This is one we've done quite a lot of over the years, especially when Mr 4 was heavily into cars. Just cover the coffee table with a large sheet of paper, draw a road on there and let the play begin. As the play progresses the kids usually ask for some other things, like a school or park or more traffic lights, but they also really enjoy adding their own drawings to it. We've even sometimes drawn train tracks for the wooden trains, with stations etc. Depending on the age of your child it can also be good to have different coloured car parks for different coloured cars.
One from the archives. Our coffee table needed a new top, and my toddler had some cute little toddler feet and hands just ready to make prints with. I started by painting the table top with an off white, then I put the prints on (with the help of said toddler). I then drew boxes around the prints and painted them in (light shade on two sides, darker on the third side and darkest on the forth side). Finally I finished it with varnish, and wrote a name and date on the underside. Nowadays it's not looking nearly so new, has a few scratches and pen marks on it, and regularly has glue and playdoh smeared into it, but I still enjoy seeing those little hands and feet.
