A Fun Fire-Starter Craft
What could be cozier than a campfire?
The glowing coals, the crackling wood, the bright flames, the floating sparks, and the moments of excitement when a child pokes the fire with a stick and knocks a burning log out of the fire ring all contribute to an experience that is both magical and primal. The beauty and warmth of a campfire, not to mention the opportunity to roast marshmallows, add so much to a family camping trip.
There is nothing like sitting around a fire and singing or listening to a story after a day of fresh air and activity to lull children into a state of quiet calm, the holy grail of parenting. However, starting a campfire in the backcountry can sometimes be challenging, and it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve.
Gathering Wood
If you are camping at a campground, it’s likely that you will need to purchase wood at the campground. In Ohio, transporting firewood is discouraged because of the danger of spreading destructive pests like the Emerald Ash Borer.
If you are camping in the backcountry in Ohio, however, there are always plenty of twigs and sticks and fallen branches on the forest floor to use for fuel. Once we get our tents set up, we send the kids out to gather tinder. This is a great kid activity. My husband has a small folding saw that we bring along, and our eight year old especially likes to saw branches for the fire from old fallen logs. Sawing will keep him busy for a long time!
To minimize your impact, follow the four Ds policy from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: dead, down, distant, and dinky. Never cut branches from living trees!
Starting the Fire
It can be surprisingly difficult to start a fire, especially if it has rained recently and your tinder is not totally dry. When I worked as a camp counselor the summer after I graduated from high school, I used to borrow a jug of lighter fluid from the maintenance guys to start our campfires, but I don’t recommend this when backpacking with your family.
The Cotton Ball Trick
One simple tip to help start a campfire is to bring a few cotton balls and a small tube of vaseline. Squeeze the vaseline onto the cotton balls, and light the cotton balls with a match or a lighter. The cotton balls will burn long enough to set your tiny twigs and kindling on fire.
The Wax and Lint Egg
Another fire starter that works even better is the wax and lint egg. I first read about this trick in Helen Olsson’s wonderful book called The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids. She describes it as “Martha Stewart and Bear Grylls meet back on the other side.” What a great aesthetic! I knew I needed to try this craft and share it with you. This a fun and effective way to start a fire, and you can make these wax and lint eggs with your kids with free materials that you likely have around your house.
Materials:
A handful of lint from the dryer (you can also use sawdust)
Ends of used up candles
Cardboard egg carton
1-2 empty 14 oz. tin cans
Pot lifter or pliers
Pot and stove
Directions:
- Remove the label from one or two 14 oz. tin cans and squeeze the top so that it will be easy to pour liquid wax from the can.
- Distribute the lint among the cups in the cardboard egg carton.
- Fill the tin cans about halfway with bits of wax and old candles.
- Set the cans in a pot of water and bring the water to a simmer. You can use metal cookie cutters to lift the cans off the bottom of the pot to create a double boiler. It will take about 20 minutes for the wax to melt. Exercise caution; wax vapor is highly flammable.
- When the wax has melted, use pliers or a pot lifter (we have one in our backpacking stove kit) to carefully pour the wax over the lint in the egg carton. I placed a cookie sheet under my egg carton to catch the small bit of wax that seeped through the carton.
- After the wax has cooled, cut the “eggs” apart.
- To start a fire, light the cardboard edges of your fire-starting egg. Watch it blaze brightly!
We made a dozen fire-starting eggs in January. We haven’t taken them camping yet, but we have used them to start fires in our fireplace at home. They burn brightly for about 5 minutes and work really well for starting fires. We think you could probably use them to start a fire with damp wood, and we’ll update you after we try it out!
Do you have any favorite tips for starting a fire? Share them in the comments!
