Thanksgiving is a great way to spend time with your family this weekend while having nature as your backdrop! From food to decor, you have to try these camping ideas!
Why I have never thought to camp (or glamp) on Thanksgiving is a mystery to me! Thanksgiving camping is a wonderful way to slow down, spend time with friends and family, with nature as your backdrop! It’s also a fun way to celebrate a Friendsgiving, the weekend before Thanksgiving too!
Read on to see what we got up to, what we used and – of course – what we ate!
How To Make Campfire Pumpkin Pies – Step by Step
- Mix the pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and milk in a bowl, until combined. Taste test to get your desired flavor… more or less sweet, etc.
- Butter 2 pieces of bread really well! The more, the better!
- Place the butter side down in the pie maker. Then scoop some pie filling into the center. Add the other piece of toast on the top.
- Close the pie maker.. extra bread will hang out of the side, but will fall off in the fire.
- Cook over the fire until golden brown. Turn periodically, so it doesn’t burn.
I also made campfire pumpkin pies, which I’ll go on record saying they taste better than traditional pumpkin pie! Easy and scrumptious. And we weren’t having Thanksgiving camping without sweet potatoes! For these, I baked them over the fire in foil, then added marshmallows, brown sugar and butter…. they were absolutely delicious!
Camping Ideas – Gourmet Hotdogs!
Surprisingly, cooking a full Thanksgiving menu over a campfire is actually really fun and totally achievable! I’ll be honest, I was going to cook the traditional turkey over the coals (or deep fry it), but I decided last minute to skip the tradition and go with gourmet turkey dogs instead, haha!! It is camping after all! The gourmet hotdogs were amazing! We topped them with stuffing and cranberry sauce too, so good! It was just the perfect fit for the setting.
Camping Ideas – Make a Cheeseboard
I’m all about a delicious cheese plate, so we stopped by C’est Cheese, in Santa Barbara for some charcuterie before heading to the campsite.
Here’s a little guide to cheese and how well they fare for camping:
Hard cheese
Great for extended trips, hot weather, snacking, and meal topping.
Camping Compatibility: Low moisture in aged hard cheeses concentrates flavor and extends shelf life. All hard cheeses sweat oil and whey, but opt for bricks over pre-sliced or shredded; moisture is easier to manage and the shelf-life is longer.
To store, wrap in waxed paper then loose plastic wrap–not a zip-top bag. Store in a food-specific stuffsack to prevent an oily mess.
Top picks
Cheddar: This fatty choice (9.5 g/ounce) is good fuel for cold or hard hikes. Pair with apples or drizzle with honey on crackers.
Mozzarella: The low-moisture, semi-dry variety is trail-worthy (the water-packed stuff is not). Haul smoked hunks and string singles, which last two weeks without refrigeration. Both melt well on pizza and get gooier and more flavorful as oils sweat.
Parmesan: Protein-dense and salty (450 mgs/ounce), this meal-topper is a recovery superfood. Pack solid pieces (trim the rind) and shave onto meals after cooking for easy cleanup.
Soft cheese
Best for Short trips, cool weather, and gourmet camp kitchens.
Camping Compatibility: Moisture makes them mold quickly. In our tests, samples stayed edible for a week at temps below 72℉; at higher temps, they spoiled in as little as two days.
For storage, you can purchase cryovac (vacuum-sealed) packs. After opening, seal in an airtight container and store in a cool part of your bag.
Camping Ideas – Decor
For the decor, I wanted it to be easy, so I used flowers and fruit from the grocery store. I added a few flowers to small glass jars (which you can also buy at the grocery store!), and then placed some pears and other pretty fruit on the table for easy decor. The leaves, around the campsite, were beautiful and added a festive fall touch. Everything else, I packed from home and took to the campsite.
Camping Ideas – Buying Guide
Copper mugs – Mark and Graham
Copper ice bucket – Mark and Graham
Napkins – Anthropologie
Gold flatware – Pier 1 Imports
Cashmere blanket – Mark and Graham
Canvas weekend bag – Mark and Graham
Board game – Mark and Graham
Ikat table runner – World Market
Hobo pie maker – World Market
Top Tips For A Great Camping Experience
- Bring Cozy Bedding
- Add Touches of Home. Items like colorful rugs, fresh flowers in a sturdy vase, a small mirror, art prints
and other decorative touches truly take your site from camp toglamp . - Light Up Your Space. Mini-LEDs and faux candles placed in tents and around your lounge area provide maximum glamping feel with minimal effort. Solar-powered lanterns add sustainable chic!
- Bring the Entertainment With You.
Check Out These Other Great Thanksgiving Ideas
DIY Thanksgiving Dessert Table
Printable T Shirt Designs For Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Kitchen Essentials
A Rustic Modern Thanksgiving Table
15 Fun Camping Games by Country Living
13 Thanksgiving Party Ideas and Fun Printables by Printable Crush
Of course, you can’t go camping without making s’mores, so I made a platter with toppings to create yummy flavors. We had wine, sparkling cider and Apple Cider Moscow Mules. There was stuffing, cranberry sauce, roasted vegetables and more. It really was a Thanksgiving glamping feast, all cooked fireside!
If you have tried any of these ideas/recipes, or any other ideas/recipes on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!
Campfire Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 milk
- Loaf white bread
- Butter
Instructions
- Mix the pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and milk in a bowl, until combined. Taste test to get your desired flavor… more or less sweet, etc.
- Butter 2 pieces of bread really well! The more, the better!
- Place the butter side down in the pie maker. Then scoop some pie filling into the center. Add the other piece of toast on the top.
- Close the pie maker.. extra bread will hang out of the side, but will fall off in the fire.
- Cook over the fire until golden brown. Turn periodically, so it doesn’t burn.
Bonnie Sanders says
November 11, 2015 at 10:48 amLooks Beautiful! I sure would love to know more about what you did with those waffle cookies with the fruit. They look delicious. Thanks!
Eden says
November 11, 2015 at 8:10 pmThanks Bonnie!! I love using those cookies for s’mores because they look so beautiful, right?! They’re thin too! They’re called Pizzelle cookies!
Kate says
November 14, 2015 at 6:21 pmI’m definitely not a fan of camping but even I would love to partake in something like this!
xx
bombshell-to-be.blogspot.com
Amber says
August 28, 2018 at 10:25 amWe backpacked the high country in Yosemite for years, though I can no longer carry a pack due to back problems from working, and I miss it so much. Having gone to Yosemite almost yearly my whole life I thought ‘wait, I COULD do this and still be a part of the beauty’. Then I realized we are speaking of 2 different El Capitans. Damn. But no, now you have inspired me to try this place.