One of the great things about wooden swing sets is the ability to add accessories and turn it into something even more special than a swing set. What child wouldn’t love to have a swing set that with a little imagination becomes a pirate ship or an enchanted castle?

Depending on the style you choose, and there are literally hundreds available to choose from, your child’s swing set can have an extension like a captain’s bridge on a pirate ship, or a space ship, depending on what he’s into. Add a ship’s wheel and he’s suddenly sailing, sailing, over the bounding main. Skull and crossbones flags, an eye patch, and he can become the captain of his ‘pirate ship’.

Some wooden swing sets are built with towers; others can have towers added on, with turreted roofs, just like a real castle. They come with grand archways and some even have a troll bridge. All that’s needed is your little ‘princess’ to bring this fairytale castle to life.

Some play sets are even more detailed, and are shaped like a rocket ship or a train. Even if you don’t buy one premade, a good substitution could be crafted on a weekend with some plywood, paint, and a little imagination on your part.

A wooden swing set with the right accessories and ‘dressing up’ a bit can become a fortress or a clubhouse, a jungle hut or even a submarine. With so many accessories to choose from, you can suggest a circus tent, complete with striped canopies and trapeze rings and bars, and suddenly you're ‘under the Big Top’.

With ‘rock’ climbing walls, zip lines and ladders, you may look outside and see Indiana Jones on a treasure quest, or firemen sliding down the pole on their way to a five-alarm fire. Children have astounding imaginations, and given just the least little bit of encouragement, there’s no end to the scenarios they can come up with.

What looks like a basic wooden swing set to you is really a big game hunter’s lodge, and with giant binoculars, they’re sure to spot a scary beast. Or maybe it’s an air traffic controller’s tower and they’re keeping the skies safe.

From one day to the next, it could become a fort in the Wild West, complete with cowboys and cowgirls. Or it might be a schoolhouse, where lessons are taught and recessed is played. And then of course there will be those times when it’s just kids, playing together, laughing, and having a good time.

The whole point is, a wooden swing set can become just about anything your child wants it to be. You can help by adding a few accessories that help it seem even more real. Flags, signs, fabric scraps, a ‘treasure chest’, all can be provided at very little additional cost. Children’s imagination will take over the rest.

Don’t forget to grab the video camera and capture your little pirate as he sets sail or your little princess in her fairytale castle. You'll have video memories that will last a lifetime.