Tell me about electric hook up - do I really need it?

[kateecass]

Haven't been camping for years and always done without electricity. Don't think we ever went anywhere with it before. Anyway about to book a pitch for first proper family holiday since kids and need to decide whether we actually need it?

What do you lot run off your electricity?
Are there new fangled gadgets for camping that we don't know anything about??

Don't think you need it, but you might want to get a Freeloader Solar Charger for phones etc.

We've never used electric hook up. This year I'm slightly softening as I would like a way to keep food cold in the south of France..... other than that, I actually really like not having it. life going back to basics - we don't need electricity to live.

We borrowed one when we went and it felt like luxury to have our normal kettle . We are taking the microwave next time !

Oh Sagacity! Get A Room!

The heater for night-time
The kettle
The toaster
The electric coolbox

I wouldn't go without it really.

Hook-up is for wimps

LOL!!

It was our first family camping trip. I have been lots of times with no EHU before with my sister. Felt like a treat i find even little things immensely stressful at the moment so 'every little helps' as they say.

I'm an out and proud wimp.

omg i hadn't thought about the toaster!

Go Outdoors has hook ups for £30 this w/e

We don't tend to bother with it for short breaks in the UK, but it's useful for a fridge/cool box if you are abroad. We borrowed one of [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Russell-Hobbs-15199-Stainless-Steel/dp/B002KGP60G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=kit chen&qid=1277800730&sr=8-3 these] off FIL last year to use in France which was great as we didn't have to bother with gas cannisters.

Whoops, one of these

Wow, thanks for all the answers!! Oh I don't know now. Think there are more pros to without!! My kids can't stick their fingers in the sockets if we don't have it and I won't want to kill my DH for playing on his Iphone all the time if he can't recharge it easily!!

Don't really do toast anyway and we have a coolbox that plugs in the cig lighter!

Think we'll go without.

Just done first two camping weekends ever, first one without hook up, and I was using just a one ring burner-in-a-suitcase (borrowed) thingy. Found it a faff to do tea, then toast, then bacon separately. Got hook up for weekend just gone, found it very useful for umpteeen cups of tea/hot choc.

Could really do with a two ring burner though, as I could quite happily then do without the hook up for short breaks.

I booked without hook-up!!

Looking forward to tent shopping now!!

Dh keeps on about electric hook-up but I'm resisting because camping is the only chance to get the kids away from their gadgets (dh too actually) and I don't mind torch light etc myself.

I've booked our site for August and told him they don't have hook-ups. But I lied.

Think I may be in trouble...

Cool box in france, fan heater in UK. Recharging the camera, and phones and operating the laptop. Only got EHU for the first time last year and whilst having the coolbox (and the fan heater!) were lovely I hated having the computer with us and have previously managed fine recharging the phone or camera in the car or the site office.

I'm new to all this. the site we are going to in France has electricity on the pitches and are going to rent us a fridge -but i'm not clear on what we need to take to connect up....