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Do not travel anywhere other than your backyard to spend time with the family this summer.
Whether you are searching for romantic camping ideas or you are searching for backyard camping ideas for the entire family I have got you covered.
A family camp-out right in your backyard will create a very memorable experience for everyone especially your children during these times of uncertainty surrounding COVID. Maybe in your state, you might be enjoying about five months of sunshine per year.
Once the weather becomes warm, you practically live outside from having dinner by the pool, chasing waterfalls, going out to enjoy the dozen, playing with oversized games in the backyard, or maybe listening to music, and even watching TV.
Given the amount of time we all spend outdoors, you can decide it is time for your backyard to look and feel like an outdoor living space where you can travel and camp without leaving the comfort of your home.
Unfortunately, you can possibly spend a huge sum of money renovating your backyard and purchasing items to turn your backyard into your dream campground.
Spending too much is not necessary to come up with backyard camping ideas and creating that dream backyard camping date night.
Your backyard can be your home away from home and it serves as a place of peace and calm for your family.
It is a way for your family to reconnect with nature and a way to spend a little time outside during any kind of quarantine.
For this reason, you might think of improving your outdoor space – what better time for a makeover than this spring if you are not allowed to leave your homes and are still in the middle of any kind of quarantine.
READ ALSO: Camping Lunch Ideas - Easy Recipes for Family Trip
Make Your Backyard Clean
First things first, before you begin with your backyard makeover you need to clean up any unwanted junk from the children’s toys to old umbrellas and dead branches.
If you want your children to truly have a backyard camping experience, it will need to feel like they are really camping.
Try and trim your trees, remove dead bushes, pull up weeds, and remove old old lawn furniture that needs to be replaced with another.
Also, check for any possible damage to your walkways or any other maintenance issues that must be repaired.
The Outdoor Living Area Should Be Open
Our favorite idea for a backyard makeover is coming up with an outdoor living area that is very good for backyard camping or having a date night right at home.
Okay, let us imagine, that instead of spending hundreds of dollars going out for dinner, you can actually create a luxury dining experience right in your backyard.
You will need a small deck or a patio, modern outdoor furniture, a table, as well as a rug. We also suggest you buy a fireplace as well. A fireplace will definitely exude romance for any date night.
You have to be sure the outdoor furniture can withstand the weather which will make your backyard hide from the perfect home away from home.
Make Your Backyard Mosquito Proof
Next on our to-do list is to mosquito-proof your backyard.
Before you start that backyard date night or send the children into your newly remolded backyard to go camping, you have to make sure you will not be eaten by mosquitoes! It is always a horrible experience around mosquitoes.
Everyone hates mosquitoes and we all know how easily backyard fun can be distracted by mosquitoes biting at your legs, and arms and just swarming around you.
Nothing can ruin or make your backyard camping ideas regrettable more than these pesky bloodsuckers.
- Clear all stagnant water around your home
- Strategically place herbs with scents and oils in every corner of your backyard
- Scatter coffee grounds
- You can also grow mosquito-repellent plants
- Put on insect-repelling lights around your yard
- Call a professional to spray your yard with treatment for mosquito
- Hang Spartan Mosquito Eradicator
Backyard Camping Ideas
All set! You have cleaned up your outdoor living space sleeping under the stars in your backyard oasis just got a little bit easier.
Use Sportsaber’s backyard camping guide to get the children excited about camping in your backyard!
It does not matter if this is your first time trying out backyard camping ideas with your family or if you are well-versed in camping activities camping can be very fun for your family.
You can plan your backyard getaway —complete with our favorite lunch recipe for your camping—with these helpful hints.
1. Put Up a Tent
You can actually go two ways here: Get your best camping tent from the garage and push it open, or get crafty and create a teepee for the children.
- If you already have one or more tents: Set it up outside on a smooth, flat ground that your children will call home for the next few nights.
- After you put up your tent, have the children make the insides all cozy by lining the tent floor with thick blankets and comforters, and if that is not enough just whip the old air mattress for an additional cushion.
- You can make your own tent: You can simply make your own tent by tying a clothesline between two rooted trees and simply hanging a large tarp or blanket over the top.
- We also suggest laying down a waterproof tarp underneath you all from getting wet from the dew that comes in the morning and then add your blankets, comforters, as well as your pillows.
- The fun part: Make your night a magical one by setting up lights outside the tent or putting up string lights around the tent so they will shine everywhere.
- We also love the glow-in-the-dark sphere balls to give it a little luxury feel.
- The shining lights will help children feel more comfortable camping in the backyard when it is dark.
- Communication: Also, make sure you have a device called a walkie-talkie so they have a way to contact you or communicate just in case they become scared during the night.
2. Build a Backyard Firepit
Someone might be a foodie at heart, and one of the best things about camping is when someone is eating around the fire!
Do you have a firepit? If not, you can get one from Home Depot or Lowes around $100.00 or even less.
But if you have a fire pit, you can cook hot dogs, you can make smores, or even throw a few fish and veggies in foil packets and make your favorite Jamaican meals – “Fish in a Foil.”
3. Try S’mores With Your Family
Next level the everyday s’mores trio of ingredients—graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate square—with this exciting combo.
You guys will have one of each! Make sure you try these campfire dessert treats for a change of pace.
4. Scavenger Hunt With Your Children
For a more fun camping activity, take the children on a backyard scavenger hunt. Each kid should also have a backpack or a plastic bag to get items.
And if you are a parent, this is not a solo mission. Make sure you accompany your children, talk to them concerning what they find, and celebrate their wins with them. We cannot think of a better way to bond.
5. Drink Hot Chocolate
When you are camping, there is nothing more satisfying on a cold evening than a campfire and a mug or cup of hot cocoa.
Hot Chocolate Recipe for Children
- One cup unsweetened Hershey’s Cocoa
- Two cups powdered sugar
- Two cups powdered milk
- One tsp. salt
- Small marshmallows
For Adult
- 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Two to three cup dry red wine (merlot, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup half and half
- Two tablespoons sugar, optional
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6. Play a Backyard Game
The Children can have so much outside and give you that break you deserve after being locked in the house for a week or more.
Here are some of our favorite activities that will keep you and the children entertained all night.
- Old school Games: Classic old-school games likes of Simon Says, Tag and Name That Tune, or even Jinga are fun for everyone.
- Hide and Seek: One of the children hides a small trinket in the backyard, then, when the sunsets, everyone goes on a hunt to find the hidden item. It is just like having a scavenger hunt in your own backyard.
- Jumbo Games like Connect 4
7. Backyard Picnic
Having a picnic right in your own backyard is a very beautiful way to have to spend a little good time with your boo and not break the bank for money.
It is really not about the food, but more about the experience grasped. Most picnics are not complete, even in the backyard, without a thick blanket and strong picnic basket.
If you think your backyard is uneven, you can get a few medium-sized, flat rocks that you can use as coasters to avoid wine glasses and food from tipping over.
You can also spruce up your beautiful backyard picnic by putting flowers from right outside your garden and placing them around the picnic area to add beauty.
You do not need to go spending a huge amount of money just because this is about showing to your husband you are thinking about them, no!
The thoughtfulness of you to even take your time to put this together will go a long way in showing your boo you are putting their needs first.
8. Movie Night
Cool dinner and an outdoor movie are the best ways to put your electronics away and rebond with your spouse.
You can turn your ordinary backyard into an extraordinary oasis by putting up a movie projector, getting a bottle of wine, and a bag full of popcorn.
If you do not have a projector, no worries all you will need is a sheet, rope, a projector, as well as a few throw pillows.
Hang the sheet by tying a strong rope between two rooted trees. Throw your white sheet over the line, and voila, you have your own makeshift backyard theater!
Your outdoor movie screen is set, and now all you need is a good and interesting movie! All that is left to do is get your pillows, blankets, and snacks.
9. Create Craft Cocktails
Craft cocktails? Well, these are a must for any date night, whether you are camping in your backyard or camping at a 5-star restaurant. Create an adult beverage to help beat the heat while relaxing in the backyard.
10. Hang String Lights
Very simple string lights add a magical touch to any backyard camping. Just hang strands of lights from four poles—mapping out your campsite—or you can hang them inside your backyard tent.
11. Make Popcorn for Campfire
Your backyard camping can never be complete without making popcorn the old-fashioned way.
12. Catch Fireflies
Most daughters love fireflies, so grab a Mason jar and some DIY catchers. But you must remember: Once the light show comes to an end, it is time for the fireflies to go back to the wild.
13. Campfire Stories
If you are planning or thinking about backyard camping ideas, gathering around a blazing fire for a good scary story is the best thing to do.
Just get a few flashlights and tell everyone to put the flashlight up to their faces, and each child will take turns telling scary stories.
14. Search for Stars
Buy a new telescope, spread out a thick blanket, pillows, and then take turns stargazing. You can print out pictures of constellations or simply let the children use their own imaginations.
15. Pool Bed
Buy an inflatable pool and set it up so you all can stargaze. It is great to have a cool dip in before dinner time or come up with a fun experience for bath time.
READ ALSO: Best Tent for Heavy Wind (Tested for Family Camping)
No One Should Run in and Out of the House
Even though you should be an old-school parent, I believe once they are outside for the night – they have to stay outside and there can never be any running back and forth out of the house every now and then.
The children should know they are only allowed back in the house in the case of emergency or bathroom breaks.
Camping can be fun whether it is your first time camping, and this is a way to reconnect with your children.
Date Night Backyard Ideas for Adults
Updating your backyard is not just about the children having space to hang out but also a place where spend quality time together with your partner without the use of social media or electronics and just talk.
The best way you can do that is to send the children to bed and create a romantic space for just you and your partner.
Women should understand they still need to date their husbands after the children come along and a romantic dinner in your backyard is just what the doctor ordered.
Bottom Line
If you are thinking of something really fun and creative to come up with for your family or even a backyard date night for you and your partner these tips should have you all ready to make your backyard more attractive and make it camp-ready.
A strong budget and some imagination are all you will need to create the best and unique backyard campground.
Well, if you still want to get it really fancy or you have additional cash on hand how about adding a very simple outdoor kitchen or a built-in barbecue grill?
Lastly, do not forget to add those mosquito-repelling flowers to your garden to safeguard everyone from being eaten alive by naughty mosquitoes.