning skills and to create, imagine, and role play both the customer and the server.
Scoop & Serve Ice Cream Counter
Kids can scoop up some cool treats with this all-inclusive, 28-piece pretend play ice cream counter! The sturdy wooden tabletop counter holds eight wooden scoops of different-flavored ice cream, six assorted toppings, two cones, a plastic cup, an ice cream scooper, a wooden spoon, tongs, reusable menu card, and six pretend dollar bills to get started on your very own ice cream shop!
Wooden Magnetic Ice Cream Puzzle & Play Set - 16 Pieces
Piece together a deliciously cool puzzle and pretend play fun with this innovative combination of wooden puzzle and magnetic pretend play set! There are 16 wooden magnetic pieces, including ice cream scoops, toppings, cones, containers, spoons, and a scooper. For puzzle play, match the pieces to pictures on the sturdy wooden puzzle board. For pretend play, lift and arrange pieces with the magnetic scooper to create ice cream treats!
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