Toddlers enjoy The Tiger Who Came To Tea, a colourful and imaginative tale of a tiger who arrives at little Sophie’s house, eats and drinks everything, then disappears into the night. Related crafting ideas are a great way to help little ones explore their creativity, practice fine-motor skills and relive their favourite moments from the book. So with this in mind, here are six toddler-friendly craft activities inspired by the beloved tiger, all simple, safe and perfect for home or nursery settings.

Paper Plate Tiger Mask

Before handing the paper plate to your toddler, cut out two eye holes and a mouth. Your little one can then enjoy painting and decorating the plate in all the typical tiger colours. Attach a bit of elastic to the back and you’ve got a fun mask.

Make Tiger Pawprints 

Cut a sponge into a circle and dip it into orange paint. Press onto a large piece of paper to make the start of your pawprint. To make things even more tactile and sensory, create the rest of the paw by dipping little fingers into the paint and stamping five tiger toes above the circle. Add stripes if you want to make them stand out.

Create Handprint Tigers 

Toddlers love painting their hands because it’s messy, tickly and fun. Cover their whole hand in orange paint and stamp it onto a piece of paper to make a print. Add the black tiger stripes, goggly eyes and draw a tail. These prints make wonderful birthday or thank you cards.

Play with Colourful Ribbons

Cut a circular shape out of cardboard and a smaller circle inside that shape to create a cardboard ring. Toddlers can then stick orange and black ribbon to this ring which they can shake around during story time or when listening to music. 

Enjoy Sticker Time

Print off or draw the kitchen from The Tiger Who Came To Tea and let your toddler decorate it with relevant stickers. This could include stickers of tigers, cups and saucers, cakes, chairs, drinks and more. Try not to tell them where they should place each sticker. Let them think about it instead or just practice their fine motor skills - it’s all part of the learning experience. 

Make Tiger Biscuits 

Find a simple biscuit recipe and make tiger-shaped biscuits using cutters. Your little ones will love stirring the mixture, stamping out each shape and eating them when they’re finished. You could even make orange icing to finish them off and add some black stripes with an icing pen.

See The Tiger Who Came to Tea

Tiger themed arts and crafts are a great way to get your little ones excited for The Tiger Who Came to Tea live on stage. Theatre tickets for children’s shows like this are on sale now, with performances taking place at the Theatre Royal Haymarket throughout August and into September. Perfectly tailored for little ones and brilliantly interactive, this show brings the famous story by Judith Kerr to life with songs, dancing and magical moments. Search ‘family theatre near me’ or ‘children’s theatre near me’ to get your tickets today.