Gone are the days when tossing a blanket over the dining room table as a make-shift fort was enough to entertain the kids. Between your smart phone, the tablet and all of the other screens in your kiddo’s life, keeping their interest isn’t exactly as easy as it once was. But don’t stress! Play time still exists. Really, it does. Instead of sticking with the old school simple ideas, step up your game and check out these extravagant DIY fort ideas.
The sun has set and your little one is ready for a night-time camp out. The problem is that it’s winter, it’s raining, or you just don’t want to spend the night out in the yard with your tot. Instead, create a star-flanked fort. It’s super-easy, and uses recycled materials. Poke holes in the top of an old appliance or electronics box. Then, cut a flap on the side to make a door. Reuse those old Christmas lights, hanging them on the top. As the light filters in through the holes, your kiddo will see stars! Another option is to press a field of glow in the dark star stickers onto the bottom of a large box. Again, cut a flap on the side and turn the box over. Now your child can see the star-lit sky — indoors.
Who says you can only have one DIY fort? No one! Your child can create a maze of forts and then crawl through them. Use large-sized boxes to make fort after fort. Turn them over and cut doors on each side. Arrange them in different designs, making it different every time your child tries to crawl through them. You can set up the fort maze in your playroom or outside in your yard.
Your kiddo is looking for a completely comfortable fort sanctuary. Gather a bunch of blankets and plenty of pillows. Use the couch’s arms to hang the blankets from, or prop up pillows on their sides to make “walls.” Your kiddo can cuddle under the fort and watch a family-friendly flick! Bring in the popcorn, and other snacks, and curl up with your child as you have a viewing party with your child’s favorite movie. Another option is to use broom handles, the vacuum, or something similar to hold up a blanket, tent-style. Toss a few throw pillows under the tent fort, add blankets to the floor and play the day away with your child. This cozy nook is also perfect for reading a book.
You have a zillion shoe boxes. Between your shoes and your child’s constantly changing sizes, you have plenty of cardboard boxes that are just hanging around. Start stacking and put together an igloo-like fort. Each box becomes a block or a brick. Keep adding the boxes until the fort is built high enough for your child to use. Keep in mind, shoe boxes aren’t the only ones you can use. Recycle cereal, cracker, or other types of boxes into this DIY fort. You can make it moveable or use tape to give it a permanent structure.
Don’t forget to snap a few (or more than a few) pictures of the fort! Take photos of your child building the fort and using it to document the process and create a lasting memory. When play-time is done, turn those pretty pics into a photo book that you can page through in the next fort that your child builds.