Tips for Happy Campers

If the weather is right, camping in the UK with the family can be great fun for everybody and children love the thrill of sleeping outside. However, get a few things wrong and it can very quickly go down hill with a few unhappy campers.

So here are a few tips from frequent campers with children to help keep all members of the family smiling…

Acclimatise your cool box

Not only are they essential, good ones can actually keep your food cold for 4 or 5 days without any topping-up. The trick is to “acclimatise” it first – get it out a few days before you go, use big bottles of water (pre-frozen the week before) to bring the internal temp of the box down gradually. That way, when you pack it with food on the day you go, it’ll stay cold WAY longer. Also, use frozen bottles of mineral water (in plastic bottles) as cheaper ice packs – with the added bonus that you can drink them after.

Don’t forget your flip-flops

Make sure everybody takes a pair of slip-on shoes (or wellies) to use when travelling around the camp site or field. If you need to go outside at night for a midnight pee, you’ll find it much easier to slip on some flip-flops, than putting on proper shoes. Same goes with trips to and from the campsite facilities. like shower blocks.

Coordinate toys

CC image source: John Tornow

If you’re going camping with other families, check before hand what toys they plan to take – to save space as well as time. Kids will be keen to take some toys and games to stay entertained, but getting there to find all the kids have bought their bikes and you haven’t – can be annoying. That and finding everyone has bought a football.

Make sure to maximise whatever toy-transporting space you have by checking for overlap before you leave.

Plan your food

If you plan to cook all your meals yourself, plan what you’re going to eat before you leave – or you’ll inevitably end up eating in pubs because you can’t be bothered to plan a meal. Another good tip is to freeze your first night’s meal – bolognaise is always a great one – and use it as an extra ice pack in your cool box, defrosting it when you arrive at your destination.

Evolve your plan 

If you enjoy your first family camping trip, make notes when you get back of what you forgot, what you’d do differently next time, ideas you’ve had etc. Unless you do it when it’s fresh in your mind, you’ll inevitably get to the next trip and discover you’ve forgotten the same things again. 

Potty / Bucket

If your kids are little, and you still have a travel potty hanging around, take it with you – you’ll be glad of it when your little-one says they need a trip to the toilet in the middle of the night. If you don’t mind a bit of roughing-it, taking a bucket for the grownups can have a similar effect.

Torches

Take plenty of torches and lights – you can almost never have too many lights. Glow sticks are also popular with the little campers, and provide light through most of the night as well as the inevitable novelty factor.

Standard first-aid kit

Always handy to be able to have a plaster or safety pin to hand when traveling with the kids, but especially if you’re in the middle of a field and there aren’t any shops nearby.

We’re frequent campers, so do share any tips you have in the comments section below…