List: Camping must-haves

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I’m just going to put this out there. I’m not an expert camper. I used to be an excellent camper. I went to sleep-away camps when I was a child (and as a teen.) I’ve camped on my grandparents’ farm (again, when I was a child) and years ago, I camped in the Adirondacks first with family and then with family friends – in my early adult years. But I haven’t been camping in 11 years. Although my friends have been camping in france with Alan Rogers, and the itch is certainly back after seeing their photos. So big fanfare…

Until last weekend. (Father’s Day weekend.)

For some reason, I thought I could just throw our stuff into a giant bag and we would be golden. I mean, I registered for fancy camping gear 7 years ago and we received it all as gifts. Surely that would cover us. And then I realized the day before we left that we needed a few things. And some of this I didn’t even think of until we were in the middle of setting up camp. I have only covered my tent camping tips in this guide, but if you are RV camping you should definitely consider getting RV ready portable inverters to make sure that you never have to worry about your van not starting! Anyway, here is Jaime’s list of camping must-haves.

camping_musthaves

1. A decent tent. I’m so glad we had a decent-sized tent. It fit the pack & play and two adults comfortably.

2. A hammer or a mallet. To pound the tent stakes into the ground. We had to borrow one from neighboring campers.

3. Wood/small limbs for the fire. We bought a bundle of wood at the campground. And I also bought a fire starter. I have no idea what was in that fire starter, but it did the job. We could have used more than the $5 bundle of wood, though. I wish we had also thought to bring some of the limbs from our back yard.

4. Something for the kids to play with while you put the tent up. For us, it was a notepad and pen. And the Eight Silly Monkeys book. I also had the Crayola Color Wonder Travel Tote.

5. Extra clothes for the kids. I had extra shorts, extra underwear, but I forgot extra shirts for my son. And he was a mess. I just needed something clean for him to wear on the car ride home. To fit everything like clothes, toiletries and food in place, it may be best to get something like the Arkadia waterproof backpacks. This way, you won’t have to worry about forgetting any essentials.

6. Sunscreen. Don’t leave home without it.

7. Water. And extra water. We failed on beverages. I had packed plenty of food for our 24-hour trip, but I had no beverages (except one small bottle of milk – and we had to grab more from a gas station.)

8. Simple foods. Plan out your menu ahead of time. We ended up with hot dogs for dinner and Cheerios for breakfast. They both turned out great, and they were easy. If this is your first camp outing, I don’t recommend something crazy and over the top.

9. Metal skewers. We used the skewers for hot dogs. And then s’mores. So much easier than whittling limbs for marshmallow roasting (as I did when I was a kid.)

10. Pillow and some sort of foam padding for your sleeping bags. My husband grabbed extra pillows for us (smart man), but I skipped the foam padding and my back hasn’t let me forget!

I’m throwing in a bonus item:

11. Ingredients for S’Mores. These should be first, but in case you would rather sleep than eat s’mores, go with the tent first and the graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows next.

smores with toddlers

Camping with a young child wasn’t as awful as I had anticipated it to be. We’re actually considering doing it again. (I know. Shocker.)

Are you a camping person? Would you try camping with a small child?

Oh, hey, I think I used one affiliate link in this post. For the Crayola markers. Just so you know.

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37 Comments

  1. s’mores are a must- have when camping. they ARE camping!

    i keep extra kids shirts in the car at all times. its really just a smart idea LOL

  2. We have always been a camping family – we went from tent to camper to bigger camper. When the kids were small I always had a special bag of clothes that never left the car. Inside the bag was one clean outfit for each child. When camping my kids would get everything so dirty. When we wanted to go somewhere – I knew I always had a clean outfit for them. I could wash them up – put on the clean clothes and off we would go. My hubby used to laugh – I would take off the bag clothes and put the clothes back in the bag before I would let them out of the car at the campsite. Made my camping trips much happier.

  3. I used to go camping sometime before having my daughter. I would definitely consider taking her now that she’s older and I would basically just have to entertain her.

  4. We used to go camping ALL the time when I was a kid. I haven’t been in SO long and now being a mom I’m sure it’s a completely different experience. I will be on the working end instead of the completely relaxing end lol Me and my husband do want to take our son on a camping trip this fall so this is perfect! Thank you!

  5. I am a total planning type-a nut job when it comes to taking trips with my family. But I have found that planning and preparing make all the difference in the world when it comes to taking trips with kids. This is a great list!

  6. Extra padding for me would be a must, too. It’s been a long time since I have been camping and I have really been wanting to go. I fear that my hips and back wont be so kind to me thought with the problems I already have.

  7. Having wood for the campfire is so important! My daughter used to camp a lot and she would always wind up with wet, unlightable wood.

  8. I haven’t been camping for awhile but I would probably do it again with a small child. I took my two small sons by myself ( husband wasn’t able to come) and went with my brother and his wife. It went ok, actually and they helped me too.

  9. A decent tent is a necessity! I also think that sheets and pillows are at the top of the list as well, you don’t realize how uncomfortable the ground is (and how chilly it can sometimes get) until you’re out there camping.

  10. Great list. I used to enjoy camping but as I get older, my back and I appreciate going to a hotel instead…now if only you could make smores at a hotel…that would be awesome!

  11. Camping is definitely something I have zero interest in, but I do think your ideas are perfect to be prepared for a good camp out. My kids are with me on the no camping thing. Lol

  12. My daughter and her friends go camping a lot and they never take anything to lay under their sleeping bags. No way would I do that. They are young though, and haven’t experienced real back pain yet, lol.

  13. we tent camp but wouldn’t leave home w/o our air mattress! he also has a pretty cool pump that hooks to the truck battery to blow it up.

    on firewood, check w/where you are going, because some areas are worried about transportation of the Emerald Ash Borer being transported from area to area & destroying TONS Of trees… we take our own but we also know that ours isn’t infected. but its a really big deal in some campgrounds http://www.thetreegeek.com/emerald-ash-borer/?gclid=CLmUq5zbpL8CFQOSaQodW64AhQ

    other than those 2, GREAT LIST!!

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