Camping in the back garden?

[babycornplease]

So the weather has taken a turn for the worse. We've not been away anywhere and it's not looking likely that we will!
I've ordered a two man tent, and inflatable double mattress, and some battery powered fairy lights.
It's just me and my 2.9 (? Three in November for clarity!) year old and the dog.
Planning to do it next weekend. Am I completely mad??? Are we going to end up giving up and going inside by about ten?
If you don't think I am utterly bonkers, then any other tips for garden camping would be much appreciated!

Ah go for it! You’re only in the back garden, it’s not exactly far if you do decide to ditch it in the middle of the night

Go for it, it'll be fun! Camping is a lovely bonding experience to grow up with, everyone in the same "room" even if it is only in the garden. Top tip would be to get you and DC changed, have a wee etc before you go out to the tent, bc there's no need to make life difficult when you're that close to the house. Make sure you've got enough blankets/ fleecy onesie etc if it's getting cooler by then, and set up the whole thing earlier in the day so it's all ready. It will add to the fun if you eat outside too, we used to do a barbecue growing up but we were a bit older, don't think that would be ideal with a toddler.

I loved back garden camping when I was little It can get colder than you expect over night, so have an extra blanket handy. Have fun!

Yeah I am not sure a bbq would work... would be nice to toast marshmallows but I can see that ending in disaster!
Currently listening to the rain pound down outside and thinking that I must be totally and utterly mad for thinking this will ever work.
Want to try and do something though, and seeing as we won't be getting away anywhere for the foreseeable, this seemed like the best option...
it's not going to work, is it??

My advice is to not try to go to bed too early. Put a double duvet under you. Try to do a lot of physical activity to tire the 3 year old, and bring a kindle so you can read when you can't sleep.

And go to bed for a nap after lunch the following day

We did it to celebrate birthdays for our children in early spring. I took down a mattress and duvet and it was really fun!

Just go for it.

You can toast marshmallows over candles - put three tealights together - and make smores (chocolate digestives with melted marshmallow). Stargazing is good. And rain on a tent is very exciting for a child.

We went away camping for the first time with two (just) 4 year olds and a 12 month old. It was absolutely brilliant, they all slept better than usual (which I put down to the fresh air and walking) but honestly they loved all the bits you can do from home so much -the tent with their divers from home and making hot chocolate on the camping stove, they loved making shadow puppets on the tent with a little camping torch.

Make sure you have super warm clothes it gets cold at night and extra blankets for snuggling into.

Great idea - have a blast!!

Great fun.. Make a hot water bottle and have fluffy socks.

I did this with my 5 and 3 year old a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time - had hot chocolate, toasted marshmallows on a small bbq/fire pit and told stories.

One tip is to build the tent in advance as that part can be stressful enough without the toddler running around and getting fed up.

Duvets not divers!

Of course it can work. Just keep an eye on the weather forecast and you can start to camp on a night that it isn't raining.

Take lots of bedding, hot water bottles too- it will be colder than you think. A camping mat or air bed will help with warmth and comfort. Torches are fun, sticker books are good as a tent activity. Take a bottle of water each. Expect bedtime later, it will take them ages to get to sleep! Maybe an audio book on your phone to help them settle if they enjoy those. If you manage to last the night, easy breakfast like pastries and juice cartons in the tent can be fun.

I wish I lived in a safe enough area to do this with DS

I did with 6&8 yo had a super night sleep all enjoyed it. Night turned bad heavy rain thunder storm but we didn't realise just thought that what rain like on a tent. Left tent up think I'll go out again some night soon for another good sleep

My neighbour (just the DH) has been camping in garden with their two kids every night for two months now

(He told me the other day, I haven't been spying!)

We took our dd camping for the first time at 18 months with no problems.
I've camped in the garden every year with her till a few years ago.
Shes 13 now and has spent most of this summer alone in a tent in the garden!
Take a quilt, bed as late as you can. Weve always done marshmallows and hot chocolate right from very young.
Enjoy it🙂