Is it raining or cold? Want to go on camping trip without leaving your house? Put up a tent, roast some perfect golden-brown marshmallows, tell a few good stories and you’ll have a great evening-long activity.

With few simple “ingredients” you can turn an ordinary room into a land of adventured where children from 1 to 11 can take part in, living a fun camping experience.

Follow these steps to put all together:

• Gather your materials.

• Make the tent.

• Prepare S’mores - Yumminess.

• Share stories.

• Set the camp.

• A large cloth: A light cloth works best to make your walls and roof. A top sheet (preferably queen- or king-sized) or large rectangular tablecloth is great. A big blanket or comforter can work too, but if it’s too heavy, your tent might droop in the center and could collapse in the middle of storytelling time.

• At least four chairs: One for every corner of the tent. Those with high backs are best, as they provide added support for the tent.

• Canned food: You must have something to weigh down the sides of the tent. You can use anything heavy to fill that need.

• Comfy accessories (optional): Add beanbag chairs, sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, stuffed animals - it is up to you.

• Tea candles: This is the secret to indoor marshmallow roasting. Put the candles on plates or in candleholders, because that gives them a little extra stability. Use one tea candle per child or taking turns roasting the marshmallows over a single candle, because tea candles are small and don’t put out a ton of heat. Attention: We suggest you use non-paraffin tea lights

• Matches or a lighter.

• Toasting sticks. Depending on what you have at home but wooden chopsticks leftover from Chinese takeout, skewers and even forks to hold the marshmallows can be used.

• Marshmallows, crackers, chocolate, …

• Plates: in case you do not want some of this yummy stuff to end up on your floor.

• Wet wipes. You can use napkins dampened with a little bit of water, but wet wipes are pretty much the best thing there is when it comes to cleaning up marshmallow-coated fingers and chocolate mustaches.

It will take about 10 minutes.

• Place the chairs in a rectangle. Turn the chairs so that their backs are facing one another.

• Drape the cloth over the chairs.

• Weigh the sides of the cloth down by putting the cans on the seats of the chairs.

• Make the floor of the tent fun with your comfy accessories. Let playtime begin!

It is not necessary to light a campfire. Here is an alternative option that is safer and less likely to burn your house down.

• Put your tea candles in a good and high enough place to avoid children to get knocked over or played with without adult supervision.

• Light the candles. Please carefully monitor all candle-related activity.

• Put a marshmallow on each person’s “stick.” Break the crackers into sandwich-sized squares and place on the plate.

• Toast the marshmallows by rotating them over the lit tea candles.

• Make your sandwich in this order: Lay a cracker sheet on the plate. Add your roasted marshmallow. Then add your chocolate. Top the whole thing off with a second cracker. Dig in!

When you tell stories inside your tent, you share a more intimate experience.You can find stories in many different places. Read a book out loud or tell a story that you’ve memorized.Change them or add the children’s names into the stories to make the tales feel more personal.Use a flashlight or the light of your phone to give your face weird shadows and make the experience a little scarier.Use “crowd-source” to get from your kids story ideas. It is a great way to stimulate their imaginations and make the story interactive.Here’s how you crowd-source a story:• Have everyone sit in a circle• The leader starts by saying the opening sentence of the story• The next person in the circle says the next sentence. This process is repeated by the next person. Keep taking turns and adding to the storyAsk an open-ended question that can stimulate the child’s thought process: Where does the main character live?, How do you think the main character feels? What would you do if you were in this situation?...

You can expand on your experience by decorating to create additional atmosphere (for instance, hang paper stars from the ceiling). Or, add board orcard games into the mix of activities, or have a sleepover in the tent with friends. There is no limits for imagination.It is time to have fun with your kids, share stories, and connect with them by talking and playing together.

You can transform almost any container into a candle vessel.

Eggshells are the perfect vessel for a small votive style candle.

Make these for any occasion, but why not try them around Easter for a great spin on an Easter present.

Paint and have fun doing it!

• eggshells

• food dye

• vinegar

• paper towel

• egg carton

• soy candle wax

• candle wick with metal tab

• hot glue gun

• wooden skewers

• Gently clean your eggshells in some soapy water and rinse.

• Place a few drops of food dye into a bowl of vinegar. One bowl for each colour.

• Place your eggshells in the dye bath and roll them through the dye for about 30 seconds. Keep the eggshell in the dye for longer if you want a stronger colour. You can use a spoon if you don’t want to colour your fingers.

• Dry your coloured eggshells on some paper towel.

• Place dried eggshells into an egg carton.

• Cut a piece of wick to 10cm in length and thread it through your metal tab.

• Secure the metal tab & wick to the bottom of the eggshell using a hot glue gun.

• Tie the pieces of wick to a wooden skewer to keep the wick out of the wax.

• Place your soy candle wax into a Pyrex jug (or a double boiler saucepan).

• Place jug in boiling water on the stove and wait until it melts. It will become clear when it’s ready. Take it off the heat as soon as it has melted.

• Pour the melted wax into the eggshells as carefully as possible.

• Leave your eggshells to dry for a few hours and once the wax is hard you can remove the wooden skewers and trim the wick.

• Place your new candles in some ceramic eggcups or make your own candle holders.