The current pandemic means that, for a lot of us, big vacations and camping trips just won’t be happening this summer. That doesn’t mean you can’t find creative ways to enjoy your summer while also staying safe. Take advantage of the last few months of summer by bringing the summer vacation to your backyard.
If you’re a fan of the outdoors and have been itching to embark on your latest camping adventure, we’ve got a solution. With these tips and tricks, you can create a backyard camping experience that your entire family will enjoy.
Picture this. Embers crackling in the night, the sound of campfire songs and ghost stories, and the taste of gooey smores. These are all quintessential camping traditions that you can recreate in your very own backyard. Using your firepit means you don’t have to risk ruining your patio or lawn when trying to build a campfire. You can experience all your favourite parts of camping with little to no hassle with either an above-ground pit or a dug-out pit.
Once you’ve made sure your sleeping bags or tents are a safe distance away from the fire, you can huddle around and roast all the marshmallows you want well into the wee hours of the night.
No camping experience is complete without a tasty barbecue. One perk of camping out in your backyard is that you don’t have to spend hours prepping and packing your cooking equipment and ingredients. Typical camping foods like burgers, corn on the cob and potatoes can all be made on the BBQs and grills we have available! Doing this at home will also reduce your clean up time. And even better, the only wild animals you’ll have to worry about will be your family members as they try to get to your food!
While it may be tempting to dig out your old tent, you don’t need to go through all that hassle when you camp in your backyard. Camping at home means you can stay safe even if you’re only using your sleeping bag. You can even ditch the sleeping bag and use your patio furniture as a bedding option. Just make sure to keep yourself protected from all the pesky bugs! If you need tips on how to do that, we wrote a post on how to make your backyard a bug-free zone.
One of the advantages of having your own private campsite in your backyard is that you can play fun games without worrying about disrupting nearby campers. Use this opportunity to plan the most elaborate scavenger hunt you can come up with, with quirky prizes. With your family restricted to searching around your house, you can encourage as much exploration as they want with the comfort of knowing that you’re all safe at home.
While camping in your backyard means you can still get wifi, we recommend enforcing a no-phone policy so that it feels like you’re really on vacation. Setting up your TV on your lawn won’t exactly make you feel as though you’re far from home.
For an authentic camping experience, try to spend the evening without the comforts you’re used to.
Switch off unnecessary lights around your house and challenge yourself not to use the internet while you look at the stars. The great thing about setting this up in your home is that if you absolutely need to order a pizza or have a bathroom break, you can just take a time-out and go back inside for a few minutes.
Camping in your backyard can be a great experience even if you can’t make the trip to a camping ground. These are just a handful of tips you can adopt to make your ‘trip’ as authentic as possible.
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