And now the greatest anxiety were the results. Everybody awaited them eagerly. Though we were satisfied to have participated, winning the title of the day’s event was something great. Apprehension grew and everybody was curious.
The atmosphere was quite tensed. The time had arrived and it came very much to my pleasure that the pixie whose attire I had really appreciated had bagged the first prize.
When it comes to a fancy dress competition, I feel that the only way to win it is by being innovative. But then a fancy dress is not only about a competition; It is all about having fun and bringing out the creative genius in you.
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My friends and I were looking to make a sort of secret club/friendship type thing, but we need a secret hideout. I don't want any little kid stuff like 'take a cardboard box and decorate it'. Just go to a place that people don't go to and meet there. Since you're in a town there might be a deserted place somewhere that you could use as a house for congregation. Maybe you need a secret "club" for you and your friends. Have a rather large closet! (Big enough to stand up and move around). A walk-in is best! If the closet has no light, you will need a flashlight.
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If your closet is too small, try finding a clean, giant cardboard box (Try a store that sells refrigerators and washing machines), and use that instead.
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Have it very organized. All clothes, shoes etc. should be hung up or folded on shelves.
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Make a "secret entrance" by hanging curtain-beads, a long blanket or sheet in the entrance area (this will show only when you open your closet door). Another great option is having a large piece of dark cardboard instead. When opening just slide.
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Make it comfortable, yet mysterious. Some fluffy, decor pillows do great for cushions. If your closet is big enough, add a bean bag or chair or two. Arrange it comfortably.
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Have a radio or pocket TV at all times in your hide-out.
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Have a laptop in your closet so you can "secretly" play games (And pretend like you're at work like a scientist or something...) To show how secretive you are.
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Keep a cell phone on a shelf (To look like a real phone) or walky-talky so that when your parents need to tell you "dinner is ready" they'll have to call.
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Keep it kind of spyish. Since you're into the secretive thing, put a room monitor in a different room. (Perhaps a room where your parents or another house hold member is staying) to listen in secretly to conversations.
- There comes a time in nearly every child's life when they want a clubhouse. The fact of the matter is, it's harder to build a clubhouse than you would think, especially without the proper instruction. Get long pieces of wood.
- Get a toolbox and start building a small house out of the wood. Also, get nails.
- Get a saw and cut the pieces of wood in half to make a door
- Make sure to leave space for the door.
- Buy a door nob.
- After you nail the door together, nail it to the small house (club). You will need hinges.
- Get a lot of people, set up the inside, and you are done!
You could however, make a small shack at the bottom of the tree. If it's on the bottom it would be easyier to mantain.
I used to love tunnels. Jim's older brother Evan dug a tunnel along the side of the back of their house. It started way over near the back door, wrapped around a tree (the one I ran into playing football and got the bloody nose), and eventually came out over by the fence. That was cool. It was like a secret hideout and any sort of secret hideout or underground lab really stoked the fire of my cartoon mind. I used to draw cutaway views of secret labs that I would create for a variety of superheroes that existed in my notebook. I had a whole crew put together and they had the coolest equipment. Their enemies were pretty terrifying but also a little ridiculous (just like real bad guys). And their underground hideouts were fully stocked with EVERYTHING my guys would need. EVERYTHING! I got the bright idea to build a tree house. They lived in a small house next to the dead end road that ran past our houses. There was a small shed west of their home, and a field between them and the beginning of the woods where we would be building our dream tree house. It was huge, made from wood, and built for them by their fathers. They were boastful children too, and liked nothing better than to tease us by not allowing us to come in. One day, Jake, my brother, befriended one of the children, and gained entry. He came home green with envy. "But Jo, they've got real bean-bags and a carpet and everything". When he fell out with the boys, they threw sticks, stones and mud at us in our garden, always running back to the safety of their hideout. The next day, we broke in to the den using the emergency key he'd spotted, and had a proper look around- he was right, it was beautiful. We nicked some basic goodies- chocolate and coke- and opened the windows so the rain might ruin the carpet, and left.
For weeks we pestered our father for a den. Every mealtime and every spare moment, we'd ask for something- a shed, a treehouse, anything. And then one weekend, he caved, and next thing i know, he's planned out a little hut above the oil barrel, against the neighbours wall. He built it the next day, with Jake's help. Within a weekend we got our den made! To begin with it had wooden floors and no trapdoor. There was no light and no decoration, but that was the best bit.
We painted the walls white, and filled water balloons with coloured paint, put our muckies on, and threw them at the walls. We got a huge cable roll from dad, painted it black, and made it into the Round Table. The floor was carpeted with blue, but later swapped for a thick cream carpet from cutoffs. We cut windows from the walls and hinged them, and designed and made a flag for the roof. We used an extension cable to take electricity out there, for lights and laptop. We spent hours shredding packing polystyrene to fill beanbags that we designed and made ourselves. We built a trapdoor to size, and bought a lock for it for the inside, as well as a number lock for the outside. We bought a bell, and when we won a round puzzle in a competition, we glued it to our Round Table. We quickly began to aquire more and more puzzles, which we used to decorate the ceiling. We patched up the holes that were left from building, and created a mechanism for getting the dog up into the den despite the ladder. We bought a funky bin, and some bowls and cups for coke and chocolate and icecream.
This year was a late autumn. It is January, almost February and the leaves are still falling from the trees.. Usually we have finished the raking and mulching by now, but this year it is different. With all the layers of leaves in our back yard, it reminds me of another time, when the leaved and the pine straw fell late one autumn.
And how three bored brothers, who could not unite in any games except "war", found their niche that one season, even for a short time.