Complete camping virgin needs a master class on the basics.

[MustTidyUpMustTidyUp]

I have a tent. That is it. Want enough stuff to go camping with DH and DCs (6,4,2) for a couple of nights, locally, to start with whilst we find our camping feet.
What do I need? (On a budget ie as cheap as poss)
I assume something to sleep on and in and something to cook on and eat off?
Any recommendations?
TIA

[MustTidyUpMustTidyUp]

Hijack away YBR I need the answers too!
DCS are 6,4,2 so not sure about sleeping bags. Maybe adult ones for the boys (4 year old is a big lad) and junior one for the squirt?

[lancaster]

Avoid air beds - they just hold a layer of freezing cold air under your body.

[RaspberryLemonPavlova]

Newspapers are great at the tent entrance if its wet/muddy. They absorb the water and are easily replaced.

[dumdedah]

We took a couple of Ikea stools (Bolmen) last trip and found they came in handy. Can get a bit of height if needed for putting the tent up, an extra chair for unexpected guests, a bit of gaffer tape on the holes and some ice and it's a wine chiller... Most useful purpose was the shoe-change stool. Great for small kids (and sometimes mum!) to have a designated spot at the tent entry to sit and change from outdoor to indoor shoes, and vice versa, with the shoe bucket next to it. Saw a definite increase in shoe compliance. They stack and are easy to fill with odds and ends for minimising car space.

[blueshoes]

Dustpan and brush to sweep those bugs and bits of grass off the floor (well, ground sheet) ... plus lots of crisps and books

[MustTidyUpMustTidyUp]

Anyone who is interested I have just ordered these
self inflating mattesses for £9.75 each. The reviews are very good.
Had a bit of a result yesterday - I checked my tesco points and had at more than I though so used the tesco exchange and got £100 worth of camping stuff for free!

[Pollaidh]

Haven't camped with children yet but my camping experience tends to be wild camping or bivvying out.

In the UK I wouldn't go below a 3 season sleeping bag even in summer. The sleeping bags typically from the 70s are so cold, really a bad idea. Mummy bags keep heat in better, down bags are warmest but most expensive and hard to dry.

Roll mats are cheap, but you can also get Thermarests, which are more insulated, more comfortable, pack down well, but more expensive. They inflate automatically, so no pumping.

I second the headtorches recommendation. Petzl are the best make. Some of the cheaper ones have beams that don't reach your feet so not hugely useful.

Camping stove (maybe a larger one, I've got a MSR pocket rocket I think but it's best for a couple). Also shielding (wind break, ring of cardboard) so the wind doesn't blow the gas out. And please don't use the stove in the tent, that's very dangerous, tents go up in flames incredibly quickly.

[KvassInTheNight]

Get a trangia cookset if you dont plan to do much cooking. reduced to £69 here. Packs up tiny, you could add a small frying pan and not need anything else! We use ours on a small low fold up table.

Only camping thing I can't do to my satisfaction is toast...

[Pootles2010]

Those that say to take bucket/potty for use in the night - do you just walk with it to loos in morning? I'd be a bit embarrassed walking around with a bucket of wee

But I think it might be neccessary as ds is only fairly recently potty trained..

[MinimalistMommi]

Well if it's just wee and no toilet paper chuck it in the hedge ?
I figure if animals wee all the time everywhere that might be OK?
Or take a nappy bucket (with lid) so at least it's covered and carry it too toilet to dispose of. Or use those disposable pee bags that are used for potty training out and about and tie it up and throw it away but that is the expensive option.

[CityTiliDie]

We are off to the IOW at 5am tomorrow for our first ever camping trip. My poor little ford Fusion is bursting at the seams and I have yet to strap the bikes on the back.

Taking a four year old DD too , she is really excited especailly about the boat trip although she did think I was going to row the boat over to the island!!!!!

It looks like we might actually get some reasonable weather too after five years of holidays in the UK where it has rained every fucking time!

Thanks for everyones tips and advice. I think we have all bases covered and that includes the kitchen sink (a collapsable one)

[KatyTheCleaningLady]

Nobody has ever noticed me walking with a bucket of wee.

People at camp grounds in the morning are busy trudging off to brush their own teeth to care what you have in your bucket.

[MustTidyUpMustTidyUp]

Have fun City let us know how you get on.
at buckets of wee - wouldn't occur to me to notice or care

[Cakebitch]

Take 2 mallets. tent gets put up in half the time!

[doughnut44]

we always put our pj's on early evening after tea. then we put a big tracksuit on over them that way we can just peel our tracksuits off and jump into bed - no getting undressed in the cold.
I also cook a big chilli or something before we go and freeze it. we then have a nice cooked meal for our tea that night without the faffing. I freeze our bbq stuff and take it out just before we set off - its then ready for the next day.
a bat and ball is a must.

[FairPhyllis]

Take a tent-peg puller-outer - something with a hook and handle. Makes it so much easier if you can just hoik them all up, especially if you are on hard ground.

[NoPartyDay]

I precook a few meals and seal well in plastic containers.
Just reheat for dinner. e.g.curry/pasta dish/your favourite casserole
You can then use the large containers to store food,etc when washed

[FairPhyllis]

Oh yes and it's a very bad idea to go all Swallows and Amazons and store bacon in a waterproof wrapping under a stone in a stream which is also populated by voles ...

[Bramblesinafield]

No probs taking a bucket of wee to the loos. I have a luggable loo (bucket with a plastic seat on! I use some fab smelling green gloop from go outdoors which keeps it sweet in the hot summer - then I don't have to trek to the loos/go a little bit away from the tent in the night.

Beware of weeing next to the tent, attracts vermin so I'm told.

Can't wait to go to wowo again this summer, time of our lives last year.

[MustTidyUpMustTidyUp]

Wowo brambles?

[Quenelle]

Weeing anywhere round tents is horrible. DS likes to go roaming in the undergrowth around the tent, he's too young to go far on his own yet. I would rather he wasn't crawling through people's piss.

We have a Kampa Khazi which has a lid. You see plenty of people carrying them to the toilet blocks to empty in the mornings.

I'm interested in the green gloop Brambles. Will take a look at Go Outdoors.

[Bramblesinafield]

Oh yes, wowo!

www.wowo.co.uk/

Best ever camping experience. (Yet!)

[MustTidyUpMustTidyUp]

Oh brambles what a find! It looks fab! We are in Kent so great location for us too. Pray for good weather for oct half term

[StarlightMcKenzie]

nuffink. Don't take nuffink. No campsite is that far away from a 24/7 supermarket these days so when you're sitting in your empty tent you'll know soon enough what you need, then you can go and get it.

[MinimalistMommi]

Quen a hedge isn't the grass around the tent is it? [Hmm]
I guess with the grass around tents there might be dog wee so you might want to be careful of your DS.