With winter rolling around and indoor play becoming a reality, you’ll need things to keep your kids busy and entertained. Why not get them involved in making this indoor flameless ‘camp fire’. They’ll love the challenge of building it and it makes a great addition to an indoor fort or teepee. The only downside is that it doesn’t roast marshmallows, but you can always make them these S’mores for camping authenticity instead.
You will need
white craft paint
paintbrush
6-8 sticks (we collected ours from the local park)
10 or more rocks (we also collected from the local park and beach)
gold spray paint
newspaper
battery powered string of fairy lights (soft yellow or warm white)
25 cm silver circular cake board (optional) If you can’t get hold of a cake board you can cut a circle out of cardboard and cover with tinfoil.
wood glue (optional)
Firstly, trim the branches to roughly the same length, about 25-30 cm.
Give a rough coat of paint for a distressed look, or for a more finished look, paint completely. Allow to dry completely.
Clean the rocks of any dirt or debris and line an area with newspaper. Spray with gold spray paint (do this in a well ventilated area).
To assemble, place the circular cake board in the centre, arrange the fairy lights in the centre of your board, ensuring that the battery box is easily accessible, so that you can switch the lights on. Arrange the rocks around the edge of the cake board.
Stack the sticks in a pyramid shape up over the centre to form a camp fire. You should be able to balance the sticks in the centre at the top, using the stones at the perimeter to wedge and hold the sticks up. If you struggle to keep them standing you can use and elastic band to secure at the top, alternatively, glue the sticks at the top using wood glue. Only do this if you don’t want to be able to break it down and pack it away. Part of the fun for kids can be getting the sticks to stand!
Flick the fairy light switch on and hey presto, an indoor, danger-free camp fire!
Upgrade your kids pretend forts made from towels and blankets to their very own tent. Check out our No-sew Teepee.