Easy outdoor tent

Making your own tent in the garden on a sunny day is the perfect way to occupy bored children. There's something magical about creating your own cubby tent out of sheets and string that beats a store-bought tent every time.

What you need:

• 1 x long piece of rope (3-5m)
• 2 x double bed sheets or larger
• 4 x bricks or rocks
• 6 x clothes pegs
• 1 x picnic blanket for inside the tent

Number of players:
1

Activity:

Watch the how-to video below for the easiest instructions on how to create a homemade tent in the garden:

First, stretch your rope between two trees or poles and tie firmly. You could even use a fence post or a large hook screwed into a wall. All you need is two points about 3m apart and approximately 1.5m high where you can tie your rope. Make sure it's taut.

Peg one of your sheets to the rope, with most of its length hanging down one side and then the second sheet with most of its length hanging down the other side of the rope. These will be the sides of your tent.

Pull out the bottom edges of each sheet and weight them down with bricks or rocks.

Lay down a picnic blanket inside your tent. 

Let your children stay in there all day: serve them lunch in there, in summer, you could even serve them their dinner inside the tent!

Whatever happens, you won't see them for at least a few hours.

• Thanks to our sister company Kidspot Australia for creating the instructional video.