Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Why S’mores Create the Happiest Campers (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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Would you believe that I have never EVER been camping in all my years on this earth? And would you believe that I don’t feel sad about that, either?! Yeah, I’m not much of an outdoor girl. I think it is because I was raised in a part of the country where mosquitoes thrive and unbelievably large insects roam freely. Also, it’s hot most of the year, and muggy the entire year. So that’s not exactly the kind of conditions that most people dream of when thinking about spending the night outside!

Even so, I do have fond memories of going on hay rides and doing camp fires with my youth group (that’s about as close to camping out as I ever got!). And I can see where getting to do things like camp out in your backyard as a kid would be so much fun. I don’t want Darah to miss out on these kinds of adventures just because they aren’t my cup of tea. I will not discourage her from camping out (maybe her dad will even take her and leave me home!). And I’ll certainly make sure that she knows the most important lesson of all when it comes to camping…

HOW TO MAKE A S’MORE

Because really, everything else is just details, people!

Tim recently made an indoor camp for Darah (ok, really for all of us) to play in. We had the BEST time, and it was all bug-free, thank you very much!

Since I wanted to make sure we covered the essentials of camping right away, I brought out the plate of S’mores supplies. On a whim, I bought the chocolate graham crackers at the store…they totally rock as the S’mores foundation!


My little one wasted NO time sampling the ingredients! While she’s still a bit too young for the full melted S’more experience, she already totally gets that when you put together marshmallows, Hershey’s chocolate and graham crackers, something really magical happens. It certainly brought back fun memories for me, and got me so very excited about all the new memories that await my family on all our future camping trips…even if they all take place in our living room!

I want to encourage you to pop over to Hershey’s Facebook page because they are having a great giveaway! Just capture your favorite S’mores moments and submit your photos for a chance to win S’mores-themed prizes. The grand prize is a Canon Rebel Camera, slate marble outdoor firebowl, $250 SnapFish gift card, roasting skewers and all of the ingredients needed to make S’mores!

Win it!: Thanks to Hershey’s, I’ve got an opportunity for you to make fun memories with your family through your own special camp out! One Stuff Parents Need reader will win a S’mores pack, which contains Hershey’s chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows. The giveaway will run until September 7th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.


Mandatory entry:Tell me about your experience camping out? Do you love it? Have any tips for someone like me who has never been? Anything relevant to the topic works for me.

Additional entries:

1. Sponsor love:  Like Hershey’s on Facebook

2. Blogger love: Like Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of the page.

Disclosure: This post is part of my participation in the Hershey’s “Say S’mores” Promotion. All opinions expressed are mine.

S’mores: Capture the Fun and Win an Awesome Prize Pack!

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Do you love S’mores? Maybe I should be asking if anyone out there DOESN’T love S’mores? They are pretty close to impossible not to love, I think. They always make me think of summer, and camp bonfires.

My favorite way to eat a S’more is by putting a lightly toasted marshmallow (none of that burnt stuff, thanks) on top and letting that just start to melt the chocolate. I bite into it before the center of the chocolate piece has melted, so I get this awesome combination of flavors AND textures. YUM!!!

This summer, there’s a great promotion going on at Hershey’s Facebook page. Starting today, you can capture and share your favorite S’mores moments for a chance to win a variety of S’mores-themed prizes. Wanna hear about the grand prize? It includes the following:

  • Canon Rebel Camera
  • Slate marble outdoor firebowl
  • $250 SnapFish gift card
  • roasting skewers set
  • all of the ingredients needed to make S’mores!

Are you in? Yeah, me too! I’ve got graham crackers, jumbo marshmallows and Hershey chocolate bars on my grocery list this week so we can participate! If you want to do the same, don’t miss out on the $1 coupon on the Facebook page that you can put toward a 6-pack of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars! Get on it and take some awesome pictures of the family fun. Just make sure your pics aren’t quite as good as mine ;-).

Later this summer I’ll be giving away a S’mores prize pack, as well. So stay tuned!

Disclosure: This post is part of my participation in the Hershey’s “Say S’mores” Promotion. All opinions expressed are mine.