Who remembers setting up your toy ironing board right next to your mama while emulating her every move? I personally don’t have this memory to recall but every time I pull out my little side table at the campfire one of the girls say “Oh my gosh, you just brought back so many fond memories for me.” Then I hear their wonderful stories about ironing next to their mama.
Ironing Board as a Campfire Side Table?
Just imagine, you get invited to your girlfriend’s campfire, set up your chair but have nowhere to set your drink. The ground it is! Then your drink gets spilled or your dinner plate has creepy crawlers all over it that you don’t see in the dark when you get up to go home. Or even worse, you don’t remember your extra items that you left under your chair and leave them overnight or forever!
Problem Solved!
A baby ironing board to the rescue. They really hold a lot! Your drink, a dinner plate, and even your flashlight or decorative trinket (if you are fancy like that.)
You can even hang a bag on the side to keep it up off the ground. Also, if you’re a tent camper, they make amazing little tables inside your tent! Dual purposing is essential when camping!
Where to Store Your Board?
These little toys fold up amazingly small and flat so finding a place in the camper to store a baby ironing board is super simple.
Store upright in the closet of your camper or even under a cushion or even better, a metal board hanging on the wall serves dual duty as a magnet board. Then when you’re ready to head to the campfire, just grab it off the wall.
Where Do I Find a Baby Ironing Board?
I see these in antique stores all the time. Even more at the flea market or at yard sales. Ebay, Etsy and Amazon have a plethora of tiny boards to choose from. Go to Amazon if you want a new one to make it your own. Paint it in your glamping theme if you want.
I find mine at my local flea market, Jakes Flea Market, usually around $3-5. I regularly find them around $12-$25 at antique stores. I’ve also seen them range from $60-$80 and a higher-end antique center. (I would never pay that much but if you want one “just like you had as a child”, you may have to search harder and pay more) Sometimes nostalgia plays a role here, of course.
How to Care For Your Board.
This is sometimes overlooked only because you are excited to use these things. I sometimes leave my board to sit outside my camper to hold a light or decorative object (again, dual duty is essential!), because of this you will probably want to seal it with something to make it weatherproofed.
Dew falls in the morning and it will be wet, and if metal, will possibly rust, or damage if it’s wood. I seal mine with a clear spray sealer (to keep the vintage look). Be sure not to spray too thick around the folding mechanism so that it still folds up easily. A friend of mine used a wax sealer on her wood board. You choose what would be best for you, just so it’s sealed from the elements.
I hope you find your childhood Ironing board to use as your campfire side table. When you do please take a picture and share it in our Pennsylvania GirlCamper group so others can be jealous until they find their own side table.
0 Comments