Bringing the Outdoors Inside with Backyard Safari Outfitters

It’s no secret that Houston in the summertime is hot, hot, hot. We have a decent-sized backyard, but without a lick of shade, the kids aren’t often eager to go out and play. We’ve been having fun recently, though, by bringing outside fun indoors with gear from Backyard Safari Outfitters.

We were sent several products for review, including the Base Camp Field Shelter and Mini Lantern, Camouflage, Hiking Stick, and Mega Magnifier.

The Base Camp Field Shelter from Backyard Safari is much larger than you might expect, very easy to set up, and surprisingly sturdy. My 3yo son was enchanted with it straight out of the box, and insisted on sleeping in it every night for more than a month! It was wonderful to have the Mini Lantern with it, too, since he kept it on to look at books on his own before falling asleep. And just so you know (because this was a concern of mine), the light from the lantern lasts for a long time and never gets hot to the touch.

{for the record, this was AFTER my 10yo straightened it up for me! my 3yo usually rolls up into a little cocoon within the space of the tent and sleeps that way!}

My son used the Camouflage with the Shelter a few times, but preferred to leave it off. We keep the Camouflage handy, though, for whenever he changes his mind on that.

My 10yo son quickly laid claim to the Hiking Stick. We may not be out in the woods with it, but he still enjoys goofing off inside with it and using it to assert some kind of random authority.

And the Mega Magnifier has been a lot of fun for discovering the most ordinary of household items (including the cats!). My 3yo loves to use it to just look through – it makes everything like a circus funhouse mirror!

{I'm not sure why he looks so dazed here! Pretty funny, though.}

It’s sometimes hard not being able to enjoy all the things we used to now that we live where the summer heat is so oppressive. But it’s been very fun to have the Backyard Safari Outfitters gear to help us use our imaginations and bring the outdoors, IN.

*Disclosure: we were sent the Backyard Safari Outfitters gear through our involvement with Team Mom. No other compensation was received. All opinions expressed are honest and my own. Including that fact that it’s just too dang hot here to camp outside right now!

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