First time camper, help!

[Icklepickle101]

Neither me or DP have camped before, ever! Last night I spontaneously booked a campsite for 2 nights mid September for use and DS (18 months) and now I'm panicking as we are clueless!

We will be borrowing DMs teepee tent, double mattress and single hob gas stove. DS has a readybed which I'm hoping will be okay and we all have folding chairs. What other basics can I not live without? What do we do about keeping food cold? Any campsite etiquette I need to know?

We are by no means seasoned campers, but go for a couple of nights three or four times a year. I would add a table and chairs, kettle, washing line, gaffer tape washing up bowl and warm sleeping bags and wind break to your list.

As for keeping food cold, people with far more knowledge will be around soon but we tend to BBQ on the first night and eat in the pub on the second- but as I said, we cheat !

Torch, kitchen roll, BBQ (just go to the pub). Plastic plates and cutlery- a little table is always handy. And a washing up bowl.

Is your pitch an electric hook up? If so you can get mains powered cool boxes. Extension lead for mobile charging.

Lamps to hang in your tent, and if your feeling like it some fairy lights

We take a chilli for the first night, easy to warm up and can just have with crusty bread!

Practice putting up the tent, saves all the rows when you get to site..... I know from bitter experience

And pack a couple of decent bin liners, all sorts of uses.

Bathmat for inside the tent door, so if it's raining you can take your shoes off inside. Picnic rug for the floor of the tent (more comfortable to sit on than the tent bare floor).
Solar fairy lights to hang inside - acts as a night light.

Decent sleeping bags. It can get really cold at night. Do you have an electric hook up? We take a small heater and an electric cool box. We also take fleece blankets to put on the ground under the airbeds and on top for an extra layer of warmth. I hate being cold!

Something to do in the evenings? We have 2 dc's so will maybe take a couple of board games in case it rains and we are stuck in the tent for longer than we 'd like and we're not in the pub

We have only been 3 times so far but got so much advice on here, you'll get loads of tips.

We're going for the 1st time the coming bank holidays!
Spent a fortune on stuff to prep but still nervous!

When we took my 3 year old camping we took her old cot mattress for her to sleep on. Gave a bit more insulation from the cold and of course it was very comfortable (more comfortable than either of us on our mats!)
If you have room for one I'd recommend it, cold from the ground can be quite bad in September.

a lantern for the tent & a torch for any late trips to the loo!

If you aren't having electric hook up you can take a coolbox or coolbag and most sites will put your blocks in the freezer for you (some will charge, some won't but it's usually only about 20p per block). So you'll need to double up on blocks so you can have a couple in the freezer and a couple in your coolbag/box, and then swap over. Mark them so you know which are yours when you go to to collect them, I usually wrap a couple of big red elastic bands around them that the postman helpfully dropped on my doorstep! You can have something frozen in the bag (pint of milk or something for dinner) for the journey so when you get there it will be defrosted and will have helped keep everything else cool.
Campsite etiquette is simple really. Just normal consideration like keeping dogs under control, cleaning up after yourself etc.

We've been camping for many years, have left all sorts of stuff on display like our cooking equipment, chairs etc and have never lost anything. Most people on campsites are amazingly honest. However, don't tempt fate, if you leave the tent lock anything valuable like cameras or ipads in the boot of your car.

September will be lovely, the schoolkids will have gone back and we often get an indian summer so I'm sure you will be fine. Just be prepared for the evenings drawing in, the temperature will drop quite a bit so take warm layers to put on and plenty of blankets. You might want to warm your little one's bed with a hot water bottle before he goes in it, but he should sleep well with all the fresh air .

If you have/can borrow a travel cot then take that, it'll be much better than a ready bed.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm getting really excited!! I'm now thinking DS can share the double air bed with one of us And the other have a single air bed and then swap the next night! We've not gone with electric as didn't have the plug thing and it's meant to be very cheap weekend away so didn't want to invest until we know we like it!

I actually find duvets and blankets MUCH warmer for camping so you don't actually need to invest in sleeping bags if you don't want to. You do need layers under you too for insulation.

A wee bucket is crucial.

Stuff for evenings is nice so fairy lights, plastic wine glasses and fleeces and blankets to snuggle in as you watch the stars. Hot chocolate sachets obvs.

We take a plastic container with lid each. All clothes, books, toiletries in your own container. Handy for carrying to/from car, can be stacked in the corner of the tent, and they keep everything dry and out of the way.

We always bring a duvet- night time gets chilly. I bring a wooly hat, but I am a cols sod.

You don't need a load of kit for your first time, but when you pack the car boot make sure the tent is last in so you can get it out first. Nothing worse than having to empty whole car to get out the tent (especially if it is wet)

*cold

Do you wear onesies for cosy evenings?

I don't like onesies, cos I don't like stripping to waist to have a wee. And as soon as I get into bed in tent, I need to wee again

Etiquette:
Kids in early mornings-try not to be tearing round the site, past people's tents, singing Bob The Builder at full volume before 8 am. Kids do wake early in tents before they are used to it. Something to keep them in tne tent and quiet can help.

Tripping over other people's guy ropes: too close, not cool.

Bubbles: no, not on campsites, not in or near tents. detergent damages the waterproofing. (And don't be wiping any marks off the tent with washing up liquid either).

Wine: share between you!

What food do you guys take?

Also is a windbreak essential?

Food wise, mostly eat out on our days out. Btekkie is bacon butties and beans. Lunch out but if you've got a electrical hook up try toastie maker? Then dinner is usually BBQ or a chilli or something like that that we've brought with us. Lots of easy crisps and chocolate snacks.

Windbreak not essential, I don't bother with ours.

Breakfast: we do like bacon rolls. Handy options are brioche rolls or instant porridge pots. Fruit.

Lunch: rolls and things which don't need refrigeration: tinned tuna, sandwich spread, an avocado. You can make toasties in a frying pan, you don't need hook up! Or better still, cheese (take a bag of ready grated) sandwiched between two tortilla wraps, or chapattis, and dry-fried in pan is good. Add Tuna, ham, whatever you like.

Dinner: we often BBQ. With one ring, pasta and a stir through sauce, and salad, take a frozen Tupperware of chilli, or bolognese, or stew, it will defrost during second day, heat up and have with swiftly heated tinned potatoes, or the pouch microwave rice, which can be heated in pan with a splash of water, or baguette, or whatever,

Take Baby Bel cheese, keeps well for snacks.

Check if site freezes cool blocks. Borrow a cooler box or bag. Pre freeze a pint of milk, your bacon, burgers or whatever for second or third day, and replace freezer blocks morning and evening. Don't leave cooler open or open more often than necessary.

TestTubeTeen - I am loving your lunch suggestions mmmm