Quality Time Around the Backyard Firepit

Growing up, our dining room table was a place of daily gathering for my family. We prayed, we ate, we talked, laughed, played games and even occasionally got grounded for getting too rowdy. That table was—and still is—a centerpiece in my parents’ life.

In fact, my dad built it with his own two hands. It’s got scratches, dings, fork-prong imprints and permanent scars from years gone by, but it represents for a lifetime of memories my dad and mom. It’s something I look back on with a smile.

Shortly after our daughter was born, my father and I began working on a table of my very own for our household. We built it together and it is now a daily gathering place at our house, carrying the same value to us as my father’s did to him—family time.

As our kids have grown and we’ve relocated a time or two, we’ve found another favorite spot that provide the same intimacy and conversation that keeps a family close.

The steel firepit on our back patio provides us daily reconnection as flames leap from popping logs above glowing embers. There’s something about a fire that brings people together, too. Perhaps it’s the warmth combined with a cold or hot drink and camp chairs. The whole scene is like a deep exhale of relaxation.

It feels good to let the daily stresses melt away in front of a fire, add snacks or a drink and it’s all the merrier. And Stanley makes it easy.

We like to move dinner fireside on the patio, and one of our favorite meals is chicken noodle soup or beef stew. We fill up the Stanley Adventure Camp Crock with our soup or stew to keep it hot, filling up our mugs and bowls while we reflect on our day and catch up.

After the kids have left the fire, my wife and I will throw another log on to spend some time alone. Often, we’ll pour a bourbon from the Stanley Unbreakable Hip Flask or craft beer served up from a Stanley Easy Pour Growler into a Stanley Big Grip Beer Stein.

Making a point of connecting with each other around the firepit has provided so much quality time spent together.

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If whiskey or beer isn’t on the menu, a hot cup of tea or decaf coffee in the Stanley Classic Camp Mug is an ideal substitution and a perfect way to end the day.

As summer sets in and the evenings warm, a few nights a week are spent around a small yet inviting blaze on the patio, which has quickly become another family tradition we cherish.