DIY TENTS

Now that we are into February, I have begun planning Henry's 4th birthday party. I love a party and dreaming up ideas is my favorite part of the process. When I asked H what he wanted for his bithday theme he was very clear in asking for an elephant party. Now, you remember last year's party when we created fun sock horses and popped up Ikea tents for his fiesta. This year, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. They involve homemade elephant masks and ears, along with a few tents for our friendly animals. 

The kiddos will be transformed into elephants, and lucky for us our friend Jackie is going to tell our guests a fabulous story then turn each child into elephants. Sounds like fun right?! So, while most people were making nachos and fabulous snacks before the Super Bowl, Jeremy and I were busy bees building little casas for Henry's party. 

Now, the challenge over the weekend was to find my materials. I went to my favorite fabric store in the city, Mood, but sadly it was closed. What to do? I decided to go through my closets and piles of "someday" fabrics, and pull something together. I love a project that involves repurposing materials in your home. It  just feels right. In the end I did not buy any new fabric and only purchased wood from Home Depot. 

For each tent I spent just $14.00 in materials. Before I decided to make my own I looked at several sites and found the cost of similar tents well over a $100, which was more then I was interested in spending. 

Just a note, you can choose to use fewer wood pieces, but I wanted to make sure my fabric was taut and our tents were stable. When you have a dozen four year olds playing in tents you want to make sure they are sturdy. I promise you, this project was so simple, complete in an afternoon, and Henry is already enjoying his birthday present. 

The best part is, you can fold the tents and tuck them under a full sized bed, so if you think you don't have space for such a thing like most New Yorkers, you can easily tuck the tent away whenever you like. 

Come back Wednesday for our tent reveal.

Happy Monday!!!

MEL