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The atmosphere is already set by the beautiful backdrop Mother Nature provides, the smell of the camp fire and whatever pleasurable foods you’ve prepared for the weekend. Want some easy recipes? But now what? The Camping Guy has some ideas for those camping moments when nothing seems to be going on.

The Obvious: Horse Shoes, Volleyball, Badminton, Card Games, Board Games and Croquet. These are all fun and engaging sports that anyone can be a part of. What makes them even better is how easily available and inexpensive they are. You can find them separately and in sets at any sporting goods store or retail location with a sporting goods section. A great selection of popular board games can be found at any toy or department store. The Camping Guy, however, suggests www.boardgames.com for cheap camp games delivered right to your door!

For The Family:
Hollywood Pictionary: With a large pad of paper and a hand full of pencils, each family member takes turns drawing their favorite Hollywood Stars. This is a great game for teams and giving away prizes like Electronic Hand Held Card Games, Portable Checkers, Uno, Game Balls.

Animal Antics: This is animal charades! Write the name of up to 50 animals, especially barnyard, onto small pieces of paper, fold them in half and put them in a bucket. After creating teams, have one person from each team blindly choose a paper and take turns acting out that animal’s behavior without making a sound. The opposing team members must guess which animal they are. The team who guesses the most correctly, wins!

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Camping in the cold weather provides a unique challenge….staying warm! Here’s a couple of ways to beat the cold and have a warm and fun campout.

The Traditional Campfire
This age old tradition, when done safely, is a great experience and creates mood and atmosphere for your campsite. Start your campfire right by raking and removing all dead wood and leaves in a ten-foot radius around your fire pit. If you don’t have a fire pit, then create one by removing the first 3 inches of dirt or so. Place a bed of coals or rocks in it and top with your clean, dry wood. Fire-starter bricks are safest and easiest to use in starting the fire but they catch fire easily, so keep them put away when not in use. Don’t forget to keep an extinguisher on-hand for emergencies and a shovel to help restore your campsite when you leave. More campfire safety tips.

Camping Generators
Technologically speaking, the most convenient way to stay warm or to use any appliance while camping is to use a generator like the Yamaha 1,000-Watt Portable Generator. Like other recreational generators, this one is lightweight (28 lbs.) and provides 12 hours of running time on a full tank. They also claim they have dampened the noise with noise absorbing materials. The Yamaha is relatively inexpensive as far as generators go and this model can run several appliances at the same time. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Camping Heaters
Propane Heaters are perfect camping heaters and an inexpensive, efficient way to keep your personal space warm in cold weather camping. They are often safe, convenient and easy to use like the Coleman BlackCat Portable Catalytic Heater. This small, portable camping heater comes equipped an 8″round heater to maximize your heated area, and runs up to 7 hours at 3,000 BTU on one 16.4 oz cylinder of propane. It’s rated for indoor use, since there is no flame!

With these great options at hand and a blanket or two, your next camping adventure is sure to be a warm and comfortable one. For more information about what you need for cold weather camping. Happy Camping.

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Low and behold, there are some very interesting jobs in this world and I’m glad to be sharing with you some that involve camping, campsites and campgrounds. Amazing, fun and perhaps a little peculiar, getting paid to camp is possible and a growing market in jobs.

Campsites all over the nation fill positions for groundskeepers but these days, the call of duty goes beyond that. Many of the employees that work for campgrounds, RV parks and parks are often expected to have a sense of customer service and pride for their work, rather than just the ability to remove trash and keep the grounds in order.

There are positions for tour guides, guided horse tour guides, concierge, and customer assistants. Each job has specific roles such as guiding new guests to their campsite and helping them hook up their RV to the sewer line, if needed. Others are available day and night to watch over the sites and provide any emergency assistance, when necessary.

Apparently, there are now also camp worker groups like at www.workamper.com where families, whether full-time or part-time, tour the country, working at different campsites for the experience. Rumor has it this great new career path has its rewards and instant memorable experiences.

County programs are also becoming more popular for working parents. Children are taken to local parks, hiking trails and county events by trained professionals with experience in handling children. Though the jobs are not considered plentiful, the right education and love for children and the outdoors makes it an altruistic job at the least.

If you think that a camping job is right for you, do some Internet research. Camping jobs also strike me as an excellent past time for retirees and families on summer vacation. So get out there, go camping and get paid for it!

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Living in the U.S. can often mean plenty of fatty foods during the holidays and fast food when we’re busy. The stress on our hearts and weight is astonishing! The great outdoors can be very helpful with health and weight loss. Just a quick jog or a long walk in your neighborhood once a day is so good for your body. And of course, those who camp often look forward to the healthy benefits of a hike, walk or the vigorous activity of simply setting up your campsite. However, in order to feel your best for your camping trip, and to ensure you’ll be comfortable with that hike, shaping up before you go is a good idea. So here’s some great ideas on how to shape up before you head out on your next camping trip.

Walk..walk..walk
Just a 10-15 minute walk daily can greatly improve calorie burning, weight loss and circulation, among many other things. But more than that, once you break that initial lazy, hold-back on yourself, you’ll find that you enjoy walking. Exercise of any caliber causes the body to be stimulated, which in turn releases endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are what cause happiness and satisfaction in our moods. So get out there and walk every day for just a bit. You will enjoy your camping trip even more!

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If you love the ambiance of the outdoors and the memories of an unforgettable camping experience, pass it along this holiday season. Put aside the usual DVD and socks this year, especially for the kids, and try out these great outdoor camping gift ideas:

• For Young Campers wrap up an outdoor activity like play tunnels, or horse shoes. If you have young ones who have never been camping, start with the basics like a colorful sleeping bag and fun flashlight. Also make sure to pick up plenty of table-top fun like coloring books, crayons and card games like Uno or Old Maid.

• With adolescents and teens, avoiding the electronics may be a little difficult. So aside from an art set for the artists and a magnifying glass for the explorers, portable game systems are the best way to go. For a more practical camping gift, a camping gear backpack or bag filled with camping gadgets like a swiss army knife, waterproof flashlight, travel bath set and a new scarf and hat is a fun gift to open!

• To impress the husband, a new pair of hiking boots with wool socks, gel inserts and spare shoelaces say so much. This gift will certainly make his hiking experience much more comfortable and pleasant. If you’re looking to splurge, get that great digital camera he’s been talking about so he can take some great pictures of the view on his hike and the family camping!

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Just as the ABC’s are to reading, spelling and writing, camping can be an essential part of your child’s survival tactics. Knowledge is power and the more your children know about their world, indoors and out, the stronger they can be in a time of crisis or emergency. Specific information about camping in the hands of a child can also keep them safe and prepare them for unexpected relocation or evacuation.

So what can you teach your kids while camping? Besides how to have a good time with mother nature, you can teach your kids a number of things from how to use a utility knife, to how to start and put out a fire. Teach them to use the outdoor grills, pitch a tent and other camping equipment.