Tell me your camping ‘must haves’ please

[Poochnewbie]

Just bought a tent. I’m not the most enthusiastic camper but I think the kids and dh will love it so I really want to make it work and enjoy it.
So far we’ve invested in:
Gas stove
Kitchen unit
Camping kettle, washing up bowl etc
Dining stuff
Decent beds and sleeping bags
Gas bottles
Table and chairs
Picnic blanket
Footprint and carpet

Plan to get:
Portable power washer for dog
Lights
Heater
Trailer

What will make it that bit nicer? What is a waste of time?

Washer for dog!!??

Door mat and crocs!

A toilet for emergency midnight wees. Saves tramping across a muddy field. Doesn’t need to be fancy - mine is basically a bucket with a lid, and I put a bin liner with cat litter in it.

A Kampa Khazi.

Also, a door mat and a couple of trug type buckets - one by the front door for shoes, one to put board games /entertainment stuff for the kids.

Torches for night time trips to loo
Extension cable specifically for outdoor use.
Electric fridge or cool box
Sleep masks if not a blackout tent and ear plugs if anyone is a remotely light sleeper.
A large machine washable dirt trapper rug for just inside the door- if it’s raining outside it’s nice to be able to step in to get shoes off and on.

Also
Sleep in the beds before going in case they need tweaking for comfort.
Bring winter hats for chilly evenings
Flip flops for showers

I have a carpet for my tent but I very rarely use it - it wrinkles up and bits of grass act stick to it like velcro, the fabric it's made of means it's difficult to brush and if you want to shake it off out of the tent you've got to move everything to take the carpet out and out it back. I prefer to just have the ground sheet and an Ikea rag rug.

Plenty of extra blankets is good - even on a hot sunny day it can be freezing at night.

Ear plugs and eyeshadow - eat plugs are good if there is a snorer in an adjacent tent, but also for very heavy rain, noisy geese, cows etc and an eye shade to enable you to sleep in past 4am.

Crocs

I have some of those foam jigsaw mats with holes in (aldi usually have them with their camping stuff) to put outside the tent door. It reduces the amount of mud, grass etc that comes into the tent.

Smidge midge repellent and citronella incense coils.

Solar powered phone charger or in-car charger.
Insect zapper
Insect repellent
Thermals
Ground stake for dog

That should be eye shade not eyeshadow!!! Auto correct!

Thick and/or thermal socks to wear in bed

Seriously even if it is a warm day you will be thankful of them at 2am as will your children

There's a camping section which is under threat of deletion just now.
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I like my Trangia stove.
My teeny tiny inflatable sleeping mat.
Now I'm older I appreciate a pillow.

If I'm car camping (more gear ) I bring bunting so I can find my tent.

Have you got a porch for your tent? I’m new to camping but this is definitely next on my list.

Oodles of patience.....

As well as thick socks for bed, I would recommend woolly hats too - unless you are camping in the Med! I camped for 4 nights last August at a family friendly festival and whilst the weather was fine during the day the nights were absolutely freezing due to the clear skies and for 2 nights we needed a spare sleeping bag over our own, a fleece on over PJ's and hats on (although a balaclava would have been useful). I have not been that cold in a long time.

Wine
Gin
Irish whisky

Wee bottle - with a lady part bit too. Make sure you get a litre one. We actually have 2!

In tent footwear - so it doesn't end up like a swamp.

Wetwipes - depending if camping is going to be a hobby, easy way to wash your face.

Antibacterial wipes - again if camping as a hobby, easiest way to clean plates. Some people go for disposable stuff, it's not really friendly to the environment.

Thick fleece blanket - in case it gets cold.

Decent camping stove - nothing more lush than a cooked breakfast in the outdoors. You can also pre make stuff to heat.

Cool box - I think there's some with batteries, or you can charge them, so you can keep stuff cool.

Ultimate luxury - inflatable tent, as you don't need poles etc, literally manually pump it up and it's just magic.

Ooh from last camping experience, emergency waterproofs.

I know some of these are a luxury, I could go on, it depends on weather you're camping twice a year, or as much as possible.

Ooh fluffy pyjamas ❤️

Food

Clothes pegs. Hot water bottles

Agree small toilet (bucket with lid)
Small fridge.

Solar lights attached to tent so you can find your way back after a midnight toilet trip. Definitely recommend an inflatable tent: it’s reduced our pitching time by a third.
A separate day tent so you can keep food smells in the main tent to a minimum (yes, I have ocd tendencies) and also gives you room to spread out if you’ve stayed on site due to appalling weather - ours is 3m square by Outwell.
Head torches are easier for kids to use than hand-held torch.
We love our Outwell tent carpet and find it brushes off really easily, and makes it much warmer for sitting on the floor.
Two separate washing up bowls: one for dirty stuff and one for clean stuff that’s air-drying.
Some board games/removable in-car screen with for bad weather family afternoons in.
Quiet games/puzzles/books for early morning risers.
Extra pegs, mallet, guy ropes.
Peg-remover gadget.
Have fun!

Earplugs - camping the IOW this week so noisy at night - god bless the parents that let their 5 year being a recorder with them....

Sorry @coffeeagogo but 😂😂😂 I feel your pain.

The biggest wind breaker you can find ( no I do not mean DP and their farts )
As well as keeping the wind off it increases privacy esp if you are going to get a loo / bucket .
Pot noodles and the likes easy to cook food is a must.
Head torches , just remember to take them off before you step under the shower !
A couple of power banks for phones.
Brand new petrol cans ( the plastic type ) are great for carrying water .
If you are useing gas bottles ( rather than cans ) get a pressure gauge so you can see how much gas you have got left , but bear in mind the are not 100% accurate.

Masking tape
Waterproof spray
Bucket to pee in