How To Bring The Camping Experience Home

Are you new to camping and want to have a trial run before you head out to nature with your family? Or do you have no time to take a full weekend off and travel out of town for a real camping trip? Well, it doesn’t matter why you can’t go, the important thing is that you can’t go! But, think again—if you have a backyard, there are so many ways you can bring camping to you and your family.

Here are a few ideas that inspire you to create a perfect camping area in your backyard (or living room) for a quick, easy and practical camping “trip”.

Set up your tent

If you’re serious about this camping thing, you need to treat your backyard like a real wilderness, so make sure to pitch a tent. Find a flat area on your lawn, spread a tarp, put together your poles and erect your tent.

Don’t have pro camping gear?

Well, make a shelter using rope, tarp, blankets and some poles for support. What’s important is to have a dry and warm place to sleep by putting a tarp under your tent so that you can layer blankets and pillows on top.

Get cosy and warm

Even if you live somewhere warm like South Africa, or Australia, it can still get a little chilly during the night. So make sure to line the inside of your tent’s floor with yoga mats or camping pads and finish with plenty of sleeping bags, cosy pillows, and comforters.

If you must, use an inflatable mattress—it’s not cheating as long as you stay outside!

Prepare some food

This is probably everyone’s fave part of camping—tasty camp chow! If you have a fire pit, you can go for everything from hot dogs to campfire baked potatoes and even prepare meat and veggies in foil packets. And of course, roasted marshmallows are a must! But if you don’t have a fire pit, you can still make things work with a small charcoal grill.

These are cheap, practical and perfect for smaller meals, even picky eaters will love. Sure, you don’t also have to prepare anything special. Just pack some sandwiches, trail mix and desserts, put them in your cooler and you’re ready to hit the backyard.

Don’t let the weather get you down

In case the weather outside is horrible, don’t let that ruin the entire thing for you. Just make a tiny change of furniture layout in your living room, grab your tent and make a camping area inside of your house!

This is a much easier option since all you need is a chunky Miss Amara rug and some blankets for warmth—no need for sleeping pads and bags.

If you choose to go with a fort, your carpet will also come in handy both for limiting your area and adding softness. And if you have some excellent non-paraffin and non-scented candles, you can even roast marshmallows indoors, be careful with an open flame around bedding and tent.

Repel mosquitos

If you’re camping indoors, you have nothing to worry about, but camping in your backyard will attract some unwanted visitors. Mosquitos are not your friends, so make sure to grab a mosquito net for your tent, light up some citronella candles around your seating area and bring out your repellent sprays.

This will not only allow you to have pleasant evening roasting marshmallows in your fire pit but also a pleasant sleep in your tent and fuss-free mornings.

Make some DIY lighting

If you have plenty of space in your backyard, you’ll need to light it up to prevent midnight fears and tripping over your dog when going to the bathroom. To keep the vibe DIY (you can quickly turn on your porch light, but where’s the fun in that) grab some candles and craft dowels, and you can make your own cheap and useful tiki torches.

If you want something even more practical, you can take a few mason jars, crack a few glow sticks and put them inside. You’ll create glowing lanterns that are cheap to make, cool to look at and easy to carry around, even during bathroom breaks.

Organise a neighbourhood scavenger hunt

To prevent boredom, make a list of different plants and animals you can find in your backyard, neighbourhood or the local park. Pack little backpacks, cameras, journals, and a few plastic bags, and you’re ready for your evening hunt.

Photograph every item you find from the list, record how they look and feel and note things down in your little nature journal. While you’re there, take your time to have a bit eco-friendliness lesson and collect some trash you see around.

Make “house-is-off-limits” rule

If you want to make your evening feel like a real camping trip, make the house off-limits. Everything you need for the night should be brought outside, including your sleeping gear, flashlights, games, books, hygiene items, and snacks and drinks. Once everything you need for the day is out, lock your house and only go inside for emergencies and bathroom breaks—absolutely no sneaking in to check your phone.

All the electronics need to stay indoors to retain that rustic, natural feel. One of the best things about backyard camping is the fact that you can make a quick transition inside in case your kids get scared or if the weather takes a sharp turn.

So, if you’re a total camping beginner or if you have small children, it’s a great idea to start with backyard camping before you hit the great outdoors.

Tell us your story

Would you like to write for nichemarket just like Sean has? Find out how to submit a guest post and when you're ready, you can contact us.

Are you looking to promote your business?

South African businesses can create your free business listing on nichemarket. The more information you provide about your business, the easier it will be for your customers to find you online. 

Registering with nichemarket is easy; all you will need to do is head over to our sign up form and follow the instructions. If you require a more detailed guide on how to create your profile or your listing, then we highly recommend you check out the following articles.

• How to create a nichemarketer profile
• How to create a nichemarket business listing

Recommended reading

If you enjoyed this post and have time to spare why not check out these related posts and dive deeper down the rabbit hole that is the outdoors. 

• Which Vegetables To Plant During The Year In The Western Cape
• When To Plant Herbs During The Year In The Western Cape
• Popular Hashtags For Gardeners & Gardening
• Where To Go Zip-lining In Cape Town

Tags: Camping , Guest Post