What can I not camp without? - 2 littles, first camping trip!

[Thegreatescape12345]

Hi all, I'm hoping for some great Mumsnet wisdom!

We love the outdoors and have decided to give camping a go. A friend is lending us a small 4 man tent, camping stove and table / chairs so we aren't shelling out if we don't like it, but there are still things I'll need to get.

Please give me your best advice for a first camping trip and what camping gear should we not be without? We are 2 nights, non electric hook up.

I need sleeping bags and something to sleep on for the kids, but other than that I have no idea what things are essential that I might not have thought of! I want to travel as light as possible (ha!) but without being left without something vital!

ETA kids are 3 and 5 :-)

Torches, portable toilet or bucket with lid for nighttime wees, slip on shoes for when you're in and around the tent area so you're not walking grass/dirt inside the tent.

Also, decent power pack for recharging mobile phones.

Second a portaloo, you will not want to drag 2 DC along the campsite in the cold and dark for a wee!
Get a little collapsible trolley for the dishes to and from the washing facilities.
Kids blow up camping beds with built in sleeping bags. Can get different characters, argos.
You'll need a little heater that uses gas, just to warm the tent up on a night.
Slip on shoes and wellies. A bucket to keep shoes in for easy access.
Do your DC have snoodies/oodies? Ideal.
Outdoor toys. We always have 1 box of camping toys. Skipping ropes, tennis equipment, kite, football etc.
Also indoor toys, dominoes, Colouring sets, cards, board games.
Plenty of none perishable snacks.
Cooler box with ice blocks for fridge stuff. Most campsites let you put your ice blocks in the freezer to re freeze.

TIN OPENER! That's the one thing we always forget 🤣

Just to add, we always let our smart phones die. We take an old style Nokia our sim card can go in. Battery lasts for a week and its just for emergency if we need to reach out or anyone needs to call us.

If this is two adults and two kids... a bigger tent. 4 man tent means 4 bodies with no space for equipment.

Definitely a potty !!!
I found getting a supermarket style bag that is a zip up one is good for everyone to keep their personal stuff in - teddy, books, toys etc so nothing gets lost in the tent.
If it's not being used - it's in the bag zipped up.
(tents can get very cluttered very quickly)

Many campsite sinks can be a bit grotty. We always take a collapsible washing up bowl (with a handle) just in case. I use the bowl for transporting the dishes to the sink, and if need be for washing up in.
I also find them a great way of storing the dishes after I have washed up. Just let them air dry.

This. Sometimes adults can't even stand up in a 4 man tent

If you can take a gazebo (with sides) it can essentially become your living room.
Just use the tent for sleeping.

Airbeds and maybe foam mat beneath as it can be cold at night; take spare blankets and get decently rated sleeping bags.

Marshmallows for roasting on the fire 😊

Sleeping mats of some kind are essential but for a trial trip just take bedding from home.

essentials are wellies or crocs you can slip on easily, good waterproof jackets if weather is at all questionable, couple of fleeces as it’s always colder than in a house especially at night. I take a golfing umbrella usually as useful for wet nighttime trips to the loo. I had a hiking 4 man tent for 4 people and a dog, cramped yes but doable with little ones and warmer than if you spread out. Take no cook food like breakfast bars to snack on and cook first nights meal at home and reheat (i actually have a wonderbag, you brown meat, add veg bring stick to boil, place whole pan in the bag and it’s super insulated so slow cooks with no power needed, 6-8 hours later dinner is cooked!

Lights - a proper camping lamp is useful so you have both hands free and for just lighting up the space in the evening.

Sleeping bags will be fun for the kids but if you don’t want that outlay just take old duvets in old covers. You defo do want something under you. Like a carry mat or yoga mat if you have one. For transporting duvets, if you have one of those clear storage type plastic bags that you roll the air out of and the contents then use up hardly space use those. (The hoover ones are no use without a hoover when you’re coming back).
Wipes and loo roll and a bucket.
Tin opener and bottle opener.
Dont use the camping stove inside the tent, if it falls over/gets knocked over it’ll set the tent on fire and with only one exit you could be trapped if it goes up at that side.
penknife.
String and clothes pegs.
Beans on toast making things (probably buy locally) as it’s traditional!

Eggs are a good camp food too as they keep well but but locally to avoid smashing en route.
Washing up liquid decanted into small bottle.
Torch if you want the kids to use it rather than your phone, which you will want to keep battery life in and not risk being damaged.
Power bank.
Solar fairy lights for inside or out. Wellies if wet.
Change for dryers in campsite.
Cool bag and blocks to go in it.

Some campsites let you put yours in a freezer or do swaps so you can always get a cold one.
car breakdown recovery information just in case.
note of phone numbers in case your phone dies and you need to ring family or whatever.

Don’t think about camping lite, that’s not for 3 & 5 year olds. You need to be comfortable and warm.

Kids go to sleep around 10pm and wake up when it gets light. You will all be exhausted. Be prepared for that!

If you’re going to invest in a tent for yourself then I’d say get a proper blackout tent. Coleman do the best ones. We got a Berghaus one and it’s not as dark as the Coleman.

Plenty of tea towels (you won’t be able to dry anything properly in two days)
Small bottles of washing up liquid & multi-surface cleaner.
Scouring pads
Kitchen roll
Ziploc bags
Lighter (preferably a Zippo or some such)
Salt & pepper
Pots/pans from home. Camping ones are a nightmare to clean
Whistling kettle (fully enclosed so takes less time to boil)
Plates, cutlery, cups
Stuff to do - balls, skittles, Velcro bat & ball, lawn darts etc
Table/surface to put stuff on. As you’ve got little ones, you’ll need to think about where hot kettles/pots go. I usually take cork place mats so I’m not putting things directly on the ground. Cooking will be a nightmare if you’ve got a “wild camping” type stove. We have a 2 burner hob thing and a kitchen that makes cooking for a family of 4 easier and safer.
Towels

Are you cooking there or eating out (totally allowed when you’re camping!)?

At those ages, we’ve found local soft play places to go to as it’s good to get a break. That was on a longer trip but it’s good to have a back up in case it’s raining. I also got a Park app that shows you all the play parks in the area. V handy!

If you’re doing two nights, will you be showering?? Camping showers can be worse than swimming changing rooms so I tend to avoid them if at all possible.

Food wise we usually have bbq burgers etc one night, then fresh pasta and a bought sauce. We were in the Lakes during the hols so stocked up in Booths 😀 Breakfast is usually bacon, sausage & egg but that means you have to clean everything before dinner. My DC are now old enough to do the dishes which they were thoroughly unimpressed with. I stupidly didn’t show them exactly how to do dishes while camping so they managed to get through a week’s worth of washing up liquid in one trip. Lesson learned!

Also, choose your campsite carefully. Loads these days that will let you have fires and most will have somewhere to dry things and family bathrooms are a godsend!

A 4 person tent would not be big enough for 4 and all the stuff would it?

You need insulation between your bodies and the ground. A sleeping mat each is a good idea.

You can actually rent a lot of camping equipment.

For a torch think about something like this - it is a wind up torch and radio and you can charge your phone with a USB. I have one for power cuts and got my dad one too.

www.amazon.co.uk/Emergency-Weather-Charging-Operated-Flashlight/dp/B09VPS2DFG/ref=asc_df_B09VPS2DFG?mcid=bc9473d951753443abcd54d70b4fde1f&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697219435329&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11513166100085670152&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007249&hvtargid=pla-1645559316478&hvocijid=11513166100085670152-B09VPS2DFG-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1&th=1

Crocs
Fleecy PJs and woolly hats, it gets cold at night.

You need a bigger tent.

take whatever will keep the kids happy.

why no EHU?

Gin!

Kettle, teabags and milk for the morning and Prosecco for the evenings. Blankets. Lights for inside the tent at night so you can see.

Thanks - we don't have a bigger tent as we're borrowing, but I've found a "living area" for about £120 like a small square tent that with zip down sides I've thought about getting just as an add on! Dont want to invest in a family tent until we've at least tried camping first in case it's a disaster!

Thank you everyone for all your replies so far, I am going to have a proper read through after tea, will absolutely take everything on board and be back later :-)

DO NOT use a gas powered heater in a tent ( or gas cooking rings in a small tent or without opening loads of doors for ventilation)
Aside from fire hazards, burning gas uses up oxygen and creates carbon dioxide. In addition if burned for any time in a small poorly ventilated space the amount of oxygen can reduce and this leads to the gas burning incompletely which will create carbon monoxide which is a killer!

FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE!!!!!

Always heaps of things on there.

If you buy a tent, put it up prior to going away to make sure you’ve got all the baits, it all works and you know what to do.

Also good to check it’s still waterproof 😀