Family Camping Essentials List; 30 great camping helpers

Recently we went on our first ever real camping trip as a family.  As a novice camper I didn’t really know what we needed to bring.  I mean I knew we needed a tent and sleeping bags, but I wanted to know what are the real family camping essentials so I asked some lovely bloggers to help me.  They came up with the below fab family camping essentials list.

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Family Camping Essentials List

1. Something to deal with the bugs, particularly wasps when you’re eating and insect repellent spray or wrist bands
2. Something to cook on, so either a barbecue or a camping gas stove
3. Hot water bottles are great for kids to snuggle up to in sleeping bags
4. Fleecy onsies for the kids when it gets cold at night time! 
5. A power bank for your phone
6. A bucket or a potty for those emergency ‘mummy I need a weeeeeeee’ moments in the middle of the night when it’s freezing and you don’t want to have to undo ALL the zips to get out of your sleeping bag and out of the tent to take them.
7. Lots of wet wipes. No matter how old your kids are, they’re so handy
8. Carrier bags for rubbish bins, to store wet clothes etc
9. Folding camping chairs and a waterproof backed picnic blanket. Both perfect for when the ground is damp!
10. Something to occupy the kids with on rainy days; games like uno, story cubes, chess, paper and pens
11. A sharp Knife
12. A fire extinguisher
13. A First Aid Kit
14. Spray oil. You can’t spill it!
15. An airbed (rather than a roll mat) for sleeping on, as it’s much comfier!
16. Flip flops for the showers
17. Always take more clothes for the kids than you think you need!
18. A washing up bowl, cloth, washing up liquid and some tea towels
19. Lots of hotdogs and marshmallows for a bonfire!
20. Flashlight and lights for the tent.  Its pitch black in there once the sun goes down!
21. Dustpan and brush
22. Rechargeable mini fans for warm weather
23. Microfibre towels which are lightweight, small and dry really quickly
24. Mallet for tent pegging in the tent pegs
    
    

More Family Camping Essentials and a couple of nice to haves

After our first go at family camping I second every one of the items my fellow bloggers suggested and I have a few of my own must haves for family camping.  A couple of these items were gifted to me, but as ever I only recommend things that I really rate:

• Drink’s bottles for the kids that don’t spill!!  I was recently sent an Ion 8 Leak Proof bottle which I love as it genuinely doesn’t leak!!  I have been drinking way more water since I got it. I don’t really know why – maybe it is because it is all mine and doesn’t have a child’s name on the front 😉

• Anyway I didn’t have any for the kids when we were camping and I regretted it…  Way too much spillage cleaning up!! So this week I have bought one of the smaller kids bottles from ION for each of the kids  

[amazon box=”B07MTYF8YK”]

• Camping Cupboard or at least an additional table to put stuff on.  Otherwise everything is just on the floor!  I have this one which also has that raised tabletop perfect for cooking on

[amazon box=”B0888T9BNW”]

• Foldable Storage – awesome for putting the kids clothes in so that they don’t just all end up in a ball on the floor.  I like these ones as they are also useful for the boot of the car

• A table for eating at or even doing colouring.  We have a roll up one like these which is perfect for fitting it into the car

[amazon box=”B07X44KX7W”]

• A bottle of Milton Sterilising Fluid.  I was recently gifted a bottle and it was awesome for camping.  Prior to going I used it to clean all of the pots and wipe down the tent which had all been sitting in a shed on an allotment for two years.  Once were there it was amazing for dealing with that middle of the night bucket that my fellow bloggers suggested up above.  I would certainly not going camping without it and I believe that Milton also now have biodegradable sterilising wipes which could be the answer for our future camping trips.

• So this one might not be an essential, but its fab fun for the kids and even for grown ups so I would recommend the Hape Swing.  I was gifted this and as a family we love it.  The kids can swing in it or just chill out. 

All you need are two trees!!  It folds down as small as your hand as well so is perfect for travelling as a family and for camping. 

I am even going to take it on our family holiday as it just packs into the case.

• My last family camping essential would be a tent camping carpet.  We had a lot of rain one night and the camping carpet made the tent still feel cosy underfoot.  It stopped the damp coming through underfoot so I love ours.

Big thanks to all of the bloggers who helped me out with this.  They are: Josie Cornhill from BUSINESSFORMUMS.CO.UK, Mandi Morrison from bigfamilylittleadventures.co.uk Lauren Woolf from THATLITTLEOUTFIT.HOME.BLOG, Elaine Betteridge from entertainingelliot.com Tina Bailey from https://www.girlsgospel.com, Jodie Humphries from maidenheadmum.co.uk, Helen Copson from twinstantrumsandcoldcoffee.com, Jade Karly Staff from MUMMIESWAITING.COM, Victoria Sully from lyliarose.com, Rowena Becker from MYBALANCINGACT.CO.UK Jaymee Heaton  from themumdiaries.co.uk Jenny Leonard from thebrickcastle.com Sophie Durrans from https://lifeasmrsd.co.uk Claire Bones from THELADYBIRDSADVENTURES.CO.UK Ian Northeast from DADSDELICIOUSDINNERS.CO.UK Suzi from RAISINGBADGERS.COM Veronica Mitchell from myparentingjourney.com Janet from https://falcondalelife.com Katie Louise Mulford from mumof2point5.com Kate Mai Lyn from everafterwithkids.com

What did we forget on our family camping essentials list?  Is there anything else you would add to your first time family camping essentials list or do you think we have gone crazy?  Let us know in the comments.