Well, I am definitely not the only one who wants to encourage and inspire our little explorers to go on big adventures and make memories that will last a life time… Cow & Gate Growing Up Milk have created their Extraordinary Moments campaign which is there to help inspire us as parents to go on these adventures with our little ones and to not only make memories but make “Extraordinary Moments” with them. However, they have also taken the campaign to a whole other level by creating online digital storybooks where parents can upload a picture of their child going on one of these amazing adventures, e.g. “Mission to the Moon,” so that when it comes to story time we can relive our adventures over and over again (I’m not sure who will enjoy this more, me or Alyssa!!) 
We decided that we definitely could not miss out on the opportunity to create some great memories together and with how busy I can often be, it is nice to switch off and just be mummy for a while. So, what adventure did we decide to go on? Well, a very cute and funny thing about Alyssa is that she loves to whisper and be quiet and go creeping up on places (and then obviously breaks down into fits of giggles at the worst possible moments and thus eliminating the element of s
urprise) so I thought that we should definitely create our own Secret Den. With suggestions from the Extraordinary Moments site, I grabbed a blanket, decided to use chairs rather than my head as the tent pole, and made us our very own Secret Den!
From the moment she walked into the room after her nap she was curious and intrigued and went running over, whipped back the sides and climbed on in. Inside 
I had put some of her favourite little cooking bits so that we could “play house” and I also popped in a couple of cuddly toys and some books so that we could read a story together…. brilliant! I even got my own mum to pass us through some sandwiches so that we could eat inside our Secret Den and we spent a very happy afternoon playing together.
Once Alyssa was asleep in bed that night, I uploaded a picture of her onto the Extraordinary Moments site and added my email address so that the next night, when it was “quiet time”, we were able to sit and re-live our Secret Den adventure again and again – I think this is fast becoming our favourite story to share.
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16 Comments
That sounds like such a lovely activity. I’m always amazed at the stories that Amelia creates in her mind, and watching her imagination flourish makes me feel better about the 10 minute meltdown when I remove the kindle! Sometimes I feel bad for limiting it to very short periods, but I know if I didn’t she’d be on it all day every day!! #ablogginggoodtime
Oooh this sounds like a lovely idea, and secret dens are always popular in our house too! #ablogginggoodtime
We love blanket forts! They’re brilliant fun 🙂 Glad to see someone else enjoying them too.
Good idea! I love when the kids use their imagination. Forts are always fun at our house too!
#ablogginggoodtime
My four are always building forts and dens with the sofa cushions and some blankets. The youngest, now 3.5, also talks to himself, and other imaginary characters. It’s wonderful to watch! x
#ablogginggoodtime
Such a great idea. I love playing with Peachy. She is just staring to want to involve me in her play. Although most of the time she is just handing me things snd then getting mad when I can’t hold a book, stuffed giraffe, plastic pot, toy train, and about a dozen balls in one hand. #ablogginggoodtime
There’s nothing quite like a good den. Hours of entertainment! #ablogginggoodtime
What a lovely idea! I have always been a bit rubbish at playing…I don’t know why, I just struggle remembering what it was like to be a child I think. I do love it when I watch my two really playing though, it’s so heartwarming to see.
Oops forgot #ablogginggoodtime
What a beautiful idea! #ablogginggoodtime
You just cannot go wrong with a good den! Picnic blankets and clothes airers take on a new life…I like to think that we are encouraging those inanimate objects to have a life of their own too, away from the boring job of hanging up wet and damp clothes to becoming part of something magical for our little ones! ….And us!!
#ablogginggoodtime
Its amazing, isn’t it? I remember one long car ride when my then 3 year old spent the whole time amusing herself by having her shoelaces talk to each other! #blogginggoodtime
awww this is such a lovely idea, i love personalised books and cannot wait til Ben gets a little bit bigger to enjoy them! #ablogginggoodtime
I so love this age when their imaginations are just overflowing and there is never enough time in the day it seems. Love this Extraordinary Moments campaign. What a great idea to be able to relive a fun day over and over again. I would love to do that for myself! #ablogginggoodtime
Ah I used to love building tents and forts with my cousins when I was little, they’re some of my favourite memories too! What a fab idea this is and so nice to read about your imaginative play xx #ablogginggoodtime
Sounds like fun. I love watching Little Bear come up with new games, all the things going on in his head. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand quite where his imagination is taking him though! #ablogginggoodtime