Camping Essentials

[Oysterbabe]

I haven't been camping since Reading Festival 20 years ago. All the families at DC's schools are obsessed and go all the time. We've swerved it until now but have agreed to go on a camping weekend in a few months with 30 (!) other families from the school. DC are 5 and 7 and I know they'll have so much fun spending a weekend in a field with their friends. Seasoned campers, help me. What do I need to buy?

See if you're allowed a firepit onsite (all are different). If you can, get a small one. Great for keeping warm and toasting marshmallows.

My first thought is....hotel booking.
Sorry, not helpful but there's a reason beds are popular 😀

Decent sleeping bags for warmth or inflatable mattress/ sheet & duvets/ pillows (go for comfort).

lots of layers for clothes/ & towels/

Easy eats- prepared easy to reheat food or campfire fodder - hotdogs/ buns / beans

easy breakfast - crossiants / fruit / breakfast type flapjacks

Lots of snacks and water & water bottles. Freeze water to keep items needing chilling cold and then use water next day as fresh water supply

Camping sporks: (spoon/fork combined)
enamel mugs for hot drinks/
thermos flask ( keep hot water hot for easy cuppa)

caffine supply / tea bags & milk for next morning
alcohol night cap

ear plugs/ bug spray/ face moisturiser/ / tinfoil (reheat and cover food)

head lamps - decathlon have great ones with red light setting: small torches/ batteries

fun- glow sticks for children; guitar/ joke book/
s’more supplies - mashmellows/ chock digestives
bananas

baby wipes / first aid supplies / matches / lighter for campfire

Lots of warm things - we camped in the very hot weather last year & still got chilly at night.

Comfortable camping chairs.
Washing up bowl.
Lanterns/torches & spare batteries.
Loo roll (in my experience small sites may only replenish once a day).
J cloth & washing up liquid.
Tea towel.
Lighter (long handled gas lighter type). Power banks (assuming you won't have EHU) for charging phones etc.

I also always take two tables. One for card games etc inside the tent & a larger one for cooking equipment.

There's showers, toilets, washing up facilities and a village in walking distance.

So much alcohol you can forget the whole experience!!
Only sort of joking - so long as you are warm and dry you will be fine.

I know it's going to cost a lot but we have actually agreed to a second camping trip for a friend's 40th, so I think we're going to get the stuff and hope we don't hate it and go on more trips.

Essentials (coming from a backpacker)
tent
sleeping bag
roll mat
pillow (blow up)
torch

I'm making a list of these suggestions, thank you.
It's long 😄

We have exclusive use of the site, which is good, it wouldn't have been fair on other campers. Just had a count and there are 50 children going, 30 of them are 4 or 5 as it was organised by reception parents. I predict chaos!

Maybe a fold up airer & pegs?

Thank god it is exclusive use of the camp site .

Basics:
Booze
Large tent
Roll mats/airbed and pump
Sleeping bags
Blankets (to go under and over you if it gets chilly)
Crocs
Camp stove, utensils, cutlery plates
Chairs and picnic blanket.
Torches or head torches. Depending on the age of the children be prepared to be blinded regularly if they have them!
First aid kit including bite cream
Cool box
Toilet roll
Nice extra: Tent carpet for sleeping compartment

Kids stuff:
Waterproofs,
Wellies if weather looks rough
Hooded towels for showers
Lots of non melty snacks
A few quiet activities for if they've had enough and need to chill. I take colouring etc.

30 families is nuts, but the kids will have a great time.
Don't expect much sleep!

We do a lot of camping each summer and still love it.

A hotel reservation for when you've had enough

Oooh, OP, you might become a regular on the MN Camping board
www.mumsnet.com/talk/camping

Quiet atm but gets busier as summer approaches

IME you find your style of camping.

For example I like so-called back to basics or ‘wild style’ sites where any amplified / electronic music is not allowed, where you can cook over a campfire and pick your own spot maybe in woodland. I never have hook up and am happy with off grid sites that have compost loos. Kids play in woods / rope swing / whittle marshmallow sticks / go on outings

Others like EHU (electric hook up) and take lots of associated stuff , must have flushing loos, a clubhouse / bar / onsite activities etc etc

And many versions in between.

Everyone finds what they enjoy most.

Your first trip is just a weekend so you don’t need some of the stuff mentioned on this thread. IMO.

Have you got a tent?

I don't have a tent yet. I've looked at lots. This is the one we are considering.

Coleman Spruce Falls 4 Plus Tent, 4 Person Family Tent with BlackOut Bedroom Technology, 4 Man Camping Tent with 2 Extra Dark Sleeping Cabins, 100 Percent Waterproof, Easy to Pitch amzn.eu/d/bUD2Lrd

Any thoughts?
I would like black out bedrooms so that we have a hope in hell of the kids sleeping past 4am.

www.decathlon.co.uk/p/4-person-blackout-poled-tent-arpenaz-4-2-fresh-black/_/R-p-310022?mc=8561167

This is a similar tent, bit cheaper, great brand. I have a Quechua pop up tent (3man) which I've used for festivals and camping for a decade. It's still in great nick, very waterproof (and Lord knows it's been tested at Drownload!) and easy to put up.

Multipack of cereal (you know the small 1 serving boxes) open, pour milk straight into bag and eat. Saves washing up and kids for some reason absolutely love it

Sorry I cant help with tents and practical stuff 😂

Ah that looks perfect. Thank you!

I would always get a bigger tent than you need, makes life a lot easier.

Sliders or flip flops for showers/toilet block, pop up washing up bucket/bowl (b&m) as if raining easier to wash feet from mud as wellies not practical in shower. Talc as not always easy to get 100% dry. Old clothes so if they get ruined not end of world. Mine use to play out in evenings in pj's. We did have a caravan though but the awning would get chilly, so those oddies are really good. Saw loads of tents with wind breakers as when cooking the wind kept blowing their stoves out. If hot parasol.

We bought this one in the end.

www.decathlon.co.uk/p/5-person-blackout-poled-tent-arpenaz-5-2-fresh-black/_/R-p-301124?mc=8500620

We've set it up in the garden to check it's all OK. It's absolutely bloody massive 😅
My 7 year old, who was quite luke warm about the whole camping idea, is now so excited. She wants to sleep in it tonight but we've explained it would not be fun. 😨

You need consensus with the rest of the families, that you will NOT try to maintain normal bedtimes. This results in chaos and stress. Let them run to much later than usual, then they drop. They won't sleep at usual time, no matter how much you try. Watch them run around from the comfort of your camp chair, beverage in hand.

Take a potty or something for the tent for the kids. Love a fleece onesie for them for chilly mornings, and evenings. Glow sticks are good ( as long as its not mid-june and you're stuck keeping them up till after 10pm so that its dark!)

It sounds like fantastic fun, might be worth co-ordinating an outdoor toy collection. Frisbees, stomp rockets, soft balls, bats and balls, magic parachute etc.

We usually have electric hook up, bit if we go non electric I would take:
Tent, making sure to remember pegs and mallets and poles if they're in a separate bag
Beds - we use self inflating mats on top of a decathlon quechua air base or on top of a basic campbed. We don't use air beds as we have found they always need more air in the night!
Sleeping bags, and/or duvets and pillows.
For cooking I would take a camping kettle, saucepan and frying pan and one or two portable gas stoves.
Melamine plates, cutlery, utensils, plastic cups/glasses, mugs with lids for hot drinks
A table to cook on outside and a storage cupboard for your food and plates etc inside the tent.
A camping chair each
Towels, clothes, warm pyjamas, toiletries etc
Torch
Crocs or flip flops for the shower. I seem to live in crocs at campsites!

You'll also need a cool box or cool bag if you will want to keep milk or beer cool with ice blocks, sometimes there is a freezer on site so that you can refreeze the blocks. You can also get electric cool boxes that plug into your car.