Safe Fireside Activities from the Comfort of Your Home

Fireplaces have been a staple feature of homes since the 12^th century, gradually shifting from having a prioritised purpose for warmth to one of aesthetic value. Nowadays, fireplaces predominantly are included in our homes as a design element, but back in the day when they were used for warmth and practicality they were very much a hub of the household.

Having the fireplace as a focal point in your room and partaking in activities around it can be a great way to spend quality time with your family and keep everyone engaged with one another, rather than distracted by simply watching the TV in silence.

Whether you have a wood burning fire or an electric fire, we’ve listed three activity ideas you can enjoy around your indoor fireplace.

Toasted Marshmallows

If you have a traditional wood burning fireplace, then you will be lucky enough to enjoy a campfire classic from the comfort of your home: toasted marshmallows. Enjoyable for all ages, toasting marshmallows makes for a novel experience and a tasty treat, with the crip, scorched surface pleasing your tastebuds with a slight smokiness, before making way for the sweet oozing centre.

All you need are some marshmallows and some long roasting sticks to stick these on, then sit around your fireplace and hold these over the flames, swivelling them around until they reach your desired level of toastiness.

If you have kids, then buying mega marshmallows can make this an even more fun and authentic experience for them – especially if they’ve never been around a campfire before! Since there is still danger involved with being around an open flame, we recommend you look at getting a fireguard if you do not own one already, as your children will be able to toast their marshmallows over this or through the gaps in its grates without the risk of coming into contact with the fire.

Family Game Night

The fireplace acts as the perfect cosy setting for a fun-filled family game night. The flickering flames of an electric fire provide the perfect ambience for some quality evening entertainment with your friends or family, without the danger of burning anyone or becoming too hot (as you can choose whether to have its heat setting turned on or off).

Pull out a deck of cards or your favourite board games, lay some cushions down and a few snacks and you’re good to go!

Romantic Indoor Picnic

In the current economic climate, it’s understandable that people may want to avoid going out too much at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy quality time together with your partner – why not have a stay-at-home date night, instead?

Setting some blankets, pillows, snacks and wine on the floor in front of your fireplace with the lights dimmed down can make for a cosy and romantic evening that still feels different to how you normally spend your time at home together. To really up the cosy-factor, you could even have your heating turned off and rely on the warmth of your fire to keep you comfortable; if you have a gas fireplace, this even works out as an incredibly energy efficient way of heating up your room.

If it’s about time for you to install a new fire in your home, then look to Fireplace Superstore for the best solutions. We supply a range of gas and electric fires, as well as wood burning stoves, to suit your needs. Get in touch with us today for more information.