AT friend Mommy Poppins asks: My son really wants a dragon bed. I couldn't find anything
like that anywhere. Anybody have any creative ideas of how I could
make a dragon bed that would impress a 5 year old?
Well, we couldn't find anyone that makes a dragon bed, either. But we have a few ideas. We would be tempted to build a loose frame around a twin bed and paint it to look like a Dragonboat, or to find a dragonboat maker and ask for the front half of a boat, to get a ferocious dragon head to attach at the footboard. But that is pretty complicated.
For the illusion that being in bed is like riding a dragon, an easier solution might be to mount the head of a Chinese Dragon Kite on a post attached to the middle of the footboard of the bed, so that the head is a little taller than a child, and attaching the kite tail so that it runs down the side of the bed to loop around the headboard. Red sheets and a comforter (or green, depending on your breed of dragon) complete the 'dragon'. If it was us, we might also buy some really cheap throw pillows and a couple of yards of felt, cut the felt into 'dragon scales', hotglue the scales onto the pillows, and then scatter them around the end of the bed, for authenticity.
AT readers, you are all so creative. How would you make a dragon bed for an imaginative 5 year old?
Photo Credit: The Zeekoeimanzi Dragonboat Racing Club.
Is the child thinking of an Asian dragon, a European dragon, or an Anne McCaffrey-style dragon?
If Asian, there remains the question of whether the dragon is Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, which potentially affects its number of toes.
Get the child busy enough analyzing drawings of dragons, and you may be able to postpone the bed issue until he's old enough to participate in building it.
view wende in the twin cities's profile
Oh, the idea of a dragon boat maker making the bed really appeals to me... I just googled it, and it seems that it is a dying art. Think of the story-value of something like having something like that made and in the family...it is a generational sort of gift. "The last Taiwanese dragon boat maker made me this bed son, when I was your age, and now it is yours to dream in..."
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/06/19/2003366001
And as nutty as this sounds, I've just done something similar. Way back, I asked if anyone on AT could help me find a carved Indian bed for my 3 year old daughter...well, my hand carved bed came from India last month (yes, yes, when we get a mattress to fit and finish the room, we will wend in the pictures).
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-where-can-i-find-these-beds-012359
So, at least I take my own nutty advice.
view mschatelaine's profile
Well, this is not the most exciting solution, but Garnet Hill DOES sell wizard and dragon sheets ...
JB
view Jordanna's profile
Thanks for all the comments. Kristin, I love the idea of a dragon boat bed. If his room was big enough to accommodate such a thing I might actually contemplate it. The dragon kite idea is also great. I will have to walk up to Chinatown and see what kinds of props they have. Wende, I like your style. And, Jordanna, I wouldn't be surprised at all if what he imagines when he says dragon bed is just dragon sheets. I will defnitely go check those sheets out. Thank you all.
view mommypoppins's profile
A friend made a dragon out of bubble wrap sprayed green that was part of parades for a few years. You could mold the shape with chicken wire and use paper mache. How permanant do you want it to be? Just making a kind of costume for his bed would thrill and entertain him. Colorful felt would be a good option, or that stretcthy fleece, filled with fiberfill for shaping and pillowlike snuggliness.
view Kate (NC)'s profile