5 Tips to Indoor Camping Success

I am a Nature’s Sleep Ambassador and receive product from time to time. All opinions are 100% my own.

I’m going to lay it out there for you in very simple terms.

We do not camp. We just don’t.

I like the idea of the camping activities- swimming, canoeing, campfires, s’mores, etc. I’m down for all of that and I would be a blast to camp with DURING THE DAY.

But as soon as it’s time to hit the sack, I must be covered and close to a bathroom. A real bathroom with plumbing.

So around here, we stick with indoor camping. Luckily for my kids, our sunroom is perfect for this! We can set up their tent, turn off the lights and open the 13 windows in just that room, and let the “camping” experience begin!

We’ve done it enough that there are a few things we consider essential to still give us the camping experience (well, the parts we enjoy at least)!

5 Tips to Indoor Camping Succes!

1) A flashlight is a must! There will be no lights turned on during our sunroom camping. Flashlights must be used to add to the experience!

2) A good ole fashioned s’mores treat is practically a given. I cannot imagine my daughter ever falling for my camping set-up, if there wasn’t a s’more to accompany it! Any camping treat will do, just make sure you don’t serve dessert at the dining room table like any other night. Make it special with a snack in the tent!

3) We always use some form of a tent. It can be an actual tent, an easy-up canopy with sheets draped over the side or just a blanket fort! Just give the kids the tent-like experience rather than just unrolling a sleeping bag!

4) There is something extra-special about seeing the stars while you’re camping. We add a star-like ambience with strings of clear Christmas lights. You’ll get oohs and aahs just by taking a couple minutes to throw up a string of lights that you most likely already have!

5) This might be the most important tip, so be sure to read carefully… make sure the kids are comfortable! We learned this lesson the hard way. We used to just throw their sleeping bags on the hard floor, and the next morning they would wake up grumpy and cranky. There is nothing worse than bounding out of my comfy bed the next morning, excited to hear how their “camping” experience went, only to have them grumble and gripe for hours because they slept so terribly! We now put down a mattress topper and then put their sleeping bag over that. SO much more comfy and makes for much happier moods the next day! We are now using a Nature’s Sleep mattress topper and they both swear it’s more comfortable than their actual bed! I promise you, this was never said when we put their sleeping bags straight on the floor!