Even before we had taken our children on their first camping adventure, my husband and I had set up mini-tents in our backyard…a “practice run” for the real thing. We both grew up camping with our own families and knew that was a tradition we wanted to continue. Camping with my own family as a child was one of my most cherished vacation memories. We’d set up the tent, take a swim, bike, and cook meals on a portable stove. And late at night as talked and stayed warm around the fire, we’d roast marshmallows for S’mores.
To create a truly authentic experience, we began roasting S’mores during our backyard camp-outs with our kids. In fact, any time we vacation and we’re outdoors, my children dream up a reason to start a fire…just so we can have S’mores!
If you can believe it, for the past 85 years, Americans have gathered around campfires to enjoy the simple, chocolatey treat. Interestingly enough, the recipe for S’mores was first published in the Girl Scouts handbook in 1927 Since we’re in the midst of Summer, Hershey’s is encouraging families to gather around bonfires to create lasting memories! They’ve created a virtual bondfire on their Facebook page, and through September 7th, they are inviting fans to discover new ways to bond around the campfire by offering weekly theme-based tips, stories, activities, and more. If you visit Camp Bondfire, you can register to be a “Camper of the week” and enter to win outdoor prizes including a backyard fire pit. The page also includes a Fireside Memory Book where “campers” can share their own memories via photos.
- Travel not required. You don’t have to travel long distances to create memories with your family! A backyard campout with your loved ones is a great way to be together and enjoy the outdoors.
- Use what you have! To create our own BASH IN A BUCKET Campout, we used one of our mini tents, a blanket, books, our mini projector, and I put each of the kid’s S’mores ingredients (HERSHEY’S Milk Chocolate Bars, marshmallows and graham crackers portioned out in bags) into mini buckets to take outside. If you have several children, it’s important for each of them to have their own special bucket with goodies, including a mini flashlight to provide an authentic camping experience.
- Unplug and enjoy! Families need to remember to take time away from their busy schedules and demands and focus on communicating, engaging, and enjoying each other, just like we did in our own backyard! Getting outdoors in a tent around a fire, “removed” from TV and “life” helps bring families together.
- Bring the S’mores! In our minds, S’mores are an integral part of any camping experience, so I can’t imagine having a campout and a fire without them. If you don’t have access to a fire pit to enjoy HERSHEY’S S’mores, fire up the grill! We recreated our experience for our BASH IN A BUCKET Campout in our backyard by roasting marshmallows on the grill.
- Get creative! We have a mini projector that we used to project a film outside in our backyard. We love popping popcorn, so we snacked on that and enjoyed S’mores while we watched a kid-friendly flick together. To further add to the experience, we brought books outside to read and sang songs together.
What are your favorite fire-side memories? I’d love to hear your tips and ideas!
This is part of a compensated campaign with Hershey’s and The Motherhood.
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We’ve been roasting marshmallows every weekend since we got our fire pit and the kids love it! I made a s’mores cheesecake too. Love those summer fun moments with the kids!
Yum, Yum, Yum and the kids look like they are having a blast.
great idea! and i’m craving smores
I LOVE making s’mores but it has been awhile. I love the idea of camping in the back yard, I might just have to try it once this summer with the kids.
So fun! Your babies are super cute! I think I’m in the mood for s’mores now!
We love s’mores. Reminds me to get out our supplies this weekend 😉
So fun! Love making those memories with the kids.
Our chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers are packed for our camping trip. Smores are the best part!!
I’m think s’mores are the greatest sweets ever.
We have a couple campgrounds within 30 minutes of us and we love taking the kids for an easy and inexpensive overnight. My son would probably boycott if there weren’t S’mores involved.