Cartoon of the den building kids building a den from cardboard boxes

How to build a den

Top Den Building Tips...

1. Find your spot. Where could you build a den? If you're at home - on the lounge floor, under the stairs, in the garden… or you could go down to the woods, in the park, on the beach, on the moor…the possibilities are endless

2. Be prepared! There’s no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing

3. Get some stuff together - old cushions, blankets, curtains, pegs, sticks, plastic sheets, rope, string…

Cartoon of one of the den building kids 4. Learn some useful skills like tying knots (come to Eden and our Den team will show you how)

5. Build a prototype – a mini den for Barbie and Ken for example

6. Enlist your mates and family. Working together is fun and the more people involved the more ideas you’ll have

7. Decorate your den – flags and bunting, rugs, cushions, welcome (or "no entry!") signs

8. Make a celebration feast and have an opening party

Don't forget...

Respect the environment you're building in
Tidy up after yourself - especially if you have used man made materials in a natural place
Look after living trees and plants
Only use branches that have already fallen off. If you are using leaves or flowers, only take a few from each plant
Check who owns the land or space you are about to build on - you don’t want to be chased off half way though!

Other important stuff...

Be Safe
Please be really careful, have a think about the things listed below every time you start a new den.

a) Choosing where to build your den
There isn’t a ‘right’ place to build a den but there are a few wrong places. Is anything going to fall on you, flood you or trample you? Are you on the edge of something steep, wet or slippery? Could you fall off or down cliffs, shafts or mines? Have a good look around and use your head. Cartoon of one of the den building kids

b) Tell a grown-up where you are and what time you'll be back
We aren’t saying that an adult should be with you all the time but a grown-up should know exactly where you are and when you plan to be back.

c) When building your den...
Don’t make it so heavy that it is going to do you some damage if it falls on you. If you are going to dig into the ground don’t go very deep – you don’t want it to collapse on top of you.

d) What equipment to not use...
Avoid glass - it breaks a lot. Steer clear of big, heavy bits of wood, or anything else big and heavy for that matter. Don’t use tins of paint or chemicals. Barbed wire isn’t much fun either.

Den stuff…what do you need!

Really, you don’t need much more than a table and a sheet to make a great den but here are a few things we thought you might like to get your hands on...

Bamboo canes
They're light, strong and fairly cheap.
Did you know that weight for weight bamboo is stronger than steel and it can grow 2ft a day?

Poles
if you can’t get bamboo you are going to need something else, willow for instance is bendy, strong and it grows quickly. Or you could use a broomstick. It’s a bad idea to start pulling branches off trees, but if you are in a woodland, you will find branches lying on the ground already.

String
No prizes for guessing why!

Inner tubes...
Cut into strips 2.5 cm wide and 30 cm long (ish) they are great for tying things together and recycling is always great.

Ribbons and flags...
... or other bright material is always good to turn a den into a palace - old curtains and sheets, sari fabric are other things you can use.

Bendy sticks or plastic bendy pipes...
... mean that you can make all sorts of interesting shapes.

A Plastic sheet
Essential if you want to use your den in the rain, you can use bracken or leaves but only if there are lots lying around. It’s also good to have something waterproof to sit on.

Off you go and build your den!