The Boys' 11-Step Guide To Building The Perfect Fort #PopSecretForts
You may not have called it a fort or call it a fort now. You certainly don't call it a #PopSecretFort, but you might after this is all done. You may have called it a tent or an encampment along the river. Either way, it's a temporary home that is made of blankets and stuff that keeps the blankets from falling down. And kids love to make them. My sister and I would make a million of them in one weekend. We were really fond of making these when just my dad was watching us. As long as we were quiet and not fighting, he was happy. So, we would make elaborate tent cities. We'd remodel. We'd put on additions. By the time we were done, you were looking at Tent County. I think we loved forts almost as much as Harold here from The Far Side.
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| This has got to be my favorite cartoon from The Far Side. |
When I suggested that my boys could make one with their two friends that were over, they all literally jumped up and down with excitement. Honestly, they don't make tents nearly enough. I think I am afraid of the mess, so I don't suggest it. Boo on me.
Before I present to you their very useful "11-STEP GUIDE TO BUILDING THE PERFECT FORT", let me be sure to claim from the fort-top that this post is sponsored by Pop Secret.
Talk about Pop Secret.
Talk about Pop Secret.
Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop Secret.
Shoobie, doobie, do wop.
Let's microwave this.
Pop, pop, shoo wop.
Here, I'll share it.
Everybody talkin' 'bout...Pop Secret.
You had the tune of Pop Muzick in your head while reading through that, right? If you don't know the tune that was most pop-pop-pop-popular in 1979, you can find it here. Maybe if that song wasn't so old, Pop Secret would make it into a jingle. Pop Secret, call me if you do. I am really good at that "pop pop pop pop" part.
The last time I wrote about popcorn on this blog was when I wrote the post, "Should My Mother-In-Law Go To Jail?" She loooooves movie theater popcorn and will go to great lengths to get it. If you like crime shows, you might want to check that post out a little later. Luckily for her, Pop Secret's MOVIE THEATER BUTTER popcorn is able to be made in seconds, doesn't cost a year's salary and can be obtained without standing in line for half the day.
That is the kind of popcorn I made for the boys as they set out on their fort-making journey. They were going to need sustenance that could be eaten quickly and easily to help get them through the hard labor of finding the right blankets and setting the chairs at the perfect angle.
And, now for that 11-step guide to building the perfect fort (according to boys ages 6, 7, 10 and 11):
#1 Go get all the blankets that you own. All of them. Even your mother's comforter, unless she sees you first and says something like, "Really? I think you have enough blankets already. You're good on the blankets."
#2 Go ask the smallest member of the group if he can please find more blankets. If he squawks, sigh heavily and resign yourself to having to make due with the 126 blankets you managed to round up from every corner of the house.
#3 Take every couch or chair cushion off to reveal crumbs from 1998, a handful of change and a couple of Nerf bullets. Keep the Nerf bullets. These are a necessity for fort-life. And you are going to need those cushions to make walls and doors.
#4 Drag every chair in the house into your fort-making area. Lift the chairs high above your head as you pass them to each other. Make roaring noises to accompany your amazing physical feat.
#5 Try not to hit anyone in the head with the chair. They'll cry and then tell your mom, which will pretty much ruin everything.
#6 Drape blankets from chair to cushion to cushion to chair to ottoman to table to chair. If you want to use a lamp to anchor the blanket, be prepared for it to start slipping and for your mom to contort her face in a really weird way.
#7 Turn out the lights. Oh, hold on. The blanket fell. Turn the lights back on. Fix that blanket. Oops. When you fixed that blanket, it messed up this blanket. Fix both blankets. Well, now you knocked over the cushion wall. Okay, fix that. Steady. Steady. Steady. Turn the lights back out.
#8 Get inside your fort. Your awesome, fun, cool, private fort.
#9 Turn on your flashlight. Well, after you ask mom where the flashlights are and if she has any batteries. (Moms really come in handy sometimes.)
#10 Tell scary stories that aren't really that scary because you are making it all up and can't help but laugh as you point the flashlight upwards under your face.
#11 *EAT A TON OF POP SECRET.
*When the bowl is empty, ask your mom to make more.
**When the Movie Theater flavor runs out, ask her to make the caramel kind.
Pop Secret is your perfect snack companion on trips into the uncharted reaches of your imagination. Pop Secret knows that fun, like popcorn, is better when it’s shared. Right now, you can hop over to their Facebook page by clicking HERE and submit your pillow fort stories and/or pictures. It is REALLY cute to see all of the forts that kids have created! You can upload the pictures right to the Pop Secret timeline and tag them #PopSecretForts. While you are on their Facebook page, you can also download a $1 off coupon, which is a pretty good chunk of money when the popcorn is reasonably priced already. If you share your fort pictures over there on Facebook, they may just share a little something back!
Like always, I love to hear from you. Do you let your kids build forts? After writing this post, I am seriously inspired to let my kids build them more! Don't you agree that popcorn (especially Pop Secret!) is a great snack to put in the middle of their blanket creation or do you prefer to put really saucy spaghetti in the middle and let them eat it with their hands? Let's talk about it over on Facebook!