Build A Gnome Home or Fairy House This School Holidays

While cleaning out my son’s room, we found a small gnome figurine that he never plays with. We were going to chuck it in the op shop box when I remembered seeing gnome (or fairy) houses, fashioned on a tree or stump. We have a prominent stump near the house. So we decided to build one.

First we looked up gnome house on the internet. Then I sent him out to gather sticks, and we knotted some gnome-sized rope ladders – ok, I knotted the ladders. He broke piles of twigs into roughly the same length, and I tied cotton string to each end until we had two long strands of ladder.

He had fun banging nails into the stump outside to hang the ladders from. We made a little winding path from sticks and gumnuts below it, and a landing platform for Mr Gnome to climb the ladder from. The ladder was still a bit short and I had had enough of knotting sticks, so I put knots in a piece of string and we dangled that from the end of the ladder. What an adventure for Gnomey.

Then I went back inside to continue cleaning, and left my son happily housebuilding. Next thing, I looked out the window to see him industriously painting the stump and some short floorboards bright blue. These are the floorboards from the stack on the veranda, that are destined to be laid inside the house. Oops. I forgot that we unearthed his paints during his room tidy-up!

Apparently the gnome required shade structures for the rope ladders. I think I preferred the stump with its natural colours. Oh well. He was very proud of his creation, and it kept him busy all afternoon. Luckily the owner of the floorboards is not adverse to the idea of a blue streak in his floor.

I saw lots of wonderful pictures of gnome houses with wooden doors into trees, pebble paths leading up to them, miniature gardens and even little lights inside. You don’t even need a gnome; you can pretend they’re inside their house. A tree and some sticks will get you started.

Our gnome has his own tiny tree, and a rooftop to catch the sun on.

It’s a good way to keep the kids busy on the holidays, get them playing outside in nature, and creating a little magical place in the garden. Maybe I’ll sneak up there and have a little paint myself!