In a tent at Christmas?

[OhFortheLoveOv]

Would you, could you and ultimately should you?
Short story long… we are hosting two elderly relatives (70’s) this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They both need their own room and our home is teeny meaning we are out of bed space …we have as I see these options;
Us in tent in garden
or
the teenage kids in tent I don’t relish either but out of ideas. What would you do?

Well I don't see anything wrong with sleeping outside in a tent in December. I sleep outside most of the year in the open anyway (not in a tent) and a tent is warmer than that.
But I am fucking crazy and I'm used to it and as well as that I own a lot of expensive extreme temperature kit.
So as a one off for teens or for you when you're not used to it, absolutely not!! Your body has to get used to doing things like that over time - all that will happen is the teens will be frozen, need the toilet several times in the night, not be able to get to sleep, will be shivering all the time and end up back inside at 2 am trying to warm out and will end up with a sore throat the next day.

My teens at the time did tent in the garden for New Year’s Eve once (it was as part of a scout challenge I think). Loads of blankets, warm sleeping bag, hot water bottle, good food, fairy lights etc then back indoors for a slap up breakfast in the morning. They had a blast and still talk about it now. They didn’t go out until they were ready to sleep, which was quite late anyway. Maybe see if you can sell it to the teens as an adventure.

If you have a portable clothes rail on wheels you could hang a sheet or blanket over it and use as a privacy screen in the hallway

OP, I think you are doing a lovely & thoughtful thing, hosting your relatives - ignore the few PPs who say you shouldn't.

Have you asked you teens where they would prefer to sleep? Willing sofa / air bed volunteers are worth a lot!

One other viable solution may be to split the guests' accommodation into two slots - ie all at yours on C Eve & / or C Day, then the other night(s) in a hotel / B&B.

I have a smallish 1940s 3 bed semi and could at a push squeeze two single or one double air bed into the lounge if I moved the Christmas tree and coffee table into the kitchen overnight. I could also get one air bed in the lounge and one in the kitchen/diner without moving furniture.

I'm struggling to understand how you can't squeeze two single air beds in somewhere, even if you have to move furniture around a bit. Surely there's some floor space between your sofas and telly or in front of the window?

I don't personally understand the fun of having guests sleeping all over the house and being uncomfortable at Christmas but I've never done it and maybe I'm missing out.

What about hiring some themed teepees for the kids - either for in the hall or the living area. The ones where someone comes and sets up an inflatable bed/trays/fairy lights etc. Think they are often aimed at younger children - but we have ones locally that are gaming/
Christmas themed that could work, and be a bit of fun / make it more special, for your teenagers?

Or you could theme your own tent (indoors!) as a bit of a Christmas grotto, using fairy lights, tinsel, Christmas bedding, mini Christmas tree etc.

Are the two elderly relatives the opposite gender?

If they're both women or both men I would ask them about sharing, don't just assume it's not possible.

Do you have any neighbours or friends nearby who are away for Christmas and wouldn't mind you crashing at theirs? Some people might be glad of the catsitting/burglar watch opportunities!

Unless you have to go through your living room to get to the bathroom then it is probably the best place for you or the teens to sleep.

Set up the bedrooms with a flask of tea/coffee/hot water so the older guests can have a hot drink first thing. If you have room you could put a toaster, bread and butter for them to help themselves without going into the living area if they are hungry.

Put a 'do not disturb' sign on the living room door with 'opening times'

Sleeping in a tent over Christmas ? Sounds fab ,I'd absolutely love it .I'm in my 70s but used to camping .

Have to admit though ,a tent in our garden with the foxes snuffling around ,not so appealing .

How many bedrooms/how much sleeping space do you have otherwise?
I'd exhaust every option; sofa, blue up bed, crowding into dc's rooms etc before considering anyone sleeping outside the house.

My DC used to go on a "Brass Monkey" camp when they were scouts. One year it was minus 17 overnight and DS2 had just moved up so age about 10.5. They just squish them in tight into the tent with extra blankets. It's the getting up for the loo that is more of the problem though they did get dressed into their clean clothes for the next day before getting into their sleeping bags. A lot of the cold comes from the ground so you need to insulate from that as much as possible.

Camping outside is doable if you have the appropriate equipment. I have done it out of choice a couple of times at big family gatherings over Christmas/New Year. Once in the snow. However, we have a trailer tent with heating so no real hardship.

A lot more often I have done air beds in whatever space is available. There is always somewhere.

Neither, it'll be fucking freezing. I'm sure you can find space for the teenagers on the floor somewhere.

Op
Can I just say that you sound absolutely lovely and could give us all a lesson on what the Xmas spirit is meant to be about..
The amount of people saying that in no way would they put out themselves or their kids out bedroom wise for one night to accommodate two elderly people who would otherwise be on the own at Xmas made me really really sad.

I'd say that camping outside would be fine because you've got electric hook up. But I do overnight winter sea fishing, dog walk in all weather and don't feel the cold. You'll find teens fishing overnight in a Bibby tent in all weathers on every lake in the UK.

Agreed that you sound great, OP, and there must be a way to make this work. Depending on where the access to the loo is, I would consider making a coffee/tea/toast station in the hall if either the teens or you and DP are sleeping in the open plan area. Then no one is desperate for a cuppa or tiptoeing past you while you sleep. Add a couple of jugs of water to refill the kettle, milk in a flask, bin for the dead teabags and some biscuits, croissants or similar in the hallway, and everyone can manage until the open plan sleepers get up.

The tent is a great idea if you have one already, and air mattress etc.

I've camped out all year around, woken up to ice over the tent, and been toasty warm inside. Just layer up blankets...bring out a big duvet and snuggle down.
You just have to sleep in it, no trudging to toilets etc. as you're literally in your own garden.

Get a double electrically-inflate/deflate mattress and put in the hallways for you and DH. Then every morning deflate it, roll it up and place in one of DC’s rooms for the days your guests are there. It takes no more than 10 minutes (and is quite comfortable - ours is a full-size divan height double inflatable bed)

In your position, I'd bunk the two teens in together and my and my husband would get a blow up mattress for the living room, it's only for two nights. You're obviously a really kind person to even consider sleeping in a tent in December so that your guests are comfortable

It depends on your tent, but if you have a good teepee type one, I would happily do this, but we are hardened campers who enjoy sleeping in a tent even in bad weather & have camped a few times in November

Camping in your garden means you are only sleeping in the tent, not sitting around outside freezing or hogging a campfire. Set your tent up well with an insulated foil ground sheet under your deep blow up mattress & a duvet or open sleeping back underneath your sheets & then normal bedding topped with lots of spare blankets you can strip off as the tent hears up when the sun comes up. Insulating under your mattress etc makes a hell of a difference to keeping warm enough. You can also run a power line to the tent & use a portable camping heater, so you are hardly going to freeze

I think you’d be crazy to consider a tent when you have a nice warm living room/kitchen! One teen on the sofa, the other on a blow up bed. Would you fit one of them in your room? I think the teens should be the ones to give up their rooms, although I know on MN it’s awful to suggest kids should ever be put out.

And I agree, it’s a lovely thing you are doing and shouldn’t result in much hardship for anyone.

Book them in at a nearby hotel with a room on the ground floor.
That will be much more comfortable than stumbling over people on the floor or navigating stairs in your home.

There’s plenty of campervans you can hire with heaters and electric, I’d still only put teens in them though.

Teens in the tents with hot water bottles just to sleep would be ok and maybe even an adventure if they are that way inclined. It will be a bugger getting the tent dry to put away though. It’s just permadamp in december even if it’s not raining.

I’d give the teens the option of sleeping in the living room / tent/ campervan. Either way, they are losing their rooms.

They might go with tent so they have somewhere to escape during the day.

What's wrong with a hotel?
Did I miss that part?