The Witch's Cottage: Turning a Playhouse and Mud Kitchen into a Halloween Set

On its own, each one is a toy. Together, they're a world. A playhouse gives children somewhere to be: a home, a shop or a hideaway. A mud kitchen gives them something to do: mixing, pouring, cooking and serving. Put the two side by side and the play has a place and a purpose, so it lasts much longer.

Halloween is the easiest theme to start with, because every child already knows the story. A witch lives in a cottage and brews potions in a cauldron. No rules to explain, no costume required.

• The cottage is where the witch lives, keeps her spell books and welcomes visitors.

• The mud kitchen is the cauldron corner, where the potions are mixed and the soups bubble.

• The path between them is where the action happens: delivering potions, taking orders and running away from the friendly ghost.

It also means children who prefer different kinds of play can share one space. One child can run the shop while another is happily stirring mud for an hour.

Six steps, about two hours, and nothing that can't be packed away by the weekend.

1. Pick the spot. Put the mud kitchen right next to the playhouse door or window, on a patio or a patch of grass you don't mind getting muddy. Children should be able to step straight from one to the other.

2. Name the cottage. Write a sign on card or a scrap of wood ("Wanda's Cottage", "The Hubble Bubble Inn", "Potions Sold Here") and hang it by the door. If your playhouse has a door knocker or bell, it becomes the visitors' bell.

3. Turn the mud kitchen into a cauldron corner. Put the biggest pot on the hob as the cauldron, hang ladles from the hooks and chalk "Today's Potions" on the blackboard.

4. Stock the potion shelf. Fill clean jars with coloured water, leaves, pine cones and conkers. Label them: "bat wings", "frogspawn", "dragon scales".

5. Dress the cottage. Inside: a blanket, a pile of "spell books" (any old books with a paper cover), a broom by the door. Outside: paper bats, bunting in orange and black, a carved pumpkin with an LED light inside.

6. Add the ingredients basket. Leave a basket of soil, leaves, twigs and pumpkin scraps by the mud kitchen so the witches can start brewing straight away.

You don't need costumes, but an old cape, a pointed paper hat or a wooden spoon "wand" in a basket by the door makes it easy to step into character.

A good set gives children a story to start from, then lets them take over. Read one of these out as a starting point, then step back.

The Potion Shop works especially well with mixed ages, because older children can run the shop while toddlers do the pouring.

Never use real candles in or near a wooden playhouse. A playhouse is made of wood, children wear loose costumes, and there's usually a blanket or paper decoration nearby. UK fire services, including Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue, urge families to use flameless LED candles in pumpkins and lanterns instead. RoSPA also recommends battery-powered candles as the safer choice, and advises keeping costumes away from open flames.

Most of our wooden playhouses arrive as untreated fir, so they need an outdoor wood treatment before they face a UK winter. If you'd like to add Halloween colour, use a water-based, child-safe outdoor paint. Chalkboard paint on a panel or shutter gives you a spell board you can change every week. Our guide to caring for a playhouse in winter covers treating and protecting the wood.

For a quicker change, paper bats and window "stained glass" made from tissue paper come straight off on 1 November.

Pick the playhouse for the story you want, then the mud kitchen for how many witches are brewing. Prices were checked on 26 October 2026.

Floors are optional on most playhouses, from £36.99, and are worth adding for autumn play so the inside stays dry. The Evermeadow Add-On Bundle (£83.57) adds a play kitchen table, postbox, ship bell and bumblebee door knocker to the Evermeadow.

For more ways to theme one playhouse through the year, see our guide to playhouse bundles.

The cottage doesn't have to come down on 1 November. The playhouse and mud kitchen stay put; only the story changes.

Before the weather turns, give the playhouse a check: clear leaves off the roof, make sure the felt is sound and keep the floor dry. Our guide to caring for a playhouse in winter has the full checklist.

A playhouse and a mud kitchen side by side give children a place to be and something to do, and Halloween gives them the story. Set up the cottage in an afternoon, keep every light battery-powered, and let the witches take it from there. When 31 October has passed, change the sign and the story, not the set.

If you're starting from scratch, the Evermeadow Playhouse with a Double Mud Kitchen makes the classic cottage-and-cauldron pairing. Browse our wooden playhouses and mud kitchens, then brew your first spell with our Potion Kitchen recipes.