Backyard Camping Ideas

This post abotu backyard camping ideas is sponsored and written for Kohls.  All opinions are my own.

My kids finally talked me into it; I’m letting them have an end of the school year party.  They will have a few friends the last day of school who will come over for a little pool party and then stay for an evening of camping out in the backyard.  I know, I’m already stressing how I am going to keep eight kids busy.  I can’t even keep up with my own, much less more lol.  Not really, it’s going to be fun.  I have to tell myself that, or I might just go out of town and leave this up tot my husband, but I don’t know how great of an idea that would be either.

My husband and I received a new Coleman tent from Kohls; it’s HUGE and awesome the kids are going to love it.  However, I did already threaten them about taking care of it if they ever want to do anything fun like this again.  It’s our family tent, we have a huge family and need a huge tent.  The more I talk about it, the more I worry so let’s start talking about different things they can to keep them busy because they are less likely to destroy things if they have run, right!

Check out how awesome the inside is!  So much room, I can’t wait for our first family camping trip in May.  There is even a little storage type room.  I even have two new Colman Sleeping Bags, which I am going to let the girls use for their backyard camping extravaganza.

If you are on the lookout for a new sleeping back, I highly recommend checking out the Coleman Comfort Cloud Memory Foam Sleeping Bag.

Backyard Camping Ideas

Here are a few things I have come up with for our backyard camping end of school party.

• Water fun – We have a big above ground pool we’re going to let the kids swim in, but we have to think about the younger children too.  They will not be able to reach the bottom so we’re planning on pulling out the Slip-n-Slide thing pictures above and the smaller pool so the younger kids can play.   Just don’t forget the sunscreen!
• Marco Polo – Did you ever play this game in the pool?  We used to play it all the time I loved it.  One person gets in the middle of the pool, cover their eyes so they can’t see, have them turn in a few circles, and try and find someone.  If they can’t seem to find anyone, tell them to say Marco and the people they are looking for must reply polo.  The first person that is tagged is now in the middle of the circle.  It’s fun, just try not to get touched.  If you don’t have a pool, this can also be played on the trampoline or any other safe place.  Remember falling tends to happen with this game.

• Horseshoes – We have needed a new set of horseshoes, so when I saw them at Khols you better believe I picked them up.  My husband and I will have lots of fun playing horseshoes with the kids.  Coleman has some pretty nice horseshoe sets at Kohls, which you can find here.
• Simon Says – This has always been one that the kids love.  As the get, older Simon gets a bit trickier but we always have fun.  If you haven’t played it not to worry it’s super easy.  One person will be Simon, and say different things like, “Simon says touch your nose.”  Everyone must touch their nose, but they need to play attention because if Simon doesn’t say “Simon says” before whatever they are supposed to do n’t do it because Simond didn’t say.  The last person that out gets to be Simon in the next round.
• Play Twister – Even if you don’t have the game you can play twister by using spray paint on the grass.  The cool thing is you can make it bigger than the normal board and even have more players.  I have only played this once, and it was a whole lot of fun for adults too.
• DIY Mason Jar Lanterns – The kids always love these, and they are super easy.  You can make them several different ways, but I like to go the easy route when there are more than two or three kids because it’s hard to keep an eye on everyone.  Paint, glitter, glue and everything we would normally use isn’t going to happen when I have 8 to 10 kids so we are going to keep things basic.  All you need is glow sticks and mason jars.  If you want to have a little extra fun, you can give a few of the mason jars a coat of glitter spray-paint.  Place the glow sticks inside the mason jars put the lids on and have the kids leave them around their campsite.

• Set up camp – It’s not a game, but the kids will have a blast helping set up camp before it gets dark.  Let them decide where things should go – tent, cooler, table, chairs, and all the other supplies.  Whatever you do don’t forget your Coleman Bug Candle to keep the bugs away.  I love these things!  Never go camping without a Coleman Citronella Candle.

• Prepare dinner – Will you be cooking dinner over a campfire?  If not, just pull out the grill and make some hotdogs, hamburgers and whatever else the kids will love.  You can even make some yummy smores on the grill, just be sure there is an adult around to handle the grill.  Oh, and if you wanted to go for a backyard camping experience, you could pull out the Coleman Roadtrip Party Portable Propane Grill.

• Storytime – Normally my husband and I will tell the kids spooky stories, but I don’t think we will be doing that with other people’s kids at our house. The last thing I want to do is sent the home scared to sleep in their bed, lol.  If it’s already dark by this time, don’t stress it, just be sure and grab one of this handy dandy totally awesome Colman DIVIDE+ Headlamps.  They are great and your hands-free!

• Lay under the stars – Get a blanket and have everyone lay down and look at the stars.  See what different things you see in the stars.  You might even see a falling star, don’t forget to make a wish.  If the stars don’t keep them occupied, give them a book and a flashlight and let them chat.  I don’t know which is better looking at the stars or listening to two young children talk like they are adults.
• Movie night – If you or someone you know has a video projector you can watch a movie outside.  We love doing this it’s an excellent way to get everyone calmed down before it’s time to head to bed.
• Get ready for bed with a game of sleeping bag truth – Of course, ethe kids are probably not going to be ready for bed, but they can get nice and comfy inside their tent and start relaxing.  I tried truth or date once, but the kids were up running around the tent and all kinds of crazy stuff.  So this one is you tell the truth, or you don’t play.  Everyone has to pinky swear that what happens and is said in the tent stays in the tent.  Everyone agrees, and then going around the tent asks whoever they want whatever they want, and the truth must be told.  If they choose not to tell the truth, they must put in a pair of earplugs and go to sleep.  My kids came up with that rule lol.  I guess it’s only fair if you don’t want to spill the beans you should get to listen to everyone else do it.
• Morning yoga – Wake up, rise and shine!  Maybe, depending on what time you went to sleep.  I always get stiff when sleeping on the ground, and nothing loosens me up like a bit of morning yoga stretching.  I’ll wake the kids up while dad starts breakfast for some excellent morning yoga.  The kids don’t think it’s awesome, but it helps especially after a night of backyard camping.

Mattie was so excited about the tent and the flashlight that you can wear on your head that she wanted to bring along Brittney, her mini pony.  She said that she could wear the flashlight on her head, fit inside the tent, and be her partner for all the games.  She’s trying to show me how cute Brittney is in this picture, so I let her lol.

You can grab everything you need for backyard camping as well as camp everywhere else from your local Kohls, or you can visit them online at Kohls.com.