Nothing can beat a backyard camping in summer with your family.Fresh air, clear sky, fun games and brilliant food; all these are the perfect elements for an exciting family summer camping. In this blog post, an effort has been made to point out in a nut shell every detail about family summer camping in your backyard.
If you have a tent or not
Well the very basic stuff you need for camping is the tent. You can buy them online or from any camping outlets that sell big sized tents. The tents come is every size, shape and color. Choose one as per your family requirements and comfort. Certain DIY tent making ideas are also there on the internet to help you make one.
Make the tent as comfortable as possible. Bring in cushions, bean bags, mats and pillows from your home. Now who doesn’t like a cozy summer tent, right?
Make sure the land on which you are setting up the tent is flat and undulating. After all you are going to spend the entire day there! Nevertheless, you can also spend the night in the tent. In that case, bring in a good table lamp, string lights or a hanging lamp from your home. Those will render a soft glow to your camp thus making your camping nights warm and relaxing.
Spread out a few giant color popping umbrellas
Indeed your backyard has all the tree shades from your’s and your neighbor’s but spreading out one or two big vibrant umbrellas is surely going to plunge in more excitement to your camping. Share meals, play cards or simply lie down to listen to your favourite tune; umbrellas are definitely gonna win the camping day.
Set up a fire pit or a charcoal grill
Small munch ins and big breaks are the best part of outdoor camping. Roast some delicious hot dogs, toast marshmallows, cook vegetables in a foil or make some delicious pie on the coals. If you don’t have a fire pit, try setting a small charcoal grill.
Hang some chalkboards or posters
Make your camping more exciting and fun by hanging some chalkboards or posters with the trees. Scribble anything on them like the day’s menu, an upcoming camp game or just ask the kids to draw anything of their choice. Do make sure you do not nail the poster on the trees. Instead tie them around a thin rope with the branch.
Make learning fun
Help your children mark the flowers, trees and birds in the garden. This is an added benefits of backyard camping which helps your kids to learn from the nature. It will also give a first hand experience to the toddles with less chances of forgetting.
Add a camping bath tub
Now this is a real fun. Stock tank pools are the perfect bath tubs for your backyard camping this summer. Not only kids but also the grown ups will enjoy the fun experience.
Bring in more glasses of cocktails
Soothing drinks are the inevitable part of summer camping. It us also needed to keep oneself energetic and hydrated. Go for some easy home made coolers and drinks made with ginger, lemon, curd and mint. You can also opt for seasonal fruit juices like watermelon, mango, grapes and pomegranate.
Make sure to pack some bug repellants
Bug repellant creams and sprays are the must have while on your backyard camping. If you don’t have one make your own bug repellent lotion following some quick DIY ideas. But please don’t carry the ordinary mosquito coils.
Make some DIY lights and candles
Let your family night camping be more magical with some cool DIY lights and candles. You can also opt for making scented candles for a fresh smell around the camp. Place your cool DIY lights in the tent and see the magic yourself!
What to do on camping?
This is the most common question on family camping especially when you have kids. Backyard camping without plenty of activities will no doubt make the camping boring and interesting. Here are few to do things at your backyard camping:
- Play some games
Games like badminton, frisbee, ring toss, squirrel tag, hop and crawl, bucket brigade and catch the bunny are some wonderful camping games for children of all ages. You can even gather some pebbles and mark them to play tic TAC toe.
- Plan an outdoor movie
If you have a projector in your home, bring it out in the backyard. Hang a clean sheet of robe from the biggest branch if a tree and you are ready for an outdoor movie!
- Cook, grill, toast or squash
S’mores, coolers, sandwiches and wraps are a few of the easy camping quick food platters that you can enjoy at the backyard camps. Just bring in the necessary ingredients from your home and leave the rest of the preparation for the camp ground.Engage each person of your family in the food making and the repeated question of ‘what to do’ will just melt away.
- Hold star gazing sessions
Summer means clear sky and a clear sky is always the best for star gazing. Carry along a star identifying map with you and you are all set to mark the galaxies from your tent.
Set up a campfire
A family camping without a campfire is half done. Set up one and gather around it to tell some spooky stories or sing together your favorite childhood track.
Young or old; no cheating
Avoid visiting the house for every trifle thing; phone, WiFi, water taps or whatever. Make a rule that one can only visit the house to use the toilet. Make sure you pack all your camping stuff beforehand; drinks, bottles, rugs, pillows, sheets, lights etc. You can also make your own camping list to help you with packing.
With the summer sun on fire, you cannot hit the roads for long. The situation becomes more critical with kids on board.Family camping is one of the best ways to connect and strengthen bond among the family members. It is a great pastime of all seasons that everyone enjoys. Besides, you can pamper yourself with a budgeted family outing that is not too far away from your home.