How to Spend the End of Summer With Your Kids

A fun end-of-summer party idea is a campout!

This theme works especially well with children between the ages of 8 and 12. A fun overnight slumber party in late August is a perfect way to end summer before heading back to school.

Here are some fun activities to pass the time:

Enjoy a proper cookout, and end the evening with s’mores.

Have a water balloon fight.

Tell scary ghost stories before going to bed. Have the storyteller hold a flashlight.

Play flashlight tag.

Pitch tents together.

Use a telescope and gaze at the stars. Teach a fun astronomy lesson while you do this.

Make tie-dyed T-shirts—a great take-home campout party favor.

Blow bubbles and shine your flashlights on them. This produces cool effects everyone is sure to love.

Make luminary bags with your guests to light the path to their tents.

Take a long hike/walk through your neighborhood, or, even better, in a nearby wooded area or park.

Have a sing-along around the campfire. Does anyone play guitar?

Provide bug jars and catch fireflies.

Favors for this party can include flashlights, tie-dyed T-shirts, or little knapsacks filled with camping stuff (bug spray, glow-in-the-dark stickers, water guns, glow bracelets, little plastic animals that you would find in the woods, etc.). The ideas are endless.

As you can see, overnight camping parties are great fun. Kids love them, and you will too, given the variety of activities that can easily fill the night.

One cautionary note, and this is true of any sleepover: Make sure to get contact information from parents when they drop their kids off. Some kids are ready to spend the night away from home and others are not. In case someone wants to go home or gets sick, make sure to have the parents’ contact details on hand to make that important call.

Happy camping trails to you!

This article originally appeared on Cozi

This article was written by Lisa Kothari for Cozi, a Time Inc. company. Cozi is the leading family organizing app that makes it simple to keep track of everyone’s schedules, shopping lists and to dos. Information is updated in real time and shared with each member of the family, so everyone is always on the same page. Get the Cozi app (it’s free!) at cozi.com or search for Cozi in your favorite app store.

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