How to Build a Fort That Your Kids Will Love

Building a fort is almost like a right of passage when you’re a kid. We’ve all seen the look on our mothers’ face when she sees her whole sofa has been stripped of its cushions, and all rooms have had their blankets stolen.

Despite the mess, it’s a great pastime and can even spark creativity in children. You can choose to build a fort in a bedroom or transform your entire living room into a fort.

If you can put the idea of cleaning up to one side, It’s a great thing to do with your own kids on a rainy day or on breaks from school at the weekend. This doesn’t mean to say they can’t be built for adults too! The idea of a little romantic cove sounds quite nice for those in need of a little quality time.

The good news is they can be built from pretty much anything you have in your home, anything that’s soft anyway.

Here are a few ways that you can build a fort, with a few tips and tricks.

Cushion Forts

Using cushions to build a fort is probably one of the most common ways to do so. It’s also pretty simple. All you need to do is remove all the cushions attached to your sofa. These will serve as the walls for your awesome fort.

Place the cushions you have removed from the sofa on the floor. If you haven’t got enough, you may need to use some other furniture for your walls, such as a coffee table or some chairs. Once you have a steady wall, preferably in some kind of square or rectangular shape, it’s time to sort out a roof.

You can use any kind of blanket or sheet for this. A thick blanket will make it warmer, so if you’re doing this during the colder months then this would make it extra cozy. Drape the blanket of your choosing over the cushions and viola! Your simple cushion fort is complete.

Blanket Forts

Another very simple and popular way to build an awesome fort is by using blankets. Grab as many as you can, fitted sheets, sofa blankets, duvets from your bed. Create some walls using these, you can hold them up by using some kitchen chairs or even the kitchen table.

Once you’ve got your structure with your chairs or tables, start draping the blankets over them, creating a little cove for you and your fort friends. You can use some clothes pegs to keep the blankets in place.

You can even add some lights inside, or keep it dark if you want a spooky feel, throw on a horror movie to add to the mood.

Cardboard Forts

Cardboard forts require a little more craft and effort, but they are a great way to keep your kids entertained. You’ve probably got some old shoe boxes, and amazon delivery boxes lying around somewhere, this is your chance to make use of them rather than throwing them out!

Start by unfolding the boxes so they are lying flat. Then build a structure out of the boxes, using tape to stick them together. Once the full structure has been built, you can have even more fun by decorating your fort. You can use crayons, paint, or markers. This is when your children can have fun and be creative!

A great benefit of cardboard forts is that you can simply remove them as a whole and bring them out whenever you want to use them again. You can even keep them as a little memory of your kids’ childhood that you’ll look back on together one day.

Fun Ideas for Your Forts

There are loads of ways you can vamp up your forts to make them all the more epic, and different ways you can use them.

If you’ve made a fort out of blankets, perhaps they could resemble sails from pirate ships. By making a pirate ship in your living room, you are already opening the gates for a ton of fun pirate games for your kids. You can search the living room for hidden treasure, or pretend to fight off a giant octopus.

You can also play dress-up in your fort and tell stories and take pictures. If you decide to tell some spooky stories, you can design your fort to accommodate that, maybe by drawing the night sky, or making some little ghosts out of sheets.

Forts are also perfect for movie nights. Build your fort close to your TV, or just place your TV at the entrance of your fort and cozy up with some popcorn. You can also design your fort to match the theme of the movies you are watching. You can make it into a castle if you’re watching some fairytales, the possibilities are endless.

Adding some fairy lights inside will make your fort the ultimate cozy hub, you’ll be shooing the rest of the family from wanting to hang out inside there. Bring your warm duvets from the bedrooms, add some fluffy pillows and relax.

Final Thoughts

The different activities you can take part in inside your forts are endless. They can be constructed easily with anything you’ve got lying around in the house.

Building these is a great way to entertain any friends your children may bring over, giving you the cool mum/dad label. It’s also a great way to connect with your child and have some fun together, all while sparking their imagination and creativity.

You are bound to make some wonderful memories with your family by engaging in this pastime.

FAQs

What can I put in my outdoor fort?

If you are building a fort outdoors, it would be wise to include materials and items that you don’t mind getting dirty. These could be old blankets you no longer use, boxes, and plastic sheets.

What does every fort need?

Evert fort will need at least some blankets, pillows, clothes pegs to hold sheets up, and cushions.

How do you secure a fort sheet?

To secure your fort sheet, grab a clothespin and secure it to whatever you have used as the base of your wall. This will ensure it won’t fall apart.