Crazy Forts

With the sophistication of children's toys these days, it's easy to wonder if we're taking all the imagination out of imaginative play. At first glance, we thought that the Crazy Fort might be guilty of this. (Whatever happened to chairs and bedsheets?) But when we realized that the fort's components can be used in myriad configurations, we were won over. If you know a budding young architect, this might just be the perfect gift.

You can choose to freestyle your designs, or you can go to the Crazy Forts website to download some of their design plans, which include an igloo, castle, and rocket ship. All you have to provide are the bedsheets.

Your kids may not realize that they're obtaining important lessons in the laws of physics and tensile strength as they learn to build a viable dome or tunnel, and that's okay. They can thank you after they win that MIT scholarship.

In the U.S.: $39.99 at Amazon
In Canada: $34.95 at Mastermind Toys

via Babygadget