Back to activities

Indoor activity

Egg Carton Ice Cream Shop

Paint egg carton cups as colourful ice cream scoops, make paper cones, and set up a pretend ice cream parlour for imaginative play!

Ages 2-9 0-1 hours Education 5/10

Materials

  • Egg Carton
  • Flat Paintbrush
  • Markers
  • Paper
  • Poster Paint
  • PVA Glue
  • Scissors
  • Tape

Illustrated Steps

1

Make the Scoops

Cut egg carton cups apart and paint each one a different ice cream flavour colour!

2

Make the Cones

Roll brown paper semi-circles into cone shapes and draw waffle criss-cross patterns.

3

Assemble the Ice Creams

Glue scoops on top of cones. Stack doubles and triples! Add a cherry on top.

4

Set Up the Shop

Arrange ice creams, make a menu with prices, and take turns serving customers!

What You’ll Create

A delicious-looking ice cream parlour — no freezer needed! 🍦 Your little shop owners will paint egg carton cups as ice cream scoops in every flavour imaginable, roll paper into cone shapes, stack scoops on top, and set up a pretend ice cream shop. Take orders, serve customers, and invent crazy new flavours — the fun never melts!

Have fun!

  • 🍨 Invent crazy flavours — dragon fruit, unicorn swirl, alien green slime!
  • 💰 Practice counting coins by giving each flavour a price and making change!
  • 🧮 Practice addition — “One scoop is 50p, two scoops cost…?”
  • 🎨 Add cotton wool on top as whipped cream and glitter as sprinkles!

Why It’s Amazing

  • Imaginative Play: Running a shop develops social skills, turn-taking, language, and creative scenario building. 🏪

  • Maths Practice: Pricing items, counting money, and making change introduces practical arithmetic in a fun context. 🧮

  • Colour Mixing: Creating realistic flavour colours (mixing white into colours for pastel shades) teaches colour theory. 🎨

  • Fine Motor Skills: Rolling cones, cutting cups, painting small objects, and stacking scoops all build hand dexterity. ✋

Pro Tips

For ages 3–5: Pre-cut the cups and cones. Let them paint the scoops and play shop. Focus on the imaginative play — they’ll serve you ice cream all day long!

For ages 5–8: Let them make everything themselves. Create a proper menu with prices. Introduce coin play — set out real or play coins and practice making change.

For ages 8–12: Build a full ice cream parlour — make a counter from a cardboard box, create a menu board, add a “specials” section with sundaes (multiple scoops in a paper bowl with toppings). Calculate profit margins — if ingredients cost 20p and you sell for 50p, what’s the profit? Business maths through play!

Secret Pro Move: Before the paint dries, gently press crumpled cling film onto the scoop surface — when removed, it leaves a realistic bumpy ice cream texture that looks incredibly convincing! 🎯