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Family
Fun - Neighborhood Campfires
Real Families, Real FUN: Get Out!
Neighborhood Campfires
By Beth Stevens for Real Families, Real Fun
You don't have to go camping or sleep on the bumpy ground
to enjoy the friendly warmth of a glowing campfire. Invite
your neighbors for an impromptu backyard fire, complete
with roasted marshmallows and ghost stories. It's a relaxing
way to end the day and celebrate the last nights of summer
or first weekends of autumn.
Adults can chat, kids can play games in the dark, and everyone
can roast marshmallows or cuddle in a soft lap until they're
drowsy. Here's how to make campfires work in your neighborhood.
THE NIGHT:
Campfires are best begun after dusk. A starry sky and/or
full moon will add ambience, but even if the sky is overcast
you can enjoy the outdoors. Take a peek outside for a quick
weather check, call the neighbors and announce, "It's
a campfire night. Come on over!"
THE FIRE:
Real campfire buffs might enjoy a fire pit built into the
ground. Most are lined with metal and surrounded by bricks,
patio blocks or large stones. (Plans and kits are available
to build your own.) Coleman and other companies make portable
outdoor fireplaces, roughly $75-$150, available at discount
department stores, hardware stores and on the Web (see below
for links). Check your city codes to be sure recreational
fires are permitted where you live. Public fire rings in
neighborhood parks are another option.
Find fire pits and portable fireplaces or learn more
at these Web sites:
Tips for a Foolproof Fire:
- Line the bottom of your metal fire pan
with 1-2 inches of sand and follow all directions provided
with a fireplace unit.
- Tuck wads of newspaper or clothes dryer
lint under pieces of very dry wood to get your fire going
quickly.
- Kids can collect and set up the wood but
adults should handle all matches. Let older kids keep
the fire going.
- Extinguish the fire when the evening is
over but don't move a hot fireplace until it is cool to
the touch.
- Indoor variation: If mosquitoes
in your area carry serious diseases this year, try the
LaClair's campfire variation: They put candles on a table
in the living room, turned off the lights and watched
a beautiful sunset together. Then they sat around their
pretend fire with Dad on the guitar, singing songs and
telling stories. "We are all very busy this summer
and slowing down and sitting together was great,"
reports Mom.
WHAT TO BRING:
Tell guests to bring bug repellent, sweatshirts, and lawn
chairs or blankets to sit on. Snack foods like popcorn,
caramel corn, party mix, and gorp (good old raisins and
peanuts) are perfect for nibbling. And don't forget drinks
and plenty of marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers
for s'mores. Flashlights are handy to use on the walk home
when backyard paths are dark. A recipe for campfire popcorn
appears below.
CAMPFIRE POPCORN PACK (for 1 person)
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 4 teaspoons popcorn
- salt
- heavy-duty foil
- campfire forks
Directions:
Tear off an 18-inch piece of foil. Pour the oil and popcorn
into the middle. Bring 2 opposite foil corners together
above the popcorn and fold them over 3 times to seal well.
Bring remaining foil corners up toward the center and
roll open edges together to seal the 'foil tent' closed.
(There should be enough room inside for the popcorn to
pop.) Poke the ends of a campfire fork through the folds
of foil at top of pack. Set pack into hot coals until
oil sizzles and you hear a kernel pop. Then pick up fork
and gently shake the pack above the coals until popping
is done. Open the pack and add salt.
CREATE THE RIGHT MOOD:
Arrange chairs or blankets around the fire and start the
fire before guests arrive. Ask a guitar-playing neighbor
to strum a few campfire tunes or turn on the radio for some
mood music. Activity tester Ryan, age 12, suggests downloading
the words to familiar camp songs and printing them out so
everyone can sing along. It's fun to share spooky or funny
stories, too. Another test family went all-out and set up
tents for a camp-like atmosphere. After games and s'mores,
the kids crawled into the tents to hear ghost stories.
KIDS' ACTIVITIES:
Roast marshmallows or popcorn, chase fireflies, play hide-and-seek
in the dark or play flashlight tag. Little ones might be
happiest snuggling in a parent's lap as they listen to stories.
The Bissmeyers and their friends found that sparklers kept
the older children happy for quite a while. The Hannan children
thought it was neat to play in a patio sandbox by firelight.
KID CAUTIONS:
No running or roughhousing near the fire! Don't touch the
metal on a hot fire pit. If a marshmallow catches fire,
don't panic. Just blow it out or let it burn up and then
roast another one.
ADULT ACTIVITIES:
All our test families agree that socializing and talking
with other adults uninterrupted is a real treat. Watching
the fire burn while sipping on a beer or glass of wine can
add to the sense of relaxation, too.
TAKE IT FROM ME:
Always review fire safety and make sure there are enough
adults to watch the kids and the fire. --Jody McClain,
whose family entertained 8 adults and 12 kids
We should have had more light in our campfire area. We had
many roots and rocks as well as a dog run rope, which could
have created some accidents. --Betsy Bissmeyer
© Studio
One Networks
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