This blog post is about the experience my son and I had, building a den for the first time outside.

The none outdoorsy, outdoor Mum

I am a full-time mum to Harrison, my six-year-old son.

He's a whirlwind of chaos, messiness and pure love.

We live with my mum, which I get judged for.

I pay a fraction for bills, compared to owning my own place though.

So who's the real winner?

Single mum life:

I support my son fully on my own so.

As a single parent, I'm a real tight arse when it comes to spending money.

Buy a Freddo is really pushes the boat, did you know their 30p each now!

I like to find fun things to do that are as cheap as possible.

The Task

At the beginning of the year, Rich set us a task.

To expand our knowledge of shelter building.

We each got a Den Kit to take home to try and build a den on our own.

I was dreading it.

Out of my comfort zone

I bit the bullet and one afternoon Harrison and I took the Den Kit into the garden.

I made sure I was wrapped up warm as it was winter and I am not an outdoorsy person in the best of weather conditions.

I did not have a clue what the hell I was doing, but I did know what everything in the kit was used for.

I explained, to a very excited Harrison, what each item was and what we would use them for.

OVER EXCITED CHILD ALERT!

Honestly, it's the small things.

Having fun

To save the paracord I decided to use the washing line as a ridge, center, line.

Harrison helped throw the tarp over the washing line.

It took longer than it should of as he got tangled up in the tarp.

I made it a lot worse by attacking him with cuddles while he was stuck. 

Once the tarp was in place we proceeded to cut the Paracord into smaller pieces.

I let Harrison do it as he is aware of scissor safety, so no panic attacks here!

We pulled each corner of the tarp and tied them off to four pegs, Harrison insisted he was strong enough to push the pegs into the ground.

He was, it's amazing how determined a child can be when they are having fun.

The den was finished.

Harrison was so pleased with what he had achieved.

All he wanted to do was play under his den, so he got his neighboring friends to come and play with him. 

Obviously, he showed off as he was so happy and excited.

The kids played for a good couple of hours running in and out of the den.

What did we make?

I later discovered that we had made an A-frame den, although there are many different ways, styles, shapes that you could use to make a den.

A lot of them relatively easy too.

But using your imagination is a lot more fun.

What's next?

You know, I've never been one to do things outdoorsy.

I am a home comforts kind of girl, but Harrison absolutely loves being outdoors, building things and playing in the mud. 

Summer is approaching and these den kits can be used for all types of things. 

Edit: Shade for instance. Remember that heat wave we had?

It's definitely something that Harrison and I will be using over the summer holidays.

We had so much fun putting it up and he had so much fun playing in it, it is also a free activity, once you've bought a Den Kit, which obviously makes me very happy.

You don't need to spend money, plan fancy days out or do anything massive to make awesome childhood memories with your children.

Surely that's all that matters?