Hey all, not much time to blog as I try to get us organized for our first ever camping trip as a family of 5 (and also as a family of anything but 2). REI is thanking me for the bucks I spent there this week on a new 6 person tent, as well as a few other camping items. Digging through our camping stuff, I realized, in fact, we have very little. Like only one sleeping bag! And two camping pads. Yeeps! I was counting on warm weather and just laying out blankets for everyone, and we still obviously will do that, but I just realized the temp is supposed to get down to 50 (F) at night. Much colder than I expected, boo! And, of course, slight showers possible Sat night…
I do think we’ll have tons of fun, though, regardless. We are going with a few other families from our multiples club, and will have a group site, which should be very spacious and accommodating. And, if we forget anything ciritical, I am sure we will be able borrow/share from someone else in our group.
However, I still have a lot of packing to do. My question to you: what gear to you find critical (or just highly recommended) when camping with kids? What activities are easy & fun to do (and what do I need to pack for them?). We are car camping so space is not really an issue…
My biggest worry is, of course, the sleeping situation. Any tips on how to arrange the tent? What do your kids sleep in and on (blankets? sleeping bags? Mats or pads of some sort?). Any tips on getting them to nap or to sleep at night while the sun is still up? We are big about sleep schedules and routines around here so we will stick to them as best we can, but this will definitely be a new experience for us all!
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I have yet to take the plunge with camping. You are going to be my expert but I have nothing really to help you with, I’m afraid.
I would say that you should bring an inflatable mattress for the kids with blankets – not sleeping bags. I actually sleep like that myself. I find sleeping bags totally uncomfortable and it’s so much easier to wash bedding when you come back.
Bring balls and pails to carry “treasures” in.
1. Socks under Crocs. Feet were black with dirt after the first day, so we washed them as well as we could and kept them in socks for the remainder of the trip. Be prepared for the dirt…mine looked like little chimney sweepers most of the time!
2. Sleeping was horrible! Hopefully you will have better luck. Mine are still in cribs so we brought pack n plays. I had small sleeping bags in the pack n play as one option…did not go over well with daughter. The other option was a fleece sleep-sack, fleece-footed PJs with layered over socks and onesies/t-shirts and several blankets. They were really restless at night and cried out/whined a lot. After a long stretch of attempted patting/soothing/etc., I finally brought my son into my sleeping bag and he quieted down. I got maybe one hour of sleep that night. Mine went to bed TWO hours later than normal and woke early at 6am. The sun was already down at night so the light wasn’t an issue. We had a few meltdowns each night before bed (overtired) and then lots of chatting/yelling/giggling when other people were still sleeping at 6am! It was the hardest part of the trip and the reason why we won’t try camping again until next year!!
3. We tried a nap, but the tent was super hot. After about 30 minutes of numerous different approaches (telling them to lay down, letting them lay down next to me on the sleeping bag, threatening to put them back in their cribs), we finally got in the car and drove. They were asleep in less than 4 minutes! Not the most environmentally-friendly option, but it worked…and my kids NEEDED the sleep.
4. We had buckets/shovels, little matchbox cars, a large dump truck, little dinosaurs, etc. They did really well and played with our friends’ kids. Ours also liked their kid-sized camp chairs for meals. I had bubbles and playdoh that I never pulled out.
5. Mine also loved the mini-flashlights I bought. They look like little glow-sticks, too.
Feel free to email me with more questions. We are bummed to miss the multiples camping trip this weekend (scheduling conflict), but we got our first taste of camping with kids last weekend. I tell people it was tons of fun and horrible all at the same time. It was worth it, though, as our kiddos had a BLAST!!!
I’m so excited for you! Camping has been a treasure to our family so far.
Naps: you can’t have the rain fly on during the day or the tent will be stifling hot. So get the tent under a tree. We have a family nap time and just lay down as well. That is literally the only way that nap happens – though in a pinch you could drive them around in the car!
Nighttime: One of us lays down at nighttime as well. We have a blow up airmattress – a queen size fits in a 4 person tent. We use sleeping bags and don’t have a problem – we do bring all of our pillows too. We have one child right now and one on the way. Currently we all sleep together on the queen size, but when #2 comes we are going to use 2 tents – one adult and one child per tent! We also let Finn stay up at least an hour/hour and a half later than normal to ensure he’s tired! (he’s 2)
Good luck! Once you get the kids used to camping – keep going. It gets easier and easier every time (for kids and parents!)
Christa
Thanks so much, everyone.
Sarah, THANK YOU, your advice is awesome! Sorry the sleep sucked for you guys last week — that is definitely what I fear. I hope we do okay! I am totally bringing tons of socks for use with our crocs, I would not have thought of that. Sorry you can’t make it this weekend, it would have been fun to hang out!
Christa — Thanks for your tips, too — glad you guys have had fun with this! So is the air mattress just a regular blow up one for use in homes (not specific to camping)? How does it inflate? I have heard of other folks doing that and it sounds GREAT. Though we would definitely not all fit on one!
Kristin – Target has some great buys or Costco sometimes has them. Currently we have the Eddie bauer Indoor/Outdoor version that self inflates with 4 D batteries. This is essential! Only get the self inflating kind that uses batteries – no wall plug in’s. There are ones that are only for indoor use – so just don’t get one of those. The one we have was $60-80, but well worth it in terms of ease, comfort (I’ve used it pregnant and been comfy), and durability. $60-80 is probably the amount you want to spend in order to get a good one. It will come with patches which you will want to bring along with you in case there happens to be a snag. Also, it doesn’t come with batteries – so get those!
Have fun! We are heading to Glacier National Park today, so hopefullly we all will have a good time