Growing up one of our fav, fun and easy indoor activities was an indoor picnic. Something about laying a blanket on the floor and having our mac and cheese with hot dogs there versus at the table felt extra special. Using this same concept, we’re expanding the activity into a full day of fun. Easy to do and suitable for any size home and any age kiddo, these simple activities turn any quarantine day into an epic indoor camping one for kids:

Create your camp fire:

Give your kiddos an easy art project creating their camp fire. Every camp site needs a fire for warmth and cooking and our imaginary camp site is the same. Everyone has different materials on hand so here are a variety of options for your campfire craft:

• Gluing/collaging. If you have paper and glue handy this is the BEST option as it takes kiddos time to complete but they can do it on their own. If you have orange, yellow and red paper, cut or have kiddos cut the paper into small squares. On a separate piece of paper, have kiddos glue squares on to create your fire.
  • HACK: No colored paper? Have kiddos color white paper and create their own – it works well and extends the activity.
  • HACK: Limited paper or missing scissors or glue? Bust out the crayons or markers! The fun is creating a pretend campfire, no matter how you do it.
  • HACK: Got ZERO art supplies? Let’s get creative! Build a tower out of blocks or toys to represent your crispy, cracklin’ fire.

Build your tent:

If you have kiddo tent you can easily pop open, that’s an obvious option here. However there’s a reason building a pillow fort is a classic kiddo activity. Grab your extra blankets, pillows, chairs and books! Drape blankets over extra chairs or simply use a nearby book shelf or ledge to lay a corner of your blanket on (and stack a pile of books on top to hold it in place).

Lay out your picnic blanket:

This sets the scene and is an oh-so cozy element to any indoor camp set-up.

EXTRAS AND ADD ONS:

• • Dress Up and Pack your Camp Bag: Gearing up for camping and packing a bag of essentials (water bottle, snacks, some fav toys) adds extra fun to this activity.
  • Make indoor s’mores! Graham crackers + marshmallows + chocolate + a baking sheet and you are in business! These goodies are delicious no matter if they cook them over a campfire or in the oven. Have your kiddo assemble the ingredients and pop them in the oven at 375 for 5-10 minutes. Short on time? Microwave these goodies for 60 seconds and ENJOY!