Week 13 – The great Home-Start camp-in

Welcome to Week 13 of our Giving Tuesday campaign! Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun hey?

We do hope you have been making the most of the amazing weather we’ve been experiencing recently.

Setting up camp!

This week, we’re really pleased to bring you the ‘Great Home-Start Camp In’.

I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a fan of camping. Give me a nice, cosy B&B any time… but, my family love it and because I love them I go along.

This year, it looks like our annual camping trip might not be going ahead (equal feelings of relief and regret there), and I’m sure there are many of you in the same boat. So, we thought we might encourage a little camping fun for while you’re staying at home instead.

And, if this lovely weather holds (and you have space outside), why not pitch your tent in the garden and pretend you’re at a really exclusive camping site? Just think – the pleasure of not having to share shower facilities with 300 other people!

If you don’t have the space to pitch a tent outside, don’t worry: your living room will do just as well! Challenge your children to build themselves a den using the furniture – maybe blankets over the dining table, or spread across a couple of chairs.

How good are you at den-gineering (click here for some ideas to get you started)? Award prizes for the most ingenious sleeping arrangements!

So, now you’ve got your tent up (or lost the use of your comfy furniture, sorry Mums and Dads!), what’s next?

What do you like to do on a camping trip? I usually take my family to somewhere near the sea, so there’s lots of beaches to visit, ice creams and candy floss, swimming and splashing about (and people moaning about the sand in their socks… ah! the joys of the seaside!).

But as we’re stuck in the most landlocked county in England, let’s think of some other things we could be doing…

How about some garden games?

You could get the stepladder out of the shed and label each rung with a points-value. Then, using balls, bean bags or rolled up socks, you can throw them at the ladder. Each time you get your item through the rungs, you score points. This can be even more fun when the projectile is soaking wet!

While you’re soggy, why not have a go at Water Cup Racing? You’ll need plastic or paper cups, string and tape and a water pistol for each participant.

Cut or punch a hole into the bottom of the cup, then place the string through the hole of the cup and attach the string to posts or tape to a wall outside. Use the water pistols to move the cups along the string by squirting into the open end.

You could get the kids involved in a scavenger hunt… if you didn’t get around to having a go at our scavenger hunt in Week 3, why not have a go now? Or, if you did take part, why not do it again and see what different things you can find!

If you’re feeling creative, why not have a go at making a drinks holder that you can put up in the garden. Click here for the tutorial.

There are lots of other ideas to get you in the camping mood. The camping company Go Outdoors have been running “Go Indoors” during the lockdown, with lots of great ideas for camping inside. Take a look here.

You could even create your own ‘Camping Festival’ – Tendshare have some fantastic downloadable resources to help you get started, from a 10-step preparation plan to festival food recipes. You can view and download their resources here.

Whatever you get up to, have fun and don’t forget to share your pics with us!