Totally new to camping, where to start, what to buy?!

[Christmaspanic24]

We have decided to get into camping and have just bought a tent ! We've got 3 kids 5, 3 and 14 months and hope camping will be a great way to have weekends away and holidays that are fun but budget friendly. However, we are fairly clueless!! What is the essential equipment we need? Are there any nice-to-have items that although not essential you love/ wouldn't go without. Any tips for how to source equipment at a good price? What clothing will we need? We live in an area with lots of wonderful countryside and coastline so I don't think we'll have a problem to find places to go.

We'd love to hear any words of wisdom or tips from experienced campers
Thanks!

You don't need to invest much in cooking stuff, but just need something for boiling water. Even if it's raining and the kids are whining, everything's alright with a cup of tea or coffee! Plus, there's so much you can eat just by having a kettle alone. E.g. Couscous, instant porridge pots, cuppa soup, instant noodles etc....
Some campsites have fire pits to hire and whilst campsite shops are expensive, you could buy fresh food as and when you need it to avoid having to take a coolbox or fridge.
For our first few trips we survived on a combination of food made with a camping kettle, packet food and eating out. No stove needed.
Depending on where you're camping, some takeaway delivery firms might actually deliver straight to your tent. I've also stayed on campsites where the local pub will deliver to the site. This would save you having to take washing up stuff and crockery/cutlery.
You'll need a couple of good lanterns and perhaps a night light for the kids.
There are a few sites where you can hire a pre-erected tent. It would not only give you a chance to see if you like it before actually buying your own, it would also save the faff of assembling and disassembling a tent whilst dealing with the wants and needs of small children!
At this site you can hire a tent either already furnished or unfurnished. www.plattsfarm.com/pre-erected-tent/

Here are a few more which have that facility
www.orchardcampsite.co.uk/pre-erected-tents/ This one has an enclosed play area, a kitchen area with free to use hot water, fridge, freezer, kettle and microwave, plus a coin operated washing machine and dryer which is always handy!
www.treenfarmcampsite.com/pre-erected-tents
www.eazycamp.co.uk
Wherever you end up going, take lots of toys for the kids. Really handy when you're cooking or wake up early! My favourites are: bubble machine, bubble wands, aquadoodle mat, sticker books, foam stomp rockets, sticklebricks, mega blocks and these www.argos.co.uk/product/7175608

ricecrispie that's really helpful. I hadn't thought much about keeping food fresh or what we'd eat. I guess it's going to be a learning curve! Thank you

No bubbles or bubble wands! Everyone except @Ricekrispie22 will hate you! Bubble mix is detergent, which wrecks the waterproofing on your tent. It is s no-no of Camping etiquette!

Sleeping: people choose between blow up beds or SIMS, self inflating mats, which are foam mats with air, or camp beds. Personal choice. B

Sleeping bags: 3 season and a good brand.

Something to sit on: a folding chair each.

With kids those ages you might want to think about a toilet bucket / ports-potty/ Kampa Khazi / bucket with toilet seat .

Cooking and eating: you can take pots, pans, utensils and a plastic washing up bowl from your kitchen. Even if a site has washing up a bowl is good for carrying it back and forth

A table.

Lighting: good lanterns, head torches maybe, torches.

Have a think through your day and night, and what you might need.

Think about type of site. I prefer the more wild and rustic sites where you pitch where you like, have a campfire and loads of space to sites where you are packed in in rows.

We camp a lot but I'm a lazy camper so have to have electric hook up with a kettle and a blow fan heater. You'll need an extension cable with the right hook ups to make it safe in the tent, plus a multi socket so you have spares to charge phones. My top tip is battery powered fairy lights. Two sets strung up inside mean the tent is well lit all through. Oh and also you'll need some form of plastic clogs like Crocs (as ugly as they are for adults) so you have something to slip on and off when coming in and out of the tent rather than trainers which you need to put on properly. Depending on what sort of cooking you plan on idaho instant potato is brilliant to serve along with sausage and beans!

Ice packs for keeping food cool. A lot of campsites have a freezer so you can refreeze them and some even have fridges.

Warm clothes and hats as even in summer it can be freezing at night. Iv worn a duvet coat at night before.

Boot fairs are a good place for cheap camping stuff or borrow for now until you know you really like it.

A gadget to inflate airbeds you stick in your cigarette lighter very handy.

Lots of board games in case it rains. Wet wipes for a quick wipe over in the mornings.

A camping table for your stove food etc. There's nothing worse than keep bending over.

You need warm sleeping bags and something to sleep on - if using airbeds buy a pump that connects to the car to save a lot of foot pumping.

Beyond that something to cook on - look at what fuel system they use as some require expensive cartridges. Old home pans, plates etc are fine but usually asda have packs of plastic picnic plates at this time of year. For the kids lidded cups are good even if they don't use them at home because it's hard to deal with spillages. many sites provide picnic tables but folding chairs are useful and good for relaxing in after kids go to sleep (essential feature is beer bottle holder!)

A head torch is very useful, the kids will want torches too, and a lantern for the tent is handy especially by late August.

Welly boots or crocs are handy for toilets, and a potty is handy for recently potty trained (we took it until our youngest was 6) . Take waterproof jackets and trousers (all in ones are good for non potty trained toddlers but once you need to deal with toilets by separates).

You will need someone to store water in to save keep walking to the tap, I just buy a couple of the 17p value water from the supermarket and refill.

Finally warm sleeping clothes because it's cold at night even in July with a sleeping bag. Take fleeces and pull on clothes, but kind of depends where you are going

Thermal baselayers for the kids to wear under onesies at night. Mine wriggle out of their sleeping bags when asleep and this helps keeps them warm. Look for merino wool ones, you can get kids sizes in Mountain Warehouse.

redbarrows why do you chose SIMS? I've seen some on aldi's website and I guess I thought airbeds would be better / more comfortable.

Also what is a good brand of sleeping bag?
Good point about the toilet, that sounds like an essential with our kids!!

tipsy what sort of blow heater do you use? What do you mean by having the right hook ups?
Love the idea of the fairy lights, how long a string do you use? And great tip about the potato I hadn't thought I'd that.

mrsjack I hate being cold and I'm generally cold when others aren't so the warm clothing I think is key for me. It's also why I quite like the sound of tipsy's heater. I'm generally someone who lives in jeans, it sounds like an odd question but are they ok to camp in?! Or are they not warm / practical enough.

I love the idea of being fairly rustic and just camping somewhere quite minimal / away from it all. But then I do love the idea of having a heater if it's cold and being able to charge phones etc if need be!

We also usually have electric hook up and take a small heater, and a travel kettle! Would recommend taking for example a spag bol that you make at home for the first night so you can just heat up as putting up tent and sorting everyone out can take a while.

If your tent doesnt have lots of storage compartments take a hanging shoe rack to keep small things like toothbrushes, car keys, hairbrush, loo roll handy (and off the floor)
Also don't expect kids to stick to normal bedtimes or routines. As soon as we realised this wasnt happening it made camping much more enjoyable!

Electric hook is a pitch which has an electricity point. You need to buy a special cable and unitbto attach to it then you can run electricity into your tent. We take kettle, fan heater etc and you can charge phones. I am a wuss so only like to camp with electricity but not everyone likes it.

You will need a camping table and chairs and you may also want a tarpaulin and poles so you can still eat/cook outside the tent if it rains.

I use SIMS because blow up beds give me back ache but many people do find them comfier.

SIMS are warmer because the foam insulates you from the ground. The Lidl and Aldi ones are good (and excellent for kids, as they are less heavy they don’t need so much thickness in the mat) but many people prefer thicker ones. 5Cm or 7.5 or the much more expensive 10Cm. I have managed on an Aldi SIM for 5 years and only just upgraded to a 7.5Cm.

To insulate a blow up bed you can lay down the jigsaw type foam play mats, yoga mats or even a layer of cardboard if it has the corrugated two wall structure.

Nothing warmer than sitting by a camp fire.

I use a power bank, solar charger or the car to charge my phone.

Other top tip; butchers hooks / S hooks in your wash bag to hang stuff over the shower door, and plastic bags to put clothes in. There are never enough hooks and the surfaces get wet.

Tons of wipes. For hands, table, etc.

If you use a gas stove get a kettle.

Easy lunches: layer cheese in between two tortillas, dry fry in a frying pan, cut in quarters.

Think about how you will manage your two youngest while you put the tent up. Strapped I car with a video and snacks?

Blow up beds are comfy. But they have a tendency to leak and there is nothing comfy about a deflated air bed. I have a camping bed with a sim on top.

Picnic rug for the kids to sit on outside the tent.

Um..honestly? With 3 kids and one in nappies I am tempted to say what you really need is a hotel!I camped all my life but found it hell with toddlers.
Basically, all the stuff you need to do at home-wash up, go to the toilet, shower-you have to walk accross a field to do so.
You can't contain small children so make sure that when if they run off in 3 different directions you are not camping by a river/cliff/army training site..! But ok:
Plastic washing up bowls. Take 3.
A way to hang out wet clothes somewhere, so a clothes line and pegs or airer.
I have never camped with electricity-in fact as a child I don't think we even had air beds! We was hardcore! Now I still don't think electricity is proper camping but I second the head torches. They are fun too.
Also, think about how you will store all the various clothes/socks/toiletries. Packing everyone's stuff in rucksacks will look more "campy" but rucksacks are actually a pain to find anything in.
If I have a car I take a suitcase, as mad as that looks. Easier to find your pj's in the dark.
What else? I would take a cool box with cheese, uht milk, fruit etc. The brush from a dustpan and brush for brushing sand out of the tent. Books and games for when it rains. Many towels. Thermals.
Good luck!

I’d suggest starting off by loaning as much as you can from other people. You’ll get to know what you want/need/don’t like without having to fork out loads. For example, fairy lights sound idyllic but are pretty but many find them useless. Same can be said for cooking kit, I’ve tons of it I rarely use just sitting in the garage.

What I would say is buy the best sleeping bag you can afford!

We keep our clothes in the blue ILKEA bags. Squashy to fit in the car, you can easily see what you have.

we've got a big clear plastic storage ton we keep all our camping bits and bobs in - every thing from a little tupperware with sachets of calpol/paracetamol etc, to head torches, matches, tins of coffee and hot choc powder, mallet, tin mugs. all the bits and bobs we only use when camping. that way when we go home the box just goes back in the cupboard under the stairs, ready for next time