Today’s DIY Fun is not for the weak. Or very young. Or for the person who left a comment on this blog post who seemed appalled that I would let my kids play with a giant ice cube without outfitting them with safety goggles. That’s not how we roll around here.
Earlier this week, I decided to give the old staircase a makeover. We have been stuck indoors for a bit longer than we’d all like, and the boys were itching to blow off some steam. Which translates to: do something quickly before they actually tear the walls down.
Materials Needed
- extra large box
- scissors
- packaging tape
- copious pillows
I apologize for the poor quality of these photos- Milo accidentally flipped the switch to manual focus on the camera and I was too distracted to look at the pictures until after the whole thing was over– but you get the idea!
First, I cut the extra large box, then folded under all the flaps to create a long slide. I taped the flaps together (underneath the slide) to make it double-thick. Next, I taped the top part of the slide flush to the stairs, and pushed pillows and blankets underneath every open space so that the cardboard would not buckle when the boys slid down (if you don’t do this, they will hit the edge of each step which makes for a bumpy ride). At the bottom, I padded the landing with a toddler mattress and several more pillows and blankets.
I had Milo test it by going only halfway up, then sliding down a few times before letting Oliver try. It was super fast, but certainly safer than sliding down the stairs in a cardboard box like my brother and I used to do!
Yep, you’d better believe I tried it out (Milo took the two above pictures!).
The landing
The boys (minus Emil) played on this all afternoon, then asked me to set it up again the next morning. Great fun! They also had a blast racing matchbox cars down the ramp over and over again.
Did you ever do anything like this as a kid? Both Andrew and I had fun recounting memories of similar activities when we were little. And if you have carpeted stairs, this would be even better!
Brilliant, Lauren! Will definitely be trying this!
My kids love doing this. And I think a little bit of “danger” is really important for most of today’s super sheltered kiddos. Obviously I don’t want my kids permanently injured but I do want them to know how to handle a bump, bruise, or scratch.
I can’t believe you are letting them do this without helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads. Gawd! Hahaha…teasing of course! This looks like perfect good ol’ fashion fun! We would get into sleeping bags and sled down the stairs when we were little…this post brought back fun memories!
Awww, the giant ice cube was just how I found your blog! I thought it was the most brilliant idea! I so plan on doing that with my kids one day.
Also, who didn’t love sliding down the staircase in a sleeping bag?
Wow….you are the coolest Mom. We used to do this but we would get in a sleeping bag and slide down the steps. Can’t wait for my nephew to get bigger so we can try your way out 🙂
This looks like a crazy amount of fun! My brother and I used to slide down the stairs all the time when we were little, but my mom was always telling us to stop because the stairs were carpeted and we were pulling the carpet off. Ooooops!
I think on the next ride down you should hold a bucket of ice chips right in front of you just to be super dangerous and live on the edge. 🙂
So fun! I don’t remember doing this as a kid, but I did ride my bike down my stairs once 🙂 Sadly our stairs have a right angle that would make this tricky, but it’s fun watching you guys.
The safety concerns always make me laugh. I made W a cubby with skateboard wheels that got reposted a whole bunch of places and I seriously got dozens of emails telling me how dangerous it was. I mean I appreciate the concern but… um.
I was thinking more on this today and remembered that my brother and used to do this with foam beach mats. The mats had a vinyl bottom which made for a wicked fast ride — and padding was built right in for the landing! So much fun! And I had totally forgotten about this memory until today!
Thankyou!!! My kids (2 & 4) spent 2 hours sliding every which way on a day that delivered MORE snow to boston…so thankyou for the brilliant idea.
How fun! Boys will be boys! My boy will probably figure this one out pretty soon.
Ha! You are amazing. We never used cardboard, but there were incidents of a flimsy twin mattress flying down the stairs under the “supervision” of teenage siblings. As a teenager we had many fun times flying down carpeted stairs in sleeping bags during marching band sleepovers as well. Who knew stairs could provide such fun.
you and i have got to get together for drinks and convo. i just have a feeling we’d have a blast.
(p.s. also, yes, my brother and i would get into sleeping bags and go barreling down the stairwell into a pile of couch cushions. the best!)
p.p.s. no helmets or eye goggles involved!
We never did anything as cool as constructing an actual slide, but you’d better believe I scooted down our carpeted staircase on my butt over and over again.
Love these kinds of projects. 🙂
Love your kids’ names, too. Our newest baby was a toss-up between Milo & Emil. Milo won. Still love Emil.
The other way to do this is to get into a sleeping bag and slide down the stairs. There are a few more bumps along the way but less building involved that must be dismantled later.
great idea, will definitely try this out!
Coool! Will definitely try this fory kids if I want to get rid of one of mine without doing dirt. Hopefully the slide is fast enough to take her out and not just paralyze her
This is awesome!!! We had dry yellow grass in our hilly backyard and it was super fun to sled on giant boxes!! Your kids are going to grow up healthier than most of the cry babies out there!