Checklist for weekend camping.......

[VanillaPumpkin]

We are off this weekend for our first family expedition. DD's are 6 and 3. What do we need to take? Am I missing anything? Is there a definitive list anywhere?

Tent
Footprint
Carpet
Mallet
Folding chairs
Sleeping bags
Matress / sleeping mat things
Gas hob
Spare gas canister
Kettle
Saucepans
Wooden spoons
Scissors
Sharp knife
Corkscrew
Chopping board
Salt pepper, ketchup
Portapotty thing (gift!)
Card games etc for children
Washing up bowl
Tea towels
Washing up liquid
Cutlery
Plastic crockery
Cups
Cool box (stocked)
Washbags and clothes
Torch
Lantern
Sunhat and Buff for bad hair

Am I missing anything obvious??

TIA

This is very helpful thank you. Right, pillows if they fit but I can ditch the washing line. We are only going for two nights ....
I have a Tesco crate to pack all the kitchen stuff and those IKEA bags for clothes so any wet ones can go in there.

I am also searching for a new waterproof jacket as my current one failed dramatically today in the downpour, and has already been reproofed recently. Have thread in Style if you have any recommendations.......

your call, i've often been really thankful i brought string/pegs.

the gaffer tape on the other hand is more of a security blanket somehow i feel it would get us out of any
real emergency - they use it to hold space stations together you know. tbf it proved its worth at glastonbury one year when we constructed an entire tent out of gaffer and binbags

You dopnt need clothes line for weekend; I used to be able to pack for five of us with a amssive tent in an old Proton with no roof box / trailer: if you cant do that you have too much.

These days I do have a trailer thingsy but with 4 kids and one a baby there is o room actually in the car LOL

I LOVE my massive tent. I'm not going away with them otherwise , esp. for our fortnight jaunts

Oh for the washing up- some kind of bag or crat that allows water to drain through, many use plastic veg crates, I use a jute bag from the supermarket as it has environmental creds

I don't tkae any more food than the first night, we enjoy finding farers markets etc (the site we are going to this time sellsfreshly caught mackerel- yum)

Overmydeadbody, am on same wavelength as you. This is just too much stuff to think about, pack, unpack at other end, arrange in tent, then do it all again 2 days later.

Please give me yourr list, as I want to make my first ever trip (not booked it yet as only got tent and sleeping bags, have no gear yet a don't know what to buy)as easy as possible!

What about WINE / BEER

you dont need a washing line, couple of spare guideropes, Just double and twist and stick the corners of the clothes in the twists.

Gaffer tape is a good idea tho.

i like that tip about twisting the guy rope, very neat

lol, i can't believe i care enough to argue this, but i maintain that i have always found string/pegs useful even on short trips (perhaps the fact that rain and/or sea usually features). the putting of said items into a general purpose camping box takes me neither time nor thought, and it takes up less space than pillows, carpets, tables or chairs!

lovesdogsandcats - chances are you'll find out in time your own essentials aren't the same as other peoples

First time we camped the following was enough for us (5, kids aged 1, 3, 4) for a week:

tent
travel cot
2 X readybeds
air bed
duvets
sp[are blankets
clothes
one burner stove
2X camp chairs (kids sat on car seats taken out of car but that was the days of booster seats)
normal plates etc, saucepans from home

Now we pack (kit bought for 6, including last year a 5 week old baby, now 1):

massive tent (sun valley 8) with under groundsheet and carpet

5 X camping chairs

table
cobb stove
one burner stove
poss. DH's adored party grill
special campng plates set
aluminium roll up table (full height)
3 X airmats plus sleeping bags (pillows are towels in a pillow case)
double air bed (replacing with mat when it dies on us)
sleeping bag for us
dustpan and brush
clothes
wet weather gear
pack up baby highchair
a few toys for baby, ball / books / games for older 3
kettle, pans
one meal plus ds's gluten free dairy free food as don't ike to gamble on it

Haven't read everyone elses - but we always have what we call "sacrificial towels" just for wiping off anything damp - often the tent before we pack it up. Doesn't matter if they get muddy a bit.

Did you put kitchen towel?

I am a camping virgin off on our first week long trip on Saturday to a ready tent.

Re the string and pegs, where do you hang wet towels etc if you don't take them?

Ohhh, wet towels...hmmm. I think the pegs might make an entry after all..

Wine is there. Have a bottle of bubbly in the fridge already chilling for a Sat night celebration that we made it!

My Tesco crate will be good for washing up I think. Also have lots of sacrificial towels I can take

Wet towels can be a pain if you have nowhere to hang them. Sometimes we hang them over the car, or the wall behind the tent if there is one, or peg them to the guy lines.

We have a rotary washing line for longer trips! But we have a huge great trailer so can fit it in.

I am currently panicking as my other pc has gone kaputt and it has the packing list on, so will be referring back to this thread frequently!

on a tree usually LOL, or over the car

All our towels are sxacrifical; I dyed plenty dark colours for my HB and they weren't needed (baby was too fast to even think about all that stuff) so I just take those, then at end of week use them to dry tent.

I forgot the most essential bits:

details of nearest supermarket found on internt; ditto bookshop

and DH's hat, he won't go camping without his Camping Hat

I have a camping Buff for my head!

I can now add to my list FAT AIRICS as I have just ordered some and they should be here on Friday. Fingers crossed.

How did you get Fat Airics? I thought they were out of stock.

They are back in today .
I got an email from them saying to ignore the out of stock bit and order them through the site. Over 400 people on the email list though. Log on and try it. You will probably get some!

Ooh fab! Mind you I won't need it for this trip, me being in our campervan on the memory foam mattress . I need it for our summer hols.

Memory foam mattress !!!

I know, it's fab. Better than waking at 3am with your shoulders on the ground because your airbed has gone down!

Did anyone say tin opener?

Definitely pillows and insect repellent/coils or candles, though I know someone already said those...

Picnic rug can be handy

And based on my last camping trip - blankets, more blankets, extra sleeping bag, woolly hats, more blankets, woolly socks, blankets, gloves, more blankets, fleeces, extra blankets... you get the drift!

Thank you, thank you, thank you VP! My pc went tits up this morning and I haven't got my emails.

I just ordered ours!! Will look forward to a decent night's sleep this summer.

What a fortuitous thread, I am making my first camping trip with 2 year DD this weekend (and only my 3rd trip ever!)

Has anyone said rubber gloves and scourer for the BBQ grill? Could not be without my rubber gloves (well, not if you want me to help with the washing up anyway!)

babywipes
bucket with lid (in case you end up miles from the loo block)
glowsticks (my kids like a nightlight and these are great fun)