Camping trips are one of the fondest memories of childhood your kids will ever have. It is in camping where they first get a taste of independence, learn about camaraderie, make lifelong friendships, acquaint themselves with the wonders of nature and test their resourcefulness and wits.
This is why it’s a good idea to take your children often to camping trips not only so they could enjoy all these but also so that you can spend and enjoy some quality time with them. This is needed in order for them to thrive as emotionally healthy and secure individuals.
But of course, camping with the whole family does not only entail packing your children’s kid’s camping gear. What’s a family camping trip without fun and exciting games and activities? To give you an idea of how to create a fun-filled day for the whole family, here are a few camping activity suggestions you might want to try:
- Play classic kid games like tag, hide-and-seek, doctor octopus, chicken and duck chase, tug of war, or monkey in the middle. These are always fun and are sure to bring out the child in you. To add more fun, create variations of these games. For example, for the game of tag, have more than one it who will join together like a train to chase the rest of you. Those who get tagged will add to the train until the sole survivor is caught.
- Obstacle course. Prepare some obstacles using your kid’s camping gear, materials found in the campsite and the other camping equipment with you. For instance, to get the finish line of the race, your kids will have to light up their Coleman for Kids Illumipods, put away their sleeping bag, jump over the ice coolers and dance like a duck before reaching the end. Just make sure that the obstacles you prepare are not too hard for your kids and are age-appropriate. If you have very young children, prepare something lighter for them.
- Dress up your tent. This is also a good game your kids can play using some of their kid’s camping gear, mainly their tent. Divide your kids into teams with each team having two to four members. Then allow them to dress up their tent using whatever things they can find or whatever they have in their packs. This activity will bring out the creative side of your kids as whichever team comes up with the more imaginative tent wins. You have to make sure though that they will not draw or do anything to harm their tents.
- Treasure hunt. Hide treasures like pieces of chocolate coins, your kid’s precious kid’s camping gear accessories or toy jewelry all over the campsite and have your kids search for them. They can make use of their Coleman for Kids Binoculars in their quest for the treasure. The person who acquires most of the treasure wins.
- Sharades or pictionary. These are also enjoyable games that even the parents will have a lot of fun from because it does not entail too much physical energy. Take turns in guessing and demonstrating (or drawing) actions, movies, songs or whatever things you like your family to guess. These are sure to elicit lots of laughter from you and your kids.
- Truth or dare. Since your kids love playing this, and you used to play this when you were a teen yourself, indulge in some truth or dare game. Through this game you will get to know more of your kids and their secrets without seeming to intrude in their private lives. Just keep the truth or dare mild. Of course, you won’t dare to dare your kids to do something outrageous.
Family camping trips are surely enjoyable and exciting way to spend time with your kids. Yes, it entails a lot of efforts like careful planning and intensive packing of your kids’ camping gear, but to see the delight on their faces and to hear the glee in their laughter makes everything worth it. |
