Campfire Hot Dog Spiders

Fun Camping Recipes for Kids

Hot Dog Spiders and Octopus – another fun and easy camping recipes for kids that they can make themselves, with just a little adult supervision. These are so fun and so easy to make that the kids will want to do them on every camping trip.

They work great as a campfire treat, or a meal, and can be served on a bun or a plate. Your kids will be talking about these long after the camping trip is over.

It’s how you slice it…

No secret recipe or ingredients – it’s all about how you slice the hot dog. As the pictures below will show.

Unless you are sure your young camper can handle a knife – it is probably best if an adult does the slicing of the raw hot dog – then let the kids roast them over the campfire. . This isn’t just delicious – it’s fun too.

Note
These creations work best with “bun length” hot dogs.

The Spider Hot Dog

Put two fingers over the center of the hot dog and slice through the center – from your fingers to the end. Then roll the hot dog 90 degrees and slice through the center again. The result will be four “legs.” Repeat this for the other end of the hot dog.

Make a few shallow cuts on the inside of each “leg,” this will make them curl more when roasted over a campfire.

Insert the roasting stick or fork through the center unsliced part of the hot dog.

The Squid Hot Dog

Cut the hot dog in half. Put two fingers over the rounded end of the hot dog and slice through the center – from your fingers to the end. Then roll the hot dog 90 degrees and make two slices. This will give you 6 “legs.” Repeat this for the other half of the hot dog.

Make a few shallow cuts on the inside of each “leg,” this will cause them to curl more when roasted over a campfire.

Insert the roasting stick or fork through the center unsliced end of the hot dog.

The Octopus Hot Dog

This one is like the squid cut above*, except that your two fingers are over one end of the hot dog, not the middle.

*If you want a more ‘accurate’ ‘8-leg’ octopus, this is the cut:

Place two fingers over one end of the hot dog. Cut diagonally from the top corner’ to the bottom corner.’ Do that again for the other top ‘corner.’ Then make one cut down the middle, (from the top), from your fingers to the end.

Make a few shallow cuts on the inside of each “leg,” this will cause them to curl more when roasted over a campfire.

Insert the roasting stick or fork through the center of the unsliced end of the hot dog.

Another Easy Campfire Meal For Kids

How to Make Pie Iron Pizza and other Kid’s foods
So quick and easy, these pie iron ideas for camp meals and treats are a real novelty. Your kids will be talking to them long after the camping trip is over.

Campfire Roasting Forks

Campfire Roasters

Sharpened sticks are fun to use – when they are available, but sometimes nothing beats the preparedness of having a few ready-made roaster forks on hand.

More fun and easy camping recipes for kids:

Campfire Desserts and Treats
Brownie Oranges	Monkey Bread

Dirt & Worms Pie	Hobo Pastry

Taco in a Bag

Notes and discussions:
Camping with kids requires some camping gear and accommodations that you might not normally consider if just camping with adults.
*Note – all shopping links are my own Amazon affiliate links – which I only use to recommend good-quality camping gear – Gus

Bad Weather Survival Ideas for Camping with Kids:
Bad Weather? Kids confined to the tent? Save your sanity – be prepared with these games and activities to keep them occupied.

The links are for individual products, or the all-in-one bad weather kit. (as pictured)

CampingwithGus.com Rainy Day Camping with kids games and activities

Available as an all-in-one kit – Just click the image to see complete all-in-one Camping activities for Kids and camp games for kids Bad Weather Survival kit” – All you have to do is select the item quantities to match your number of kids!

Here are a few items and resources that may prove helpful:

Pie Irons for Campfire Cooking

If you go camping with kids, you should have at least one Pie Iron, (preferably one for each kid), in your camping cookware. They are versatile – you can make anything from grilled cheese sandwiches to instant fruit pies. And they are so safe and easy to use that you can let your young campers make their own fun camping recipes for kids.

Just pop in the ingredients, close, cook over the campfire, and out comes delicious sandwiches, biscuit-dough fruit tarts, or dozens of other camp food choices.

Boy Scout Handbook

A Boy Scout Handbook is one of the most helpful pieces of general camping gear you can have. It’s a great source of camping ideas, tips, and activities for your young campers.

It contains easy-to-understand answers and how-tos for almost any camping question. Plus, it contains plant and foliage identifications, campsite activity suggestions, survival tips, and detailed primary first aid instructions.

See available Boy Scout Handbooks

Check out these great examples of camping gear items useful for camping with kids. Once you have these pieces of gear included in your camping equipment, you will wonder how you ever did without them. Especially when you see how inexpensive they are when you buy them online.