Our kids love building dens.

This is one of their favourite activities on wet winter days. Isaac has one of those mid-sleeper beds which creates a natural space for fashioning a den underneath it. Many a happy afternoon has been spent arranging blankets, pillows and sofa cushions into an elaborate two-bedroom pied-à-terre for aspiring, upwardly mobile children, complete with all mod cons such as TV/video players (our iPads), Minecraft-playing devices (our iPads) and music systems (yes, you guessed it).

But get them outside with friends on a gloriously sunny day in Bracknell Forest, building a real den with real tree branches and life is just perfect.

Whils Isaac the engineer set about ensuring the structure would be fit for purpose and compliant with NHBC standards, our more creative Toby took to heart my suggestion that the outside of the den needed decorating with fairy lights, as he scampered around looking for leaves, flowers and anything else he could string together.

Simple activities, simple pleasures. Minecraft is great but there’s no substitute for letting kids run riot with their own imaginations, is there?

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