Backyard camping is something every family should do over the holiday season. It is a great way to bond with your family, as well as, to connect. You can create memories doing backyard camping activities that will last a lifetime. Sometimes, the greatest adventure is in the comfort of your own home, or in this case, right outside your own home.
There is nothing like bonding over a campfire with your kids and spending rustic time without electronics and distractions to get in the way. From setting up the tent to ghost stories to stargazing… there is a plethora of backyard camping activities and adventures to have right outside your own back door if only you open your imagination and allow the creative juices to flow.
9 Adventurous Backyard Camping Activities
Below you will hear about the 9 greatest adventures and backyard camping activities.
Set up a tent
Do you have one of those family tents? Or one of the tents you can stand in and walk around in? Those are ideal for the whole family, but a hassle to put up if you are trying to do so alone. So, instead, get the whole family to partake. First, lay down a couple of tarps and then steak them into the ground. Once the tarp is set up, put together the tent, everyone in charge of a corner, and lastly, do not forget the rain fly! In case you’ve chosen a rainy night, or an unexpected storm hits.
If you don’t have a big family tent you could set up two, one for the parents and one for the kids. This could make the backyard camping excursion a little romantic for the parents. Depending on what it is you are looking for, you will find what suits you. If you don’t have tents and don’t want to go out and buy them (you can buy them at Walmart for under $40.00) you can also set up a tarp below and above you.
You can tie the upper tarp to the trees so that you have coverage from any mist or rain and then place yoga mats on the tarp underneath you and cover up with sleeping bags or comforters. If you want, you can also use blow-up mattresses inside the tents or directly on the tarp. I usually take a blow-up mattress when I go camping so I don’t get any back pain. Grab some comfy pillows too! Why not make your backyard camping activities more like glamping?
Lastly, if you aren’t one for tents or sleeping on the floor, you can always hang some hammocks up, if you have the right kinds of trees, and sleep in those. Just make sure you have mosquito netting over you so that you don’t get bug bites. Don’t forget bug spray for your expedition either.
Make a bonfire
Can you even call it camping if you don’t have s’mores and a bonfire to do some backyard camping activities? Collect the firewood before backyard camping, or if you live near a local or state park take a little trip with your family to collect wood. If neither of these is an option based on your location of residence you can pick up some firewood from your local grocery store.
Make sure you have plenty of wood to keep the fire going all night. Get some little sticks to roast your marshmallows on as well. Over the bonfire, you can also cook some taco meat and veggies. You can heat your tortillas and have a little outdoor feast under the stars. The bonfire will keep you warm if you live in a chilly climate and it has a way of bringing you together in a cuddly and soothing mood.
Stargazing
You could plan your backyard camping activities and staycation during an astrological event. Whether it’s during a lunar eclipse, meteor shower, or even a new moon (when the stars are most visible and the night is the darkest), any of these components will make for an extremely enticing night in the backyard. Count shooting stars with each other under the night sky. You can lay on a tarp with yoga mats placed on top or a big gym mat and then cover yourselves with blankets or sleeping bags.
You can also make this a learning opportunity and show them venus, or mars, or both. Whichever planets are visible in the sky and teach them what is closest to the moon, and how the moon works with the tides and our emotions, as we are made up of mostly water. If you have a telescope, bring it out in the backyard and set it up for an unforgettable night with the stars.
If you want to be super cute, make your kids a little certificate naming a star after them. This will make them feel like a true star (get it?)! With technology overtaking the world it is very rare to get this outdoorsy time and appreciate it, so make sure to leave the electronics in the house and make the most of nature and life.
Have a projector for movies
One of the nights you may want to watch an old film or a scary movie. If you have a projector this is very simple, as all you need to do is grab a white sheet or a piece of plywood and paint it white and then project it onto the screen. You can talk about your favorite characters, the theme, the plot twists, and all the details after the movie.
Backyard camping activities are a great way to bond. You can even cook popcorn over your old-fashioned stovetop (the bonfire)! If you’re only camping in the backyard one night, I wouldn’t recommend spending the only night watching a movie. However, if you’re out there a few nights, it is definitely a fun and entertaining option.
Set up an inflatable pool
If you live in a warm climate where the nights are just as warm as the days, setting up a kiddy pool/inflatable pool will be adding a whole new dimension to your backyard camping excursion. If you don’t have access to a kiddy pool you could also have a water balloon fight or a water gunfight.
Parents vs. kids. Doing backyard camping activities is a good way to have your kids bond with each other if they often argue or get annoyed with one another. Laying in the pool underneath the stars is also very romantic for the parents once the kids are asleep.
Tell old camp stories or scary stories
Parent and child bonding is so much easier when there’s an event or some sort of gathering. Backyard camping activities are perfect to share stories of your youth and all the times you went camping and did goofy and silly things with your friends.
Kids tend to think adults have always been adults. Relate to them. Connect to them. Remind them that you too have had your fair share of experiences and are there to listen to all of their fun and silly stories too. You can also sit around the bonfire and make up scary stories or knock-knock jokes if you want to keep the mood more lighthearted and ensure that there won’t be any nightmares.
Scavenger hunt
A backyard scavenger hunt. It’s like Easter egg hunting all over again. Put on your thinking caps and hide little clues around the backyard that lead to other clues.
Whoever finds the grand prize first with all the clues can win something simple like going out to their favorite restaurant once the camping adventure ends, or if you choose to watch a movie while camping he or she can choose the movie. If you have a little backyard, you can always play games like Uno or war instead of doing a scavenger hunt or tag.
Put up torches and lanterns
Make your backyard camping activities fun and cute. Everything is more fun when it’s pretty when you want to be there. Place torches around the entire area, or on the corners of the yard. Carry around lanterns instead of flashlights. Maybe even do a little lantern festival.
Write someone you love a little note and watch it float into the sky. You can place torches around your tent, as well, so you don’t fall trying to get into bed at night. Paint or design your own torches before camping and watch your art become useful.
Collect fireflies or lightning bugs
Grab a Mason jar or an old cleaned-out salsa jar and make sure you poke little holes in the lid so the bugs can breathe when you catch them and place them inside the jar. Running around catching fireflies is a blast, and watching them consume a small jar and light up an entire area is gorgeous. The sparkles and flickers in the night make it look like a constellation is right in front of you. Once you have filled the jar let them go back into the wild, and either repeat or move onto storytime.
There are so many fun things and backyard camping activities you can do in your own backyard. From making the cutest scene to cuddling by the fire your family is bound to connect deeply and fully. Backyard camping activities, like indoor camping activities, are wonderful things to do that won’t cost your wallet or your health during these tumultuous times.
The greatest adventures to have are not where you go, but who you are with and there’s nobody more valuable than your family. Take a few nights away for a digital detox. Stop watching the news, social media, and being stuck inside. Follow these backyard camping activities. Go outside, explore the sky, come back to your center, and breathe in the beauty of nature right outside your back door.
