Summer Camping Gift Basket

As you head to the backyard this summer arm yourself with a Summer Camping Gift Basket filled with everything you need to keep mosquitoes away, your family’s skin from harm, and temperaments on an even keel!

Anything to do with the out-of-doors during the summer also includes bugs. Are you going to back down to a few mosquitoes and let them ruin your camping fun? No, you aren’t. If you and your children want to have a picnic in the backyard or roast a hot dog in the great out-of-doors, you should! After all, it is your backyard.

A Summer Camping Gift Basket is a basketful of ways to prevent “summer” itches or at least provide a means of controlling the scratching after the summer itches—from mosquitoes, other insects, plants or the sun—appear.

It’s hard to find a summer picnicking area that hasn’t already been discovered by mosquitoes, but it’s also hard to sit inside all summer and watch picnicking opportunities pass you by. So…what are you waiting for? Arm yourself and get out there and make some S'mores!

Basic Items Needed in a Summer Camping Gift Basket

• Sunscreen
• Skin So Soft body lotion (Avon makes it and it works!)
• Citronella bracelets
• Citronella candles
• Flyswatter
• Hot dogs and fixin’s

I personally don’t recommend mosquito spray—the least amount of pesticides on your family or in the air, the better. For my family, Skin So Soft would be my first line of defense. It’s body/hand lotion. It smells nice, and it keeps the bugs away. What more could you ask for? (Seriously, ask your Avon Lady.) As for the citronella bracelets—they also work and aren’t a bad idea. (Check the label for ages and usage.) At our house we put the bracelets on ankles rather than wrists. On the ankle they’re out of the way—you don’t smell them as much—and they’re still doing the job they were intended to do. The flyswatter will come in handy anywhere there are bugs. My advice: don’t leave home without it.

As for citronella candles, I like the ones on a stake rather than the ones you set right on the table. I prefer placing the stakes in a 12’ perimeter around the picnic table or camping area…far enough way so you don’t have to worry about anyone getting burned, yet close enough so that the scent still keeps the bugs away. (Candles and hot wax can be very dangerous—be very careful when using stake candles or any candles, especially where children are present. Also be careful to keep candles away from foliage and flammable materials.)

Bug Bites Are Inevitable

And since mosquito bites itch, children will scratch. Sometimes it’s best to just slap a bandage over bites that are easily accessible to little fingers as scratching can lead to infection. For those hard to reach places, a backscratcher might come in handy. Just don’t “over” scratch and you’ll be okay.

When mosquito bites get the best of you and your family, pick up some oatmeal bath soap or make an oatmeal poultice by wrapping several thicknesses of cheesecloth around a couple tablespoons of oatmeal. Tie into a bag or pouch and hang over the bath faucet so that the warm water runs over it. The oatmeal should soothe the itch enough to make you comfortable.

Some Natural Mosquito Repellents

• Rosemary
• Catnip
• Marigolds
• Citronella

Remember, also, to pack your Summer Camping Gift Basket early in the year and keep it handy all summer—minus the hot dogs, of course. That way, if you decide on the spur of the moment to take a hike, your “necessities” will already be packed. Just toss the basket into the backseat and away you go for as much fun in the sun as your family can handle!

HINTS:

• Be prepared, mosquitoes are everywhere and you don’t just look like a meal to them, you ARE a meal. (Other bugs bite too…such as ants. Ants don’t like cinnamon, so sprinkle cinnamon on the picnic area and see if it works as a deterrent.)
   
• If the picnic is to be in your backyard and you’re able to supervise the area…light the citronella candles an hour or so before the picnic to chase the mosquitoes away early.
   
• Sunscreen should be applied at least 15 minutes before you are actually in the sun, and it should be applied several times during the course of the day—more if you are in the water. (Each type of sunscreen is different: check sunscreen bottle for specific application instructions.)
   

~Helen Kay Polaski

Helen Kay Polaski is addicted to giving! She began surprising neighbors with unique and personally tailored gift baskets when her children were still young. Twenty-five years later “gift basket giving” is a family tradition. When it comes to creating the perfect gift basket, Helen knows her stuff!