What to pack for camping / festival with DD?

[newhouseplans]

It's been a while since I've been camping and the first time taking 12yo DD to a festival, please help me work out what I need!

I have the basics - tent, sleeping bags, blow up mattresses and torches. Picnic chairs, clothes for every season incuding warm clothes to sleep in. Bin bags x a zillion. What else do I need?

Although there are plenty of food outlets at the festival, I'd like to be able to make some food to save money, and also so we can have breakfast and snacks at the tent. What's easy camping food?

I'll also bring LED lights and bunting to make the tent cosy and easy to recognise.

Any tips? What else do you bring to festivals?

Pouches of microwave rice (heat in pan)
Pouches of curry / dhal
Tinned chilli.

If you're planning on letting her go off alone, bear in mind there might not be phone signal so arrange a rendezvous.

Cheestrings, biltong, peperami all last well. Pack ice in a decent cooler and it should last 3 days. Also single serving brioche and the like from Aldi. I ignore nutrition at festivals. Maybe budget for a meal a day, festival portions seem to be generous so possibly share and have extra snacks to make up for a small meal. Crisps and shelf stable dip can feel pretty hearty. Also fruit like bananas and apples that won't go off too fast.

I don't cook at festivals, too much hassle! The cooler is strictly drinks only!

Duck tape. For tent leakages. Toilet roll in nappy bags. To make sure it doesnt get wet.

Just got back from one yesterday, barbecues were banned because of the drought and fire risk. Freeze some water or soft drinks they stay cold for a while and cool other things. Gas stove if you can even if it's just for coffee and tea. Battery pack and leads, toilet roll and as previously said a good trolley with with larger wheels if possible we use a sack barrow but saw someone with a golf trolley which worked well. Plenty of bungees and straps. An open mind and flexible hygiene standards, have fun

We are off to a festival this weekend, this is his 4th or 5th one so I think we’ve got it pretty well sussed now, for DS 8 aside from the usual camping stuff we are taking.
His own pillow
his own mini torch
2 teddies
his oodie for going to the loo in the night
snacks he has chosen,
a picnic blanket and small box of lego
uno cards
his scooter

For food we freeze frubes to go in the cool box, he will also have the little multi-pack cereal boxes (he’s only allowed them at festivals and on holiday, nature valley bars, fruit yo-yos and lots of satsumas and grapes.

All the festivals we’ve been to have turned a blind eye to kids drinks and snacks so we get little bottles of fruit water or Vimto and he’ll take the cereal bars in and maybe some mini bags of haribo.

He’ll eat a lot of treats and a bit of fruit but it’s only three days!!

Camping stoves are not allowed..... in the tents!

Fine outside if used "responsibly" apparently. Phew!

Best prepped camping I did was where I took frozen overnight oats in Tupperwares which defrosted over time and also served as ice blocks for rest of food. Also took pre made frozen dinners for reheating on a small stove. Then for lunches - Bagels, tomatoes, cheese, crisps, apples etc all keep well!

Sorry to be that person but wipes might be labelled flushable but they are never biodegradable in the same way as loo roll. They cause such problems when flushed; please don’t!

Ear plugs

Most of our base gear lives permanently packed so I don’t think about it too much, but I would add to your list thermal mug, toilet roll wrapped in a bin bag, first aid kit, lots of anti-histamines, duct tape, a handful of freezer bags, a minipresso and coffee pods (if you drink coffee), mepore tape for blisters and a beer cup holder.

We also have “the sauce box” we collect / acquire sachets of table sauces, salt & pepper, sugar and sweeteners, individual tea bags and coffee bags, jam portions etc, nutella portions, wasabi, soy sauce etc. (a stay in a premier inn is a great chance to stock up) and it lives in our camping gear so we always have sauces etc to liven up basic food and we always have makings for a brew.

My food go-to when I used to do festivals in tents (I have a motorhome now!) was wraps.

I would take little pots of sandwich spread in various flavours, pots of tuna, hard-boiled eggs, pre-cooked then cooled bacon and sausages, tubes of primula cheese, and salad stuff. All fairly easy to carry. Any combination of those with mayo and ketchup too, and crisps on the side, made a decent meal.

Fruit we usually took bananas. Sometimes had a pot of Nutella to make a pudding or breakfast wrap! Also often had little individual pots of jelly and/or rice pudding. Occasionally took fruit that didn't bruise too easily so apples, pears, oranges.

Individually wrapped snacks, I usually got a variety of kitkats in various flavours.

Could never be bothered cooking, we would usually stick with the wraps and snacks. A treat for DS when he was a younger teen was to get a portion of chips to share to go with our wraps!