In this research, children's creativity in pretend play and the conditions for creativity during high involvement are studied from four points of view: as a zone for proximal development, as a skill, as a personal orientation and as a culturally shared environment creation. The theoretical model is influenced by Vygotsky's ideas of creativity as cultural mediation. The research methods are systematic observation and skill evaluation. The participants are 280 Finnish four- to five-year-old children in day care. The results highlight the importance of play both by sheer volume and also by children's involvement in it. Children's internalised skills result in personal choices and a personal network of peer contacts. The different choices result in different creative culture production environments. Creative children attract each other and they meet in creative social processes. However, less creative children get excluded from the creative core. Thus, children who need creative scaffolding the most get it the least. The possibilities of involving children in creative processes are discussed.