First time camper - what do I need?

[Snoodleberry]

Have been invited for a weekend camping with friends (DH, 2xDD 7 & 5 and me) and need to get ‘the essentials’ - what would you include for this? Am thinking tent for all four of us, blow up mattresses, sleeping bags (we already have these), torches, and then I don’t really know what else.

Please let me know the things I should really have, and the things that are just nice to have 😊

many thanks!

Are you going to need to cook / make tea etc as you can get basic gas stoves but would then need a suitable camping kettle. Can take pans etc from home.

Power bank/phone charging facilities
Wet wipes / bogroll / toiletries / sanitiser
Suncream / tea-tree / first aid
Towels / tea towels / blanket
Outdoor chairs / water / bin bags
Snacks / drinks

I always take fairy lights or outdoor lights

Worth getting your own billy can for boiling water

What's the food situation? Are friends cooking or will you need to be self sufficient? Can you buy food on the campsite? Best part of camping is hot drink in the morning so may need a stove for boiling water?

If you are buying a tent, look for one with a blackout bedroom, otherwise when the sun rises at 5am everyone (ie the kids) wake up immediately.

Pillows, quilts and extra blanket for underneath you.
I water container to fetch water.
Food for snacks. Quick easy meals. Or make a picnic.
Marshmallows for a fire. Hot chocolate and squash for children.

Waterproofs.Wellies. Just in case
Plates, cutlery, cups. Cooking utensils. Condiments
Towels, shower gel.
A book.
Everything else everyone has said.

Can you borrow? You might hate it and never go again….then you wasted your money buying

A hot water bottle. It's amazing how chilly it can get as soon as the sun goes down. When we make our last drink of the evening we boil a little extra water for a hot water bottle. Makes the sleeping bag very cosy. We are mostly wild campers on Dartmoor all year round but I also do this at campsites in summer.

Don't think anyone has mentioned chairs? You'll want somewhere to sit in the evenings.. we also always take our firepit bbq for the same reason! A lamp is a good idea too, for inside the tent (depending on how big it is and/or whether everyone has their own torch). We also put windbreaker on the list after our last trip 🌬️

Food prep stuff has been mentioned but not table? We have a very small one that'll just take the cooker and coffee cups for weekends away, and a larger fold out for weeks...

Don't forget stuff to do on site - frisbee football boules cricket etc! And books for nighttime.

There's a lot of kit required to make camping reeeeally fun! 😂

My camping list...

I got one of those beach half tents to shelter the cooker after it rained the first morning. You do not want rain falling heavily on a gas burner. Took a wok to do the cooking as they were designed for use on a small flame. The last time I went I used a duvet instead of a sleeping bag - easier to get out of for night trips to the toilet block.

Corkscrew / bottle opener.

Don't bother.... You have it all at home... Why leave that luxury 😂

More warm clothes than you think you’ll need. It gets very chilly at night camping even in summer!

A box of wine or two

Every time I think I should try camping again I read threads like these and remember why I haven’t camped since I was a kid. I’d never fit all that in my car for a start.

A hotel room.

Take crocs or slider type shoes as it's handy to have footwear you can get off and on quickly. Also that dries fast and is ok to get damp when you are off to the toilet block.

I sometimes take a trug/bucket and leave it by the tent door for shoes. Otherwise you get people trudging in and the grass goes in the tent.

Electric lead as most sites these days have electric points.

Portapotti

Thank you for the useful replies so far! Am doing some thinking about whether going camping is a sensible idea 😂

A hotel

Another vote for going to a hotel.

Not to take with you, but a recommendation to read the field. Depression and abundant turf is an indication of where water gathers after rain. Learned this from Guide camp where captain, anxious to observe the correct horseshoe pattern, pitched our tent over a depression that ran across the field and turned into a stream after the most dramatic thunderstorm that a meteorological enthusiast could date 20 years later.
In Cornwall, a family witha frame tent, lots of extras, and without this information had to move the whole caboodle in the middle of the night. They then proceeded to drive me from my pitch by throwing frizbees for their Alsatian to run after (dogs not permitted on the tent field) towards me. Sadly I was already booked out so I couldn't make a fuss.
I used to take absorbent pads for any rain that crept in under the brailing - I don't know where I got it from, but I guess puppy training pads would work.

Essential
*Shelter
*something to sleep on/in, pillows and blankets
*chairs & table
*cooker & cool box
*plate/cutlery/pans/cooking utensils
*fuel
*lights

Nice to have
*Electric hook up, and I have brought toaster, kettle and our tiny slow cooker
*camp kitchen stand
*plastic waffle ‘carpet’ for living area
*camp carpet for bedroom

plus entertainment, crocs, waterproofs and clothes.

Make sure you get a big enough tent - for 4 people I would recommend at least a 6 man tent - make sure you can stand up in it.

Also, think about camp beds rather than inflatable mattresses. Comfortable enough, and you can store things underneath them. You can even get camp bunk beds for your children! We have one, and ours are 13 and 15