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 :-)

That tent is fine for 2 nights away I wouldn't get the extra unless going for a week etc.
FWIW we have never taken a toilet and have been camping with our children since they were 3 months old (eldest is 6).
We take a travel potty with us for youngest but that's it.
There is enough space to stand at the front.
Good that it's a night tent as means blackout.
Hot water bottles are fine a collapsible kettle is handy if you were leant one.

Are the loos open at night time? Eeeek!

Warmer clothes than you think you need. Hat and gloves even (for chilly evenings). Layer up before you get cold - it's much easier to stay warm than warm up!

They are, some people just don't like walking to them...

Obviously with small children your own camp toilet is a lit more convenient

I echo all the wise advice - but want to add some things I've found helpful when mine were younger...

A toy that's easily shareable - like those polystyrene planes (the bigger ones) you can get, or a bag of lego (my two are obsessed) - I put it in a drawstring bag then lay it out on the ground on one of those potting sheets. We take our swing ball set as it's easily collapsed into hardly anything.

It's been a nice way for the kids to make friends on the site. Another family took a £5 paddling pool and they had kids your age.

Last summer I ended up having to run to the local pound shop to get water pistols as the campsite owner let all the kids have a water fight (away from the tents!)

My packing tip would be for each person to have their "own" bag for life with their clothes in - it made trying to find clothes quickly really easy. We were washed out by a horrible storm last July and I needed to grab dry clothes / waterproofs quickly.

Boring - but pack for all weather's. I was glad I did last year.

Enjoy! We love it 🙂

Also - you won't need many toys at all. The whole experience of just going camping was so exciting at that age.

I always take 2 / 3 tea towels and sponges as they were SO happy to help wash up!

Sorry - me again!

As it's your first time camping I'd really recommend Facebook marketplace for anything you think you might need. I've got some great bargains off there and anything that I haven't needed I've just resold and got the money back.

Thanks for all the great tips! We are borrowing everything except sleeping bags and mattresses, so I will take your bag for life tip and I'm now off to buy a kite or a polystyrene plane for them, and pray now for the weather to stay like this! We go in 2 weeks so sods law it will probably thunder storm after all this heat 😭

I'll cross fingers that you get good weather!

To be fair - the kids absolutely loved the rain last year 😊

Hello, I see you are borrowing most stuff - if you do get a tent I recommend a Vango Icarus XL (with poles) or there is an Air version. Cheapest place is Go Outodoors. These are 5 man but you can stand up, and the bedroom divides.
Torches - any LED ones we great, they work even if dropped (years of experience taking Guides camping ) and the batteries last ages. Wind-up ones ae not as good.

You need a decent air bed for each of you. I recommend the self inflating low profile ones you can get in Decathlon. Money well spent and also handy for sleepovers as the kids get older.

Other than that: a camping chair each. A table. Those can be got quite cheaply.

Camping stove (borrow if possible).

Take pillows from home and a sleep mask unless you like waking up at 4am.

Potty for the kids to wee in during the night/early morning to save toilet trips across a field.

Camping lights and torch.

a cool bag is a good idea to keep food and drinks cold.

Our four man fits our young family of four perfectly. You can stand up in it , there’s room for stuff in the communal area and bedrooms on each side. I wouldn’t take two teenagers in it obv as they wouldn’t want to share. But two infants can top and tail and love it.

just get an electric hook up. Much easier to make a brew in the morning that way.

don’t forget bin bags.

uht milk and pastries, those small packs of kiddy cereal.

dont forget a lighter to light your stove.

don’t put a heater in a small tent. you will be fine in summer at night. Just bring enough clothes and bedding in case it’s cold. This weekend was sweltering and we all slept naked and were fine!

bouls, frisbee, balls. Top trumps/cards/dominoes.

colapseablke washing up bowl.

alcohol hand gel

we have a big table for eating/chilling at and a small table to put the gas stove and kettle etc on as it’s easier to cook if it’s not directly on the ground.

ah you’ll have such fun, it’s honestly the best thing you can do with your kids!

don’t divorce over putting the tent up. These things are sent to test us!

Our camping essential was something electronic for ds2 to play with quietly at 5 am. He was always an early waker and it was a long time of whispered stories till 7.30 when others in tents nearby started waking. Dh took him out for a looong walk at 6am bless him.

For subséquent camping trips he was allowed unlimited time on his brother's Nintendo thingie before breakfast!

Splurge on a decent bed for yourself, if you decide that camping is something you would like to repeat. It will turn something that's an endurance test into a decent holiday.

I have a double 15cm SIM, the Skyfall by Outwell (can't link for some reason) and it is truly comfortable, and doubles as a guest bed at home for sleepovers for kids when they get older, it's excellent and makes camping doable for me, I actually look forward to going to bed. Downside is it takes up loads of room but one of those squashy zip up roof bags you strap on, they're cheap and roomy.

Warm clothes as everyone has said, including socks and hats, and get changed into them BEFORE you get cold, rather than waiting til it goes dark and then putting cold slightly damp clothes on your cold bod, it's really hard to warm up again.

Forget about packing light, take every comfort you can, god speed.

Just remembered - we take 2 breakfasts! The kids are always ravenous when we camp so they get a bowl of those mini boxes of cereal or a croissant whilst we get ourselves sorted and cook them bacon sarnies (something more substantial to see them through the morning!)

When they were younger it meant we could get a tiny bit more rest in bed!

Now they're older, it's just become part of our camling routine.

Are you going to have a car?

All our camping has been done without a car so if it doesn’t fit in the rucksack it doesn’t go, obviously that was a different set of stuff when they were babies/toddlers to kids who could carry their own rucksack etc.

If you are camping without a car the essentials become a bit more essential. Tent, sleeping mats, quilts. Torches, water containers, chargers and charging packs. Disposable wipes, toothpaste and brushes, a change of clothes each, a woolly hat and gloves each. A jumper each to double as pillow. Then the usual depending on age - nappies, some snacks, maybe a toy or book. I usually find space for some fairy lights! Don’t forget spare batteries for torches, and some actual cash.