Build a Fort in 5 Simple Steps | Secret Apple Tree Fort

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Pop Secret and Linqia. 
These views and ideas are my own and were not at all influenced by the party who gave me this 
opportunity.

In our home, we love using our imagination to create fun, new things. We were so eager to get started on this challenge from Pop Secret to create a fort in our home so we got to thinking…what could be more magical than camping out inside a tree? We decided to create a Secret Apple Tree Fort complete with oh-so-exciting balloons. This was the perfect rainy day activity for our family.

There are no limits when creating a fort, but knowing where to start can leave you stumped. Below you will find our tips to building your own fort in 5 simple steps!

Step 1: Plan where you want to build your fort.

The best, largest area for us was right in front of our stairs. Unless you are planning to take down the fort by the end of the day, this is probably not your best option as it blocks you from going up and down, but we built it to enjoy for one day only (so we can build a new fort later, of course.)

Since our fort was not being built on the carpet, we laid down a green blanket (with no-slip liners underneath) to mark out the area for the fort and make the ground more comfortable.

Step 2: Set out the foundation of your fort.

When you start your fort, you want something really sturdy for the foundation. Kitchen chairs, the couch, or a table are great options for this. We chose to use our dining room chairs, even though they were pretty big for the space.

Step 3: Design, build up, and secure your fort so it is sturdy.

While you can use just the foundation as your fort, a lot of times you will want to build it up more. Use pillows, boxes, or anything else you can find around the house that you can make stick in place. Double-check your design to make sure the fort inhabitants (your children…yourself…maybe even your pets) will fit inside comfortably and there is a location left open where you can enter the fort.

Once your fort is set up, you will want to find a way to keep it in place. Since we built ours up with boxes, we simply taped the boxes into place so they would not fall on us while we were inside.

Step 4: Cover the fort with blankets to block out the light.

Blankets and sheets are important when building your fort. Not only will they connect the dots to cover up bare areas in your design (i.e. create a tent), they will also block out the light from the outside which means the lights you use inside will stay inside to really brighten up your fort.

Using blankets to cover your fort is also a great way to keep with your design; we used brown blankets so they looked like the bark of our apple tree!

Step 5: Decorate your fort!

Engineering and constructing the fort was sure a lot of fun, but now we have reached the best part–decorating! Add little knickknacks, complete your design theme, even add a sign or flag!

Since we were making an apple tree, we topped the fort off with a ton of green balloons filled with helium to make the treetop and taped on some apples that I cut out from felt. We added a sign over the entryway, a cute plant at the base of the tree, and our little chipmunk friend even came to visit!

Enjoy the fruits of your labor! Forts are fun for the whole family. Grab some lanterns and flashlights and hide inside to read books, watch a movie, or play games while eating your favorite snacks! My boys have had such a blast playing inside their fort. They ate Pop Secret popcorn (more like scarfed it down like animals!) and read Secrets of the Apple Tree (the perfect book to read in forts since you read it with a flashlight!)

Pop Secret popcorn was the perfect snack for the boys to eat in their fort because it was so easy to prepare, it comes in so many varieties, and they could eat it right from the bag without making too big of a mess. The snacks are bite-sized and the perfect pairing with reading or movies! Even Mr. Chipmunk loved it.

-What’s your favorite Pop Secret variety? Do you have any great ideas for a fort? Share in the comments!! Feel free to tag @ArtsCrackers in your post!

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