Celebrate National Fast Food Day with these fun and fabulous fast food crafts for kids! These burgers, fries, and pizzas are 100% calorie-free and actually good for your creativity.
Today, if you ever crave a burger or a pizza, it’s only a matter of minutes before you can get your hands on one. A simple phone call, a few taps on an app, or a quick drive, and your food is ready to be devoured. We live in an age of convenience, but have you ever stopped to wonder how food got to be this fast? Or rather, how the concept of “fast food” came to be?
Before we dive into the glue and glitter, let’s take a tasty bite out of history.
A Bite of History: The Origin of Fast Food
We often think of fast food as a modern invention, but its roots go back over a century. In the late 1910s, a man named Walter Anderson began a business selling burgers. He was an innovator with a passion for efficiency, but he faced a hurdle: he didn’t have enough money to open a proper restaurant. Not letting that stop him, he sold his burgers right from his car!
Walter’s burgers did better than he expected. They were delicious, affordable, and quick. Soon, he realized his car wasn’t enough to keep up with demand. He partnered with E.W. Ingram and opened a restaurant named White Castle in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas.
And that, my friends, is the first fast food restaurant in the world! They revolutionized the industry by focusing on cleanliness and the assembly-line production of food.
With November 16th being National Fast Food Day, this seems like the perfect opportunity to learn the history behind our favorite foods. But more importantly, it’s a great excuse to have some fun making fast food crafts for kids. These projects are perfect for pretend play, party decorations, or just a rainy afternoon activity.
Here are 10 creative, zero-calorie ways to serve up some fun.
1. The Ultimate Paper Plate Pizza
Young kids love playing pretend, especially as a restaurant or cafe owner. Take your pretend play to the next level by serving up some very realistic-looking paper pizzas!
Why we love it: It’s a great way to teach fractions! How to make it:
- Paint the rim of a paper plate brown for the crust and the center red for the sauce.
- Cut shredded yellow paper for cheese.
- Cut out red circles for pepperoni, green strips for peppers, and black shapes for olives.
- The Activity: Have your child take “orders” from family members and glue the specific toppings requested onto individual slices.
2. Kitchen Sponge Cheeseburgers
If you want a craft that has a squishy, realistic texture, look no further than the kitchen sink (unused sponges, of course!).
How to make it:
- Cut round circles out of standard yellow kitchen sponges to act as the buns.
- Use brown felt or construction paper for the patty.
- Use green tissue paper for the lettuce and yellow foam sheets for the cheese.
- Assembly: Glue them all together in a stack. The sponge makes these burgers tactile and fun to squeeze—perfect for a play kitchen!
3. Fast Food Bingo Party Game
This fast food bingo game would be the perfect party game regardless of the theme! After all, it’s likely you’re serving at least a few of the things featured on these cards.
How to play:
- Create simple grid cards featuring drawings of tacos, sodas, fries, nuggets, and ice cream.
- Use buttons or bottle caps as markers.
- Call out the food items. The first child to get a line yells “Order Up!” instead of Bingo for a thematic twist.
4. DIY Cardboard Taco Stand
No need to wait for Tuesday to make these tacos – they can be made any day you have craft supplies!
The Educational Angle: We honestly think that these fast food crafts for kids also provide an opportunity to think about nutrition. While making them, ask your kids: “What veggies can we add to make this taco healthy?”
How to make it:
- Cut a paper plate in half and paint the outside yellow (for a hard shell) or leave it white/tan (for soft shell).
- Fold it gently.
- Stuff the inside with “fillings” made from crinkled tissue paper (green for lettuce, red for tomatoes) and brown yarn (for the meat or beans).
5. Felt French Fry Box
Is there anything more iconic than a red box of fries? This craft is durable and great for the toy box.
How to make it:
- The Fries: Cut strips of thick yellow felt. If you want them 3D, glue two strips together or use yellow upholstery foam.
- The Box: Use red cardstock to fold a simple pouch or envelope shape. Glue a yellow “M” or a star on the front to create your own brand.
- The Play: These are great because they don’t tear like paper fries do.
6. Fast Food “I Spy” Game
Please don’t blame us if this I Spy game has you scuttling off to the nearest takeaway center to grab some yummy bites! This would be another fun party game, especially for little kids who are working on visual discrimination skills.
DIY Version:
- Print out or draw a chaotic collage of burgers, hot dogs, and sodas.
- Make a list at the bottom: “Find 5 Burgers,” “Find 3 Sodas.”
- Laminate the sheet so kids can use dry-erase markers to circle the items and play again and again.
7. The No-Sew Sock Doughnut
Do doughnuts come under the category of fast food, dessert, or candy? Well, we don’t care about labels here – as long as it’s good! This creates a soft, plush toy.
How to make it:
- Take a clean, ankle-length sock. Cut the toe off.
- Roll the sock down onto itself until it forms a tight donut shape.
- The Frosting: Cut a piece of colored felt (pink or chocolate brown) in a wavy circle and glue it to the top.
- Sprinkles: Use fabric paint or sew on real beads to act as sprinkles.
8. Salt Dough Pretzels
Soft pretzels are a staple of food courts everywhere. Making them out of salt dough allows kids to practice rolling and shaping dough, which is excellent for fine motor skills.
Recipe:
- Mix 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup water.
- Roll into snakes and twist into a pretzel shape.
- Bake at 250°F (120°C) for 2 hours until hard.
- Decoration: Once cool, paint them golden brown and glue on large white beads or coarse glitter to look like salt!
9. Upcycled Cardboard Food Truck
If you have a large delivery box lying around, this is the ultimate rainy day project.
How to build it:
- Cut a large window in the side of a big cardboard box.
- Decorate the outside to look like a truck (wheels, headlights, a menu board).
- Let your child sit inside and serve their “customers” through the window using all the other crafts (burgers and fries) you’ve made!
10. Milkshake Pencil Holder
Let’s make something functional! This craft looks like a delicious milkshake but holds your pencils and markers.
How to make it:
- Take a clean plastic cup or a mason jar.
- Paint the inside (swirl pink and white paints) to look like strawberry milk.
- The Whipped Cream: Glue cotton balls or white pom-poms to the rim of the cup, piling them high.
- The Straw: Stick a colorful paper straw into the “whipped cream” (glue it securely).
- The Cherry: Top it off with a red pom-pom!
Why Crafting Food is Important
You might be wondering, why encourage kids to make crafts about burgers and fries? Shouldn’t we be focusing on broccoli?
Crafting “junk food” actually opens the door to healthy conversations. When kids play with play-food, they mimic the world around them. It allows parents to introduce concepts like “sometimes foods” versus “everyday foods” in a low-pressure environment.
Furthermore, these crafts engage multiple senses and skills:
- Fine Motor Skills: Cutting, gluing, and folding.
- Social Skills: Taking orders, serving food, and saying “please” and “thank you.”
- Creativity: Designing their own restaurant logos and menus.
Conclusion
National Fast Food Day is more than just an excuse to eat a burger (though that’s fun too!). It’s a chance to acknowledge an industry that changed the way the world eats, and a perfect theme for creative play.
Whether you are building a cardboard food truck or sewing felt fries, these crafts are sure to satisfy your craving for creativity. So, gather your supplies, clear the kitchen table, and get ready to serve up some fun.