Next set the camping mood with a fire.  Although you cannot have a real campfire you can have a fire pit.  They come in all shapes and sizes.  Lowe’s as well as Target offer some affordable options as well as downright fancy ones.  A firepit isn’t just for backyard camping but can be enjoyed by friends and family

all year long.  It’s an investment of entertainment for years to come. Yaheetech 28 Inch Gas Fire Pit Table with Iron Tabletop.  The base hides the propane tank below, so no cords to trip over and it comes with a lid so not small fingers will not accidentally touch the fire.  When you are not using it as a firepit put the lid on and it’s a regular table.  Or choose a firepit that doubles as a grill. You will get more for your money with Yaheetech 32in with 18.5 Inch Swivel Cooking Grill Grate. This comes closest to a real campfire. You can forgo the real campfire by buying a Sumind inflatable campfire or have the kids make one from construction paper.

You can just cook your meals on the BBQ. Char-Broil 4 Burner Gas Grill or the Rintuf 4-Burner Propane Grill will make cooking outdoors easy and can be used anytime. If you have smaller children, you can get them a toy grill for them so they can BBQ alongside of you with the BBQ Grill Toy Set by Hey! Play.

If a fire pit isn’t going to be feasible or you don’t have a BBQ, try making your own portable one using a square foil pan, cookie cooling rack and charcoal briquettes from your local Dollar Tree or 99-Cent store. You can cook with this, but you probably can only get one to two uses out of it.

Eating off of paper plates while camping provides the easiest clean up but when I was growing up, we used a mess kit.  Which consisted of five pieces: frying pan, a pot with lid, deep dish plate, aluminum cup that all snaps together for easy storage. Coleman offers the nostalgic version, but you can get a more modern version in Stainless Steel Cookware Mess Kit that can be for up to four people. It also nests together in one mesh bag.  If your kids’ friends are going to be over frequently, you can give them an individual mess kit and they can bring it back each time they come over.

See Part 3…Entertainment and Activities