Keeping the little ones entertained over the summer holidays can be a task in itself, but you don’t need to travel too far to have a fun, nature filled holiday experience.
Camping holidays get the thumbs up from us when it comes to educational trips, that allow the family to unplug and unwind. Whether you’re looking to pack up for a week on the coast or making a night in your back garden a budget-friendly break, we have all the activities and creative ideas you’ll need to make sleeping under the stars memorable.
Camping ideas
- If you’re near water like the sea or a large lake, try learning to skim stones. It’s all about finding the perfect flat stone and flicking the wrist for a good spin!
- Keep cool with a water fight, just be careful of other campers and their tents.
- Frisbee is a classic and a space-saving toy for packing.
- If you’re camping in your garden or pitching up on a campsite, there’ll be different birds to see. Make a journal of the birds you spot, or create a game of bird bingo – whoever spots all the common birds on your sheet is the winner!
- Geocaching is great fun, simply follow the clues to find the hidden treasures. Visit geoaching.com for more details.
- Nature treasure hunt. Simply create a list of the natural objects you’ll find in the area you’re camping in such as pine cones, pebbles, branches, etc and let the little ones scavenge. Make sure to keep an eye on them as some plants can be poisonous or cause irritation to the skin.
- Kick back on a hammock! A simple hammock can be made from an old bed sheet, just make sure to tie it tightly to a strong tree or support.
- Cloud watching is a form of pareidolia – the act of finding images in objects, just like seeing a face in the moon. It’s great fun and an easy way to get little ones to use their imaginations.
- ….And when the night rolls in, make the most of clear skies if you can and stargaze. Who knows, maybe you’ll spot a shooting star, or put your knowledge of constellations to the test.
- Bring a pack of cards. Whether it’s snap or time to teach the little ones rummy, there’s a game to keep them alert and their competitive spirit up.
- Shadow puppet theatre. Switch on the lantern hanging inside your tent and take it in turns to create shadow puppet shows for those viewing from outside.
- No camping trip is complete without the American fireside treat, S’mores. They’re made by toasting marshmallows over the fire on kebab sticks, then sandwiching between sweet crackers, wafers or chocolate digestives – yum!
- Read a good book! Most campsites will have some access to electricity but make the most of being in the wilderness (even if it’s your back garden) and the quiet.
- Make a checklist before you go. It’ll make packing easy and efficient. It’ll also come in use when it comes to packing up to go home!
- Tell spooky stories by torchlight. Hold the torch under your chin as you tell the tale, it’ll cast shadows on your face that will bring the story to life. Just make sure to make the stories suitable for the little ones whilst outdoors!
- Have a sing-song around the campfire and bring a guitar to strum, just make sure you’re out of ear-shot of other campers who might be getting a good nights’ sleep.
- Make sure to take your rubbish home with you! It’s not the most fun thing to do, but it’s important to teach little ones that plastic takes hundreds of years if not longer to decompose.
- Pack your bikes, there’s bound to be some amazing trails to cycle through.
- While you’re at it, pack a kite to make the most of the wide open skies!
- Thermos flasks are a treat for all ages, whether filled with piping hot tea straight from the stove, or for a extra special treat, pour in the hot chocolate.
- Teach your budding cartographers all about map reading and how to work a compass. It’s an important survival skill and keeps little ones invested in the journey, which should limit the amount of times you hear the words “are we there yet?”
- Flip flops, wellies and trainers are all necessary footwear on a camping holiday. Flip flops are useful for in the shower blocks as well as those day trips to the beach. Wellies will keep your socks mud-free as little ones stomp around the campsite and trainers are great for the day to day hikes and playing about.
Fun facts
- Camping is great for your mental health!
All the hiking and being in nature raises your oxygen, serotonin and melatonin levels which are the chemicals in your body that makes you feel happy and stress-free! - The earliest evidence of tent use dates back to 40,000 BC. They were used for survival not like us who use them for recreation.
- Water is important in the wilderness. A human needs about 2lts of water a day and losing only 1% will be enough to make the person feel thirsty. So best keep your flask full when camping!
- The universal distress sign is a whistle blown three times where as two means “cover over here”.
- The first ever official recipe for S’mores featured in the 1927 Girl Scouts manual.
- The most popular camping destination in the world is the mountain region of the United States which runs from Montana down to Arizona and New Mexico.
- Traditional Bedouin tents are made from black goat hair. The Bedouin term for tern is buryuut hajar which translated to “house of hair”.
- Mongolians live in their tents which they call “ger”. Each tent has an alter which features images of Buddha and their family photos.
- It’s illegal to wild camp in England and Wales, but it’s legal in places like Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and Spain.
