If you are finding yourself with extra time at home right now, perhaps you could take a trip down memory lane to remember past camping trips. One of our favorite things to do is to relive those favorite memories, especially as a way to help our boys continue to remember them as they grow.
Today, we are talking to you about ways to remember past camping trips. This list comes from our new book See You at the Campground. You can order it online or in your favorite bookstore.
To hear more about ways to remember past camping trips, press play on the media player above or look for The RV Atlas wherever you find your favorite podcasts!
Photo Books
Photo books are a great way to relive favorite trips. Stephanie especially recommends checking out Chatbooks. She talked more about this service here.
This app is super easy and streamlined to use. Instead of spending tons of time having to create photo layouts, like you do for traditional photo books, Chatbooks puts one photo per page. You can add simple captions or use your Instagram ones.
Chatbooks actually connects easily with your Instagram account, so you don’t even have to go hunting for photos. Plus, you can easily set it up to automatically print books periodically. Another thing we love is the size–they are perfect for little hands!
One project idea is to make Chatbooks of your favorite campsites, with a simple caption of each location. Or, you could find all of the photos of your favorite National Parks Service sites. Think of a theme that connects with your interests!
Travel Puzzles
Hmmm…for some reason, Americans are suddenly doing more puzzles than they have in recent decades, which makes this a perfect time to buy or to create a puzzle relating to your favorite camping photos.
You can find puzzles for many tourist destinations online, or perhaps, you’ve already created one using your photos. We had one sitting around the house we had made from our trip to Mount Rushmore, and we’ve had some fun this week putting it together.
If you have time, get online and spend a few minutes creating a new puzzle. There are tons of sites where you can make your own and have them shipped.
One wonderful thing that families do around puzzles is talk! So, get your puzzle out, and make time to remember past camping trips!
Create a Special “Travel Space”
Do you have piles of printed photos stuck in a box somewhere? Consider doing some home projects with them, especially if you’re spending extra time at home right now. Maybe you’ve always meant to frame some, or perhaps you have empty photo albums waiting to be filled.
If you want to get your feng shui on, the northwest corner of your home is supposed to be the heart of travel. In our house, we have a relaxed spot where we feature some of our favorite travel prints and souvenirs (like the sweetgrass basket we bought in Charleston). Perhaps, you can make some time as a family to set up a space like this in your home. Get those travel vibes flowing!
Create a Camping Journal or Scrapbook
Now, we know straight up know that not all kids will enjoy this, but if you have the kinds of kids that would, spend some time creating a camping journal or scrapbook.
Some kids really enjoying reliving their favorite memories by writing about them or by creating scrapbook pages. You could put together a box of photos, postcards, travel brochures, and just let them go at it!
Postcard Clothesline
See America Banner / Photo by Gretchen Holcome
Another fun way to use those postcards and photos you’ve accumulated is by creating a postcard clothesline. String a line across a wall and use laundry pins to display your visual memories.
We got this idea from friend-of-the-show Gretchen Holcombe from Boxy Colonial. Gretchen used prints from the See America postcard book and created a super fun banner. This post tells you all about how to create your own, and you can see the darling NPS-inspired room she created for her son here.
If you have artistic kids, challenge them to create their own postcards to display (again, we know this really depends on what kind of child you have!).
Try not to sit around and mope! If you have extra time and are looking for a pick-me-up, spend some of it reliving those terrific memories you’ve made. We know we will all be out there camping again before we know it!
See You at the Campground,
Jeremy + Stephanie
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