Fun Indoor Camping Party Ideas

So I am a tiny bit ashamed to bit that I am not a camper.  As in seriously not a camper.  I have been dragged against my will gone on trips in the past and I try to put on a happy face but really I just hate it.

I get extremely crabby when I can’t shower each and every day- and communal showers don’t count.  (Anywhere that requires I wear shoes into the shower is not a real shower to me.)  I am also not a fan of dirt or bugs or spiders or snakes or lizards or anything that might think I look like a delicious dinner.   So I am a massive party pooper about the whole thing and just overall not a roughing it kind of girl. 😀

My husband is a trooper though and he will sometimes take our girls camping when I have a trip planned so I don’t feel too badly about cheating them out of a childhood adventure.

But occasionally we go camping at home!  This can be really fun for smaller children or it can be a fun idea for slumber parties for bigger kids too.   You can either camp right in your own backyard for a little more of the experience or just set up your campsite smack in the living room.

We did this last night for the girls to get them prepared for a camping trip in July.  (I will be heading to Chicago and my darling husband will be taking the children off into the wilderness).

This is something fun and different and I like things like this that encourage their little imaginations too.

As always you can do this one up as much as you like or it can be something really simple too.  Somehow yesterday seemed to fly by so I didn’t get too fancy with our camping adventure.  We set up the tent, sleeping bags, camp chairs, popcorn and of course made S’Mores.

The first thing we did was pushed back all the furniture in the living room.  Since we have hardwood floors, my husband moved some area rugs into the living room to pad the hard floor a bit more.

The children “helped” set the tent up.  Our tent is fairly big and I think this would have been just as fun using the popup instead.  You can just skip a tent too and use sleeping bags on the floor.

We added some “stars” by stringing Christmas lights onto the tent and then put sleeping bags and pillows inside.

The girls got settled in and we spread out our picnic blanket and had a picnic for dinner.  We just grilled burgers for dinner but you might consider doing something more authentic like grilled fish or potatoes and veggies in foil packets.

I set up the camping chairs to watch a movie – does anyone have ideas for camping themed movies?  We actually watched Treasure Buddies because nothing was jumping out at me that was kid friendly.

We had real stove top popcorn and then of course the Gooey S’Mores you see above.

If you haven’t made S’Mores at home- they literally take about 30 seconds and are so yummy!  You can use standard ingredients, add peanut butter, use Nutella, or substitute a chocolate bar of your choice.  I like Hershey’s with Almonds and my husband loves Reese’s peanut butter cups so that is what we used.

Cut the graham cracker in half and add a big marshmellow on top- pop in micro for 15 seconds.  Add your chocolate bar of choice and micro for 5-10 more seconds.  Top with the other half of the graham cracker and viola!  One little slice of heaven on a plate.

And that was our little family adventure.  Kiddos loved it and it only took about an hour to set everything up and then we pulled it all down this morning.

This would be especially fun in the winter when camping is not an option or when you have all your lovely Christmas lights up and sparkling!

This post is part of the 30 Days to a Funner Summer Series.

You can catch up with the entire series by clicking below:

1. Day 1: Get Organized!  How to organize children’s activity bags.
2. Day 2: End of Year Surprises for Children
3. Day 3: Strawberry Lemon Slushie Recipe 
4. Day 4: Homemade Hamburger Seasoning to AMP up your burgers
5. Day 5: How to make Giant Bubble Solution
6. Day 6: How to Save Money on Road Trips
7. Day 7: How to Create a Summer Schedule.
8. Day 8: How to make a GIANT water bed (this is so fun!)
9. Day 9: Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
10. Day 10: 8 Ways to Get Outdoors this Summer
11. Day 11: How to Calm a Child’s Room
12. Day 12: How to Make Movie Night More Fun
13. Day 13: Watermelon-Lime Sorbet (just 3 ingredients!)
14. Day 14: Ideas for Mommy-Daughter Dates 
15. Day 15: DIY Dip Dye Shorts for Children
16. Day 16: How to Make Bouncy Balls that really bounce!
17. Day 17: Caramel Corn Recipe (just like Cracker Jacks!) 
18. Day 18: How to Make a Lego Tray (perfect for games and puzzles too!)
19. Day 18: Painting with shaving cream (homemade bathtub paint)