Camping bingo printable + old-school camping hacks

Another long weekend is upon us (whoo hoo!) and if you're headed away for a three-day camping extravaganza, hit up the printer now and print out this fun camping bingo for the kids to do while you're away. 

Download and print these 5 sheets of camping bingo. Each page is slightly different.
Give each participant a pencil and they have to cross off something on the page as they find/see it.
First one to get a row up or down all crossed off wins. 

If you're not camping, you can still have little ones do it around the neighbourhood or backyard (see below).

CAMPING HACKS

To celebrate the clever, head-scratching and downright funny wonderful ways of Reader's Digest, we're giving you some of their top camping tips/hacks from an old book called Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things. You're welcome.

Some actual cool tips
* Use chest rub (like Vick's) on your legs and pants to repel ticks and other bugs when out in the bush. They don't like the smell. Chest rub will also immediately relieve itchy insect bites thanks to the eucalyptus and menthol.

Use a pillowcase as a dirty laundry bag - once home throw it all in the washing machine and the pillowcase too.

Freeze plastic bottles of water and juice and use as ice bricks for the esky on the trip. They'll keep food cold on the way, and can be drunk once they melt.

User gaffer (or duct) tape to repair holes in a tent so bugs don't get in. Stick it on both sides for extra protection (and the stickiness will stick to each other creating a better seal)

Control the inflammation caused by mosquito bites or bee stings by wetting youe skin and rubbing an aspirin over the spot.

Some questionable "hacks"

"Build a camp washing machine. Here's a great way to wash clothes while camping. Make a hole in the lid of a 20-litre plastic bucket and insert a new toilet plunger. Put in clothes and laundry detergent. Snap on the lid and move the plunger up and down as an agitator. You can even safely clean delicate garments." Cause nothing says CAMPING more than wearing silk and lace!

"Camp shower: A bucket perforated with holes on the bottom makes an excellent camp side shower. Hang it securely from a sturdy branch, fill it using another bucket or jug, then take a quick shower as the water comes out. Want to shower in warm water? Paint the outside of another bucket matte black. Fill it with water and leave it out in the sun all day to absorb heat." OR you could just shower in the camping site shower if there is one. Or use some water or wipes for a camp wash that's a little less time intensive.

"Sleep on air while camping: Get a bettter's night sleep on your next camping trip simple by carrying a 2-metre roll of wide bubble wrap to use as a mat under your sleeping bag. If you don't have a sleeping bag, just fold a 4-metre-long piece of wide bubble wrap in half, bubble-side-out, and gaffer tape the edges. Then slip in an enjoy a restful night in your makeshift padded slumber bag." 
Cause that will take up no extra space in your car, nor will you not freak out the moment your elbow pops one of said bubbles and you all jump from a restful slumber! 

"Improvise a frying pan. If you don't feel like lugging a frying pan along on a camping trip (especially if all your precious car space has been taken up by that 4-metre-long piece of bubble wrap), you can form your own by centring a forked stick over two layers of heavy-duty aluminium foil. Wrap the edges of the foil tightly around the forked branches, while leaving some slack in the foil between the forks. Invert the stick and depress the centre to hold food for frying." Then cry and regret your decision to not lug your actual frying pan along as the foil breaks and your steak falls to its second death into the firey pit below.

"On a camping trip or hike, when you don't want to carry a backpack, it's easy to lash a few items to your belt loop with the help of a curtain ring. Attach your joggers to your sleeping bag with a metal curtain ring, your gloves and water bottle can dangle from a metal shower-curtain ring." I just feel like a backpack would be less of an inconvenience than a water bottle smashing into your leg the entire time. And why wouldn't you just wear the joggers? What ARE you wearing on this hike? Why do you need two pairs of shoes? But maybe I'm not a seasoned professional...

Enjoy the long weekend! And feel free to leave your own ACTUAL camping hacks in the comments!