First Time to A Festival

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Hi all,

We've booked tickets for our first ever festival and we're taking the kids too!!

We've done a bit of camping before and have most of the essential things but this will be the first time we have to set up camp away from the car and I'm panicking!

I'm just trying to think about what extra kit we might need, or might make it easier.

Would you guys recommend upgrading from an air bed to a SIM?

Also the more I think about it the more a trolley seems like a good idea (for tent, mattresses and other heavy bulky items). Is it necessary do you think?

Thanks

I think a trolley is absolutely necessary. You might need to make multiple trips and some places can be a long walk from the car park to the campsite so make sure you know what order things need to be taken out in. Definitely tents, chairs, snacks and water (lots) to come out first and be taken with all of you. Then you can put the tents up and one person stay with the DC while the other person goes back for sleeping bags, more food, toiletries, non essentials etc.

I am having harrowing flashbacks to carrying 48 cans of beer, a sleeping bag, a spare pair of underwear and a tent for around a mile in boiling heat at V festival around 2009.

Definitely a trolley. If your children are.little you can use it to pull them round the festival when they get tired. Put a couple of blankets in and they can nap while you dance.

Round this time of year Lidl often sell a folding trolley for around £50. Good calue and we have used ours at several festivals now.

Wet wipes in abundance would be my recommendation. Also some of.thise folding backpacker chairs like this: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B002WUJC5U/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1463473241&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=backpack+chairs&dpPl=1&dpID=51gmUu30FaL&ref=plSrch.

Surprisingly comfortable and the kids will co-opt them so take enough.

Also bring a flag or bunting or something to personalise your tent so you can find it in the mass of other tents at night.

Oh and if the kids are little buy ear defenders for them. We forgot ours and there were none for sale at the festival. Dd found the band noise a bit much for a couple of years. Also definitely bring ear plugs for night time if you want to get any sleep.

If you can't take your car to your pitch then definitely look at how far you have to carry your stuff before you pack anything!

Glastonbury (before kids) we must have walked miles (was at least an hour!) to find a pitch and in boiling hot weather. No way could we have done it without a trolley. We got a robust fishing trolley and made sure could do all the essentials in one trip and didn't go back for rest until next day. A flag was also essential for finding our tent - that was for us after a few drinks, but will definitely take again just in case DS gets lost. Solar powered tent lights are also handy like these www.wilko.com/garden-lights-and-lighting/wilko-garden-butterfly-solar-light-50-led/invt/0283642

We're going to a family festival soon at it says in details that maximum of 1km from car to camping... but that sounds a LONG way to me with a tent and toddler! So we have booked a campervan pitch (it lets you even if not got camper!) as can then drive on and unload!!!

Without an electric pump I'd go for a SIM and extra blankets for underneath. Or perhaps a lightweight lilo with built in foot pump. Like this: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TU3FVJS

We're taking lots of convenience food - cartons of ready prepared toddler milk, individual milk for tea like these www.poundland.co.uk/mini-milk-pots-24-pack, Ellas kitchen fruit pouches, individual wrapped brioche, cereal bars, bananas, satsumas etc etc Stuff that doesn't need to be kept cold at least for breakfasts so not having to buy ridiculously expensive bacon butties every morning... or at least can feed DS and have a cup of tea before having to face the world! I'll also make sure I have a ready prepared meal in a separate, easily accessible cool bag for tea our first afternoon. There's nothing like the stress of it taking longer to get in there than planned and hungry family to get everyone grumpy even before the tent is up!

A solar shower and a garden trug (this ikea one is a good size for us www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20254232/) is great for kids bath.

Have fun!!!

Thanks all!!

I was reading the Lidl SIMs thread so popped in there today and picked up the last 2 they had - had a quick try of them and they seem pretty comfy! I'll get another couple from somewhere else, probably online, after payday next week!

I've bought some ear defenders from Amazon so that's sorted.

We have fleece blankets that we can use, so that's all good.

I'll keep looking at trolleys too - need to think about what space we'll have in the boot - as we will need one.

Our kids are 4 & 7 so we'll take lots of snacks, drinks and easy breakfast food but hopefully they'll find the food on offer there tempting!

I'm really looking forward to it and, thanks to your advice, I am feeling a bit more prepared then before!!

We bought then ditched self inflating mattresses as they were just as heavy as an airbed. Got a new battery pump for the airbeds this week. Trolley is very useful. We're doing our first festival with 2 kids soon. I'm wondering how we're going to get the tent up without them running off. They're at 2 & 5 they're not great at helping. Current plan is to zip them in pop up with pad.

Yep, I'd thought about buying a pop up too... Need them contained when they're at their most excitable/temperamental!

We're festivalling next weekend

I've got a whole list of 'festival essentials' but these would be at the top of my list...

Torches (poundland camping torches also have a glowstick and flashing setting) - needed to find tent and use in portaloos at night.
Toilet roll, wipes and hand sanitiser.
A bucket to pee in at night, as the loos might be quite a way from your tent!

Wellies and waterproofs, even if it looks like it's going to be dry, and suncream, even if it looks like it will be a washout!

Sorry those are all a bit boring and toilet-related!

I'm still looking into trolleys - are there any that people would recommend?

Thanks

We have one that's similar to this. It packs up small and has big wheels which are a bonus for if its muddy or stones.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/311004074943

I took this to Latitude, it folds really quite small. Dd easily sat in it and she's very tall for her age and was 5&6 when we went and we decorated it with fairy lights (didn't do that the first year and kept running over people's toes as it couldn't be seen. I loaded it up with snacks, colouring stuff, bubbles and spare clothes/raincoats etc during the day and then left it parked in the family activity area and just carried a small bag with valuables around with me. At night I put DDs old combed duvet and pillow in it and she slep when it got late.

If you can take a big plastic storage box I would, DD hates showers so I would fill it up with water from the washing up area in the morning and by the evening it was nice and warm and she could sit in it and wash, I used a cup to wash her hair etc. I left the water in it so I could wash my very muddy fit in it at the end of the night. (Make sure you use environmentally friendly shampoo etc)

Glow sticks are a must as are bubbles and facepaints, fancy dress (DD loved walking around with fairy wings etc on) if you bring them with you you won't have to buy them and glow sticks mean you can see where your DC are and blowing bubbles is a fairly quiet way of keeping them quiet or distracting overtired, grumpy little people.

i always take leggings out with me if DD and I are wearing shorts so we can put them on underneath if the weather turns chilly.

I have a double folding camp bed, made such a difference to sleeping on the floor and had loads of storage under neath.

PrincessHairyMclary I've been looking at that one - I like the way it folds up quite small, that it seems easy to use and reasonably sturdy.

Would it hold a large tent bag, 4 x SIMs and Sleeping bags do you think?

Yea, I took a 5 man tent, double folding bed, big 75lt plastic box filled with food and everything else etc. the way it's made means it's easy to add bungees to hold everything on.

The only downside and entirely my fault was I didn't check it properly when going for our 2nd year (had also used it lots going to the beach etc) and one of the screws fell out at the bottom, this could happen to any of them so I'd recommend taking a couple of spare screws and little screwdriver with what ever one you choose.

Ooh that's good to know!! Think I'm going to order one now!!

Some good ideas here. I've been looking at trolleys to avoid hiring from Mr trolley & like the idea of campervan space to camp by the car!

Also drooling at the idea of camp bed though not sure they'd be strong enough to hold me :(. I'm going to take my hammock & cross my fingers there's 2 well positioned trees!