What are you camping essentials with a toddler?

[KittenCamile]

Hi taking our 2 yr old camping for the first time soon and wondering what people recommend taking? Or any general tips/Hacks?

We are in a bell tent, have no electricity and will be cooking on a fire or little camping stove. We are not very experienced!
Thanks

Oh Lord.

I wouldn't do any cooking tbh, light the fire for sitting around at night time watching the stars & having a drink but go out for lunch and dinner.

I may be biased, went camping once with kids and left DH and kids to it after 24 hours & booked into a B&B

Sorry that was a spectacularly unhelpful post.

I'd say make sure you have decent blow up beds.
Eyeshades so you don't wake up at 5am.

But still go to the pub as often as poss.

Toddlers and camping - even my camping loving DB and his DW won't take their toddler son camping, yet!

Decent blow up beds, lampshades, pub as much as you can.

Also - distraction techniques, toys, comfort stuff - if they're anything like the toddlers I know - they're hard to comfort and need to be snuggly - so if you can fit in things like throws - camper style obvs - also maybe comfort food? Tire out so they're exhausted and sleep.

is a tent really a necessity, could you change to a camper van?

I know when we had a camper van when older it was so much more comfy than a tent - had beds up in the tented roof of the van as well as proper seats and table. lifesaver for parents.

Take lots of throws and blankets.
Have a plastic tub for wet shoes near the door.
Is it your own tent or is it kitted out on a site?
Keep clutter in the car to keep the tent space free.
Head torch for toilet trips in the dark.

Snacks

We went camping last summer with our then nearly 2yr old. We were at a campsite with a play area and we planned days out so there wasn't lots of hanging around in the tent. Food is definitely a must, take lots of snacks and easy breakfasts (we took individual pastries and yogurt pouches - the baby food ones cos they don't need to be in the fridge, as well as fruit.) For dinners we took frozen bolognese and chilli for the first two evenings - meant it was just reheating rather than actual cooking. The other two nights we had variations on pasta and sauce with chopped up pepper/chorizo etc in - so all things that didn't need to go in fridge. We bought growing up milk although we don't normally use formula cos again it is long life but comes in individual packets (rather than uht milk that needs to be in fridge after opening).
We took lots of stories and a few open ended toys (duplo, cars etc) We also took a ball and did lots of playing outside the tent

We love camping with toddlers.

Gin in a tin for me.

A decent cold box and lots of ice packs - our toddlers require lots of milk etc. A storage box for toys. Decent lights for the tent. And A torch. Portable potty. Several picnic blankets for the tent and for outside. A bag of treats so you can give rewards / bribes/ fun stuff.

Pudding pots like fruit in jelly. Brioche bread for an easy breakfast.

Large water storage container so you have water in the tent for teeth brushing.

Flip flops for showers and toilet blocks.

I take meals for the first two nights frozen and let them slowly defrost into a cold box - chilli for one meal and. Sausage casserole for the second which I serve with either rice or bread or I freeze quesadillas. Everyday after then is usually a bbq - what toddler doesn’t love a sausage?

We put her in a travel cot rather than on a blow up bed - kept her more contained!

Take a little paddling pool, put a couple of inches in it and a few toys and you can sit and relax by your child whilst they play. Easy entertainment.
Take waterproofs.
Cook easy things! Cup of tea.. pasta - mug shots are good, beans etc, hot dogs, tinned veg. Check what services are provided, if the campsite has a good shop/cafe you may not need to cook at all, esp as it's all new to you.
Take a good torch/lantern for the tent and night time toilet wanders.
Are there chairs in the tent? Take fold up ones if not, good for the beach too.
Go outdoors do an inflatable 'avocado' chair - it's a nice comfy seat, your dc might like it. Good for sitting with a book etc.

We camped from when our kids were tiny babies. It's not difficult. You will need beds, self inflating mats are the quickest, air mattresses more comfortable. Sleeping bags - get ones rated to -5 at least (3 season minimum) it gets cold at night. Take pillows. Take wellies or crocs to slip on for trips to the washroom area. If your lo is potty trained take a potty.

Take a camp stove (the £10 asda one is good enough) matches, a kettle that goes on it ideally, a saucepan and a fry pan. We take chairs too but some sites have picnic tables. A cool box ideally and mugs, plates etc don't forget the tin opener and cork screw.

If lo will drink long life milk take it, saves trying to locate fresh milk

Oh and head torch

I recently took my almost 3 year old camping, it wasn't as awful as I expected!

Blow up beds not great for more than one person (if one person moves, the other one does too), proper self-inflating mats are supposed to be warmer & comfier. If possible, take a duvet/thick blanket as well as own pillows and sleeping bags. We also needed thick hoodies/cardigans and hats to sleep in, it gets much colder at night than you think it will.

You can get black out tents- I thought the one I bought was but it wasn't as dark as I expected, however, she didn't wake up stupidly early and I had my eye mask.

The first night, let them stay up as late as they want, I tried to put my daughter to bed at 9pm but she was just too excited! Eventually went to bed at 11 and slept until 7:45, then the next night she was ready to sleep by 7pm and slept all night until 7am.

Take a cool box with plenty of ice blocks and the night before you go, freeze a bottle of milk and put in the ice box before leaving, keeps everything cold and milk stays cold for a couple of days- good for cereal and coffee!

Plenty of toys and books, and plenty of snacks, cartons of juice etc. Big bottles of water too.

Finally, one of those cheap camping stoves and a gas canister. Great for making coffee, heating up beans, frying eggs etc.

Just to clarify, we are hiring a bell tent that has beds and a sofa. It’s sort of ‘off grid’ but still comfy. We had planned to put his bed next to ours and all sleep together. It’s for 3 nights.

Am loving all the food tips thank you! Great idea having somewhere to put dirty wet shoes as well.

Blankets and torches, brilliant. All great stuff thanks!

Recently returned from our first camping trip with 2x two year olds and a 6 month old. It was full on but brilliant fun.

Take less toys than you think, in fact less of everything! The blow up beds/ sleeping bags/ big field and washing up bowls were as much entertainment as they needed.

Cooking wise - portable bbq most nights, pasta and sauce, picnic lunches, and a constant supply of snacks.

iPad with lots of downloaded shows for early morning wake ups.

I was convinced they wouldn't sleep as it would be too bright but they were all so exhausted by the end of the day, we had some great adult only time in the evenings.

Camping with toddlers is fun, more fun than attempting to eat in the pub. I'd say you need more snacks than you would think, wine for you. Lots of layers for night in case it's very cold. Campfire at night only as it's too risky with little one. Can you get either 2 of those butane stoves or a double burner? That will give you more scope for meals eg pasta and sauce. You can also juggle pans to have 3 pan meals eg sausages, boiled potatoes and carrots (Cook carrots after potatoes).
Take wellies for toilet runs as the grass is dewy at night and first thing.

So many replies thank you all.

Loving the eye mask and gin in a tin 🤣 my kind of camping!

Sounds like I need to mainly pack snacks, will try get a stove with 2 burners, good idea

My worst ever camping experience was when DS was about two, so I'm afraid my immediate reaction to this was a hotel room.

Sorry!

Possibly more helpfully: supplement blow up air mattresses with an old fashioned foam roll mat on top, otherwise they tend to be very cold. Remember to take a plastic washing up bowl to transport dishes to and from the sinks. Don't worry about fancy camping specific stuff if you're going by car - picnic plates, old cutlery and an old saucepan will be fine. Eat out in the local pub where possible. Good option for the first night is a batch-cooked bolognaise or curry, frozen. It will defrost in the car and just need heating up when you get there. Many, many carrier bags for wet stuff. Crocs or similar slip on shoes (or shorty wellies) for nocturnal trips to the loo. Pillows.

B &M or Home brands do those individual milks, jams & marmalades dsil has a freezer box that can be plugged into car - you can buy ice from some supermarkets - welly boots! lightweight waterproofs but also a fleece we are in the uk! carrier bags for showers (to keep clothes dry take 2 each time - depends how basic showers are! wipes for dc & if in woods (learnt this in Scotland!) take anti insect spray for yourselves.

Just saw your latest message - double burner is good, but you can still cook on a single burner, you just swap the pans on and off a couple of minutes at a time.

Buy a few multipacks of socks for each person - you can put up with just about anything if your feet are warm and dry.

dd told me something I still find hilarious! some people get supermarket deliveries!!! when camping (I have visions of delivery person wandering round site ...) Oh & breakfasts in supermarkets - when ever we went away with dc we looked on maps (! computers these days) for nearest supermarket which served breakfasts (many a uni trek with dd..)

Anti insect spray is always a good plan - insects love the taste of me! And the post-bite stuff just in case...

Also take something for you to do in the evenings!! Once LO has gone to bed you are tied to the tent. But also tied to being quiet! We played a lot of cards and read our books, I also did crochet - whatever you're into, make sure you pack it. Otherwise the evenings can be pretty dull

There are lots of negative posts here, some of the best holidays we had when ours were tiny were when camping. They don’t sleep, but then mine didn’t anyway so it was no different. Snacks are important, and easy food that’s going to be simple to prepare. I’d pre cook bolognaise and take along fresh pasta (cooks much more quickly) for one meal. BBQ one evening with salad and packet couscous or bread rolls. Lots of tea. Gin tins. Cards or something for when child asleep but actually it’s one of the only times DH and I get to sit and actually chat (with rum in our hot chocolate).

Also, if you’re able to take something for nighttime wees it makes a massive difference- if toddler is toilet trained then you don’t want to be trekking to toilets in the middle of the night with them and tbh even on your own as an adult that is the worst bit of camping. You can use a lidded bucket or you can get a fancy lidded bucket with a seat on for about £20- well worth it in my opinion, just empty promptly in the morning before toddler starts exploring

Thick winter pyjamas (it gets colder than you think)
Potty
Large zip up shopping style bag for toys and books - if something is not being played with it goes in the bag. It's amazing how easy it is to loose things in a tent.
Lots of torches. Lots of batteries for the torches.