While you’ve got the ladder out this Christmas, you might find some extra uses for it.  When all your guests turn up in coats, hats, scarves etc…you can use a ladder or stepladder as a makeshift coat stand.  Just make sure there’s no wet paint or grease on it first and the humble ladder instantly transforms into an elegant coat rack! A smaller step ladder can be used as a shoe rack, keeping wet shoes off the floors while using a smaller amount of space than all the shoes in a heap by the door.

Christmas Ladder Forts

Kids have always loved making dens and forts to play in, so with two small step ladders and a blanket you soon have an excellent fort for the kids.  It doesn’t take much to build them somewhere to play with presents and knowing what kids are like they’ll end up playing more with the free ladder fort than the expensive iPad! A ladder can also be used for a ladder toss game.  Stepladders with deep treads are not ideal for this, but a short straight ladder would be perfect.  You’ll need tennis balls and rope: put one ball on the end of each foot-long piece of rope until you have enough for one per child.  Lean the ladder against a wall and get the kids to throw their tennis ball ropes around the rungs.  Allocate points for each rung and their competitive nature will keep them engaged for hours. To avoid having loads of presents spilling across the floor and taking up space, consider putting presents for kids on and under a step-ladder.  You can stack the gifts without crushing anything and make it look like a huge pile of presents, which is sure to delight any small child on Christmas Day!