Kids Fort Ideas That Don't Need an Engineering Degree

Jaclyn Keifer:  Our family hesitated on the Nugget for nearly a year but we finally took the plunge and it’s been used daily for three weeks. Not sure if the nugget is right for you? Google ‘nugget builds’ and see what others have created with this thing! It’s a blast for the kids and parents. My son LOVES when I surprise him with a new creation and I love seeing his creative mind at work as he tries his own ideas. Highly recommend for a wide age variety- even our 14 YO will sneak in and play with it!

Shila:  Hopefully your formal dining room isn't so formal that it wouldn't allow a large bedsheet to be thrown over its top, because this is one of the easiest kids fort ideas to try! In fact, throw on a few sheets to entirely cover its sides, too. Kids love a secret hideaway.

Amy S.:  These are the ultimate tools for fort building, as the sturdy clips easily fasten blankets onto furniture. My toddlers have found myriad other imaginative ways to play with them, including using them as “grabbers,” crab claws, and pretend wrenches. They’re great for improving hand strength as well!

Shila:  We saved a few extra large wardrobe boxes for the kids to play in as tunnels. Just connect them with tape! Like little hamsters, they can enjoy crawling through their burrows.

Shila:  Using nothing except a standard box fan, this kids fort inflates to about 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide in diameter in less than one minute!

Don't worry, while inside the fort, the box fan is not accessible by little fingers - and it's gated off by a tight mesh that eliminates the fan breeze.

It's a nice little privacy tent for kids of all ages, and it comes in a variety of designs! The fort is lightweight and stores away simple, too.

Kelly R:  Drape sheets along the upper perimeter of a bottom bunk to completely enclose it and make a cool fort space which is also really comfortable and perfect for lounging! Some awesome kids bunk beds even come with fabric panels built in!

Shila:  These type of outdoor/indoor kids fort building kits come with a handful of rods and connector balls. From rocket ships to castles, kids can easily construct their own fort design based on whatever they are imagining that day! You can also slap a bedsheet over the frame to cover and complete it as a secret hideaway.

Shila:  This simple yet versatile tent can be used as an imaginative play fort or a quiet book nook in the corner of your child's bedroom. Add LED fairy lights to enhance its magic! This brand touts a 4.5 foot interior, which I think is great for kids of all fast-growing sizes.

Shila:  These durable blaster boards are made of sturdy plastic designed to withstand the impact of Nerf shots, snowball fights, and even squirt guns. Snap the handheld panels together to engineer your own fort, fence, or all around backyard bunker!

Parents, just pay attention to how many pieces you need to purchase to fulfill your fort building needs because each panel can be rather small. You may need multiple orders.

Shila:  While bedsheets are often used for the roof of an indoor fort, even they can become heavy and start to sink down the center. This fort kit comes with extremely lightweight sheets and a set of "sand bags" to help anchor the weight at each ends of the blankets.

Each blanket can also connect with another to increase the fort's overall roof size. There are multiple ways to design this, and your kids will be capable of doing it themselves! All pieces pack back up nicely in easy-to-store, portable tote.

Shila:  From castles to cottages, Easy Playhouse features a few different cardboard-box homes that are geared for kids to not only play inside, but decorate too! You can paint, draw, add stickers - anything!

These pre-built designs even come with open-and-shut door and window cut outs, which I think are so cute.

Shila:  Building a fort indoors or outdoors can be pulled together with the use of this kit which includes a few dozen cardboard panels and Velcro straps. Loop the straps through the holes of the cardboard panel to create your own designs and even form tunnels. Kids can be as innovative as they'd like!

Shila:  Arrange 4-6 tall dining room chairs in a circle with the seats facing out. Throw bedsheets over the top and anchor them onto the seats using several heavy books.

My kids build forts all the time using this super simple method. The only downside is eventually wanting your kitchen chairs back!