Gather ‘round the campfire for some fun ideas!
Photo by: Cody Mummau (Stock Exchange)

Welcome back to AllCampgrounds, your home for camping fun on the web!

Everyone here loves camping, and what could be more iconic than the campfire?

If you’ve got a camping trip coming up where you want to help kids unplug, unwind, and have some good old-fashioned camping fun, the campfire is your best friend.

It’s magical, it’s mysterious, and there are a whole bunch of terrific things you can do around it.

Now, through the wonder of the internet, AllCampgrounds will help you put a new spin on some old favorites.

Gather ‘round, tent campers, and let’s get cracking!

Campfire Stories: Coming to us from American Folklore on the web, this archive of campfire yarns include spooky, scary, and funny ghost stories as well as tall tales from the Old West and pioneer days. There’s even a selection of children’s stories for the littlest young ‘uns so nobody will be left out. Most of them are only a few paragraphs long, which is good, since a campfire is nothing much to read by! A fine way to while away the night, after burning off everyone’s excess energy with …

Scout Songs: Now, you can get some great campfire songs from American Folklore, too, but the king of scout songs on the web is Scout-O-Rama, a kid-safe, user-generated site that collects lore and information from Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts all around the United States. What makes its song listing so special? Well, it’s broken down into great “action songs” where there’s nifty stuff for kids to do – clap, stomp, roar, and more – and gathering songs for lots of campers. Charming and funny stuff for everyone.

20 Smores Recipes: The smore is probably the most imitated dessert and campfire food of them all. All kinds of cookies, crackers, and ice cream bars have tried (and failed!) to match up to that tent camping favorite, the smore. But who knew there’s twenty ways to make a smore? Try out these recipes to add some fresh flavors to the most iconic of campfire snacks. All you need for preparation is a fire and a metal spit to roast your marshmallow. My favorite? A toss up between “Mexican More” and “Caramel Apple.” Start the night with smores, and you’ll be ready for anything!

Now, wasn’t that fun? For even more top camping tips, visit the AllCampgrounds blog next week! Then, and every Friday, we provide the latest and greatest in camping news, information, and pointers for tent campers, RV campers, and everyone else who loves the outdoors. Hope to see you again next time!

Types of Campfires

• The Pyramid-start with a bottom layer of logs that are 4”-6” in diameter placed in a square shape. Add additional layers of smaller, shorter logs until you reach the desired height. Fill the space in the middle with kindling and tinder. Light the fire on a small platform of twigs near the top so that the burning cinders fall into the middle of the pyramid.
• A Log-Cabin style fire starts with 2 large logs as the base running parallel. Place the next level of smaller logs perpendicular to the base. Continue alternating for a few layers. Fill the space between with kindling. This is important so that the fire does not burn too fast.
• A Tepee fire is made by stacking wood on its end so that the tops meet and form a shape like a tepee. Kindling and tinder should be placed in the middle, and the fire is lit from the bottom.

How big you build your fire depends on many things; the most important of which is your surroundings. Do you have a designated fire pit, or area that is safe to build a larger fire in? Make sure you have permission before building any fires and take into consideration the age of the participants. If you have several young children a roaring bonfire is an accident waiting to happen. Explain campfire rules and safety tips before the excitement begins.

Songs to Sing Around Campfires

Campfire Songs, Photo by miamabanta @ Flickr

• She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain
• Down By the Bay
• Alice the Camel (especially appropriate for younger crowd, just make sure they don’t get too close to the fire.)
• An Austrian Went Yodeling
• The Other Day I saw a Bear
• Rounds-such as Row Your Boat, Sarrasponda and Kookaburra
• Kum Ba Yah
• Michael Row the Boat Ashore

There are hundreds of songs that may be sung around a campfire. Don’t be afraid to ask for suggestions, or let campers make up new songs.

Storytelling is another great activity to engage in around a campfire. Appropriate stories for younger children may be told earlier. When they are sent off to bed, older children and adults may tell stories that are a bit scarier. If younger children are really frightened-stop the story.

A Scary Story for Younger Children

This is a classic story that most children learn early. Choose a youngster’s name from the group, or a generic name.

Once there was a (girl/boy) named (say name).

One night (she/he) woke up about midnight because (she/he) heard someone walking downstairs.

Step…step….step

(She/He) quickly pulled the covers up over (her/his) head and shivered.

Then (she/he) hears a wavery voice: (say the next line slowly in a scary voice)

“ (Say child’s name) I’m on the first step and I’m coming to get you!”

“(Say child’s name)! (pause)

I GOTCHYA! Jump at the campers as you yell

Stories for Older Children

Most pre-teens and teenagers know at least one version of the old classic about the couple that go on a date and meet the escaped maniac with the hook. If you prepare ahead of time with a Halloween prop this is a real scream. Local ghost stories are also great.

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