The CheckedTwice Gift Blog has focused too much on the adults, and not enough on fun ideas for the kids. So this week will be all about the youngins. And we’ll start off with an experience gift that won’t get the kids out of the house per se, but it just might get them out of your hair for a few hours!
This Monday’s suggestion is the gift of building your own totally awesome play fort. No adults allowed.
This is a gift with infinite options: both for the recipient and for the giver as far as what to include in the fort building kit. My forts as a child always involved moving around the furniture in our basement and draping blankets over it, often with pillows propped up for walls. My sister and I would have separate forts, and from them we’d stage epic battles throwing pillows back and forth. That was awesome.
But the gift idea really comes in if you’re a creative Home Depot shopper. Here are some ideas:
- Suction cups with hooks: Super handy for hanging sheets from windows
- Top Sheets: To hang from said hooks, perhaps themed based on your child’s interests
- Rope: Helpful for holding up sheets
- PVC Pipe / Connectors: For more permanent tents and ambitious kids
- Flashlight: Because what fort is complete without a flashlight?
- Clips: Large clips that can be used to hang the sheets – clothespins work too
- Signs: Throw in some paper so they can make signs for their fort (e.g., No Adults Allowed, Blanketsburg Rules, Down With Pillowtown)
And then I’ll throw this out there as an idea, but I remember HATING to clean up my forts. They took so much time to build and they were such works of art. So perhaps part of this gift is letting the fort-builder leave the fort up for some acceptable period of time. Or maybe it’s agreeing to help them take it apart. Just something that makes the whole thing end on a good note.
Feature image from Guy.
Post image from willholmes.