Another Campling Question

We just came back from a camping trip this weekend. We were rained out totally so I can give you some examples of what we wish we would have had, etc. Take a tarp to put under your tent before you put it down. Even if it doesn't rain the moisture from the ground will still seep up into your tent floor a little. We also purchased an inexpensive canopy from Aldi's that we used to cover our cooking/eating area. Small games for the kids that can be packed tightly (matching game, books, bubbles, silly string) We had a 4 hour drive to the campground so we also brought our DVD player (travel) and several DVDs. This ended up saving our weekend due to all the rain.

When it wasn't raining, it was 90 degrees and seriously humid. If you have an electrical site bring a small fan to move the air around. We weren't able to cook anything over our fire because of the rain so luckily we picked up a cheap electric grill/cooktop ($14) at walmart to cook on just in case. It was the only way we ate this weekend. Worth the investment and very compact to pack. These do get extremely hot so watching the kids is a must while using the cooktop.

A weather radio would have been nice because the campground was hit with 60 mile an hour winds and destroyed our canopy and blew our tent down, while soaking everything in it. Had we had more than a minute warning we could have packed up the important stuff instead so you may want to borrow one or just buy a cheap battery operated one. We also forgot a flashlight/lantern for our tent. It gets very dark at night when the kids need to be changed or go potty.

Keep all of your extra clothing in the car in case it rains, plus if it is humid you won't have damp clothing in the morning to put on. Take along flip flops or shower shoes because the bathrooms can get really gross and make you scared to walk in there.

Take a small clothesline or drying rack to hang towels on during the day.

For food, if you can take along fast food sized condiments it will save you a ton of space in your cooler. Tiny salt, ketchup, mustard take up a lot less room and require a lot less ice to keep cold. Breakfast bars in case you can't cook because of rain/heat. Our kids ate these most of the weekend because of our difficulty cooking.

My kids are just a little older 3 and 5 (plus I am 6 months expecting with #3) so some of the stuff that worked for us may not work for your 10 month old. Make sure you can keep hydrated. We all had heat stroke so if you are nursing or feeding your baby mostly from a bottle make sure to keep her hydrated.

I packed our meals (all the ingredients) in walmart bags and tied them shut and labeled them so that I wasn't rooting through the cooler for long periods of time. That way I just had to reach in and grab out the one labeled for that meal. It made it much easier to keep the cooler cold enough and we only had to buy ice once.

My kids only remember the fun parts so we were blessed with that, as for my husband, he isn't too excited to camp again for awhile and he used to be an avid camper. This was our first trip camping with smaller kids and next time (if there is one) we will have a better idea of what to pack and hopefully better weather!

Have a great time and make some memories!!

My husband and I were avid backpackers before having kids and we've gone car camping with our kids since they were just a few months old.

You didn't mention sleeping bags. :-) We would take a pack 'n play for the baby/toddler until they were about 2.5 or so. It's in the tent at night and outdoors during the day to contain the roaming baby/toddler when we needed to focus our attention on cooking or the other children.

I'd say a campstove is a neccessary. A 2 burner green Coleman stove (it folds for easy storage/transportation and are easy to use) is a must, IMO. In many areas, campfires are not allowed. Or if it rains the campfire is pretty much a bust. And fuel canisters are cheaper and last longer than firewood. It's a good investment but don't cost too much - and they last for YEARS. My parent's still use the one they bought 40 years ago and it's never broken down on them!

A canopy/tarp thingy to put over the picnic table. It will help keep rain away from your food and you can cook on the camp stove under the tarp when it's raining. It also keeps things like leaves, twigs and acorns from falling into your food when it's under trees. :-) You can keep firewood under it, and it keeps the cooler shaded.

Bring long the long forks for cooking hot dogs and roasting marshmallows. My 2 year old's favorite thing this past weekend on our camping trip was roasting her hot dog all by herself. Teach fire safety at a young age - it's imperative - and then you can relax alot more. Most non-camping people I know stress the most about the campfire. Even toddlers can learn the appropriate distance to stay away from fire.

Do easy food since you are new to this. Make a pasta salad and fruit salad at home. Pack in several small containers instead of 1 large one so you can remove them from the cooler as they get emptied and take up less space. Add roasted hot dogs and you got an easy meal. Easy lunches are just PB&J or deli turkey & cheese. Breakfast can be milk & cereal and fruit. The less that needs to be kept cold, the better. Cut up fruit & veggies at home. Make a trail mix at home. Bring packets of oatmeal or hot chocolate instead of a bigger container (or put your own mix into snack size ziplocks). Of course, meals can be more elaborate (ours usually are) but these are very easy ideas for the beginner camper - or at least new to camping with children.

Don't forget matches or a lighter and kindling. But don't buy your firewood until you get close to where you are camping. You are not allowed to carry firewood over county lines due to the widespread danger of the Ash Tree Bore (bad bug killing thousands of Ash Trees).

For the kids.... we just bought a ladderball set from Meijer for $20 and even the 2 year old loved playing with it. Comes apart and packs easily in it's fabric case. Soccer ball or playground ball is a must. My kids like Bocce Ball. There are many types of lawn darts, bean bag toss, etc games. Go look at Meijer near the camping stuff and you'll see tons of outdoor yard games. Most are compact. A small bucket and shovel for both kids is nice - they'll dig and collect stuff.

Flashlights and at least 1 lantern is a must. You can get battery operated lanterns now that are more child-friendly than the old style open flame ones. Bug spray and sunscreen. Swim suits and beach towels if there's a pool or lake. Rope and handful of clothespins for stringing up clothesline between 2 trees.

Pot holders, wash clothes, hand towels, small plastic container (look in travel section at drug store) of dish soap for dishes. Even if you use paper plates/bowls and plastic utensils you'll still want to wash the roasting forks and whatever you used to boil water for coffee/hot chocolate/oatmeal, etc.

Tablecloth w/ clips for picnic table is nice to have and doens't take up hardly any space.

Baby wipes - use to clean hands, faces, wipe the tablecloth down before/after meals, etc -- tons of uses. Bring a tub for each day just in case. Plastic garbage bags and small grocery bags.

This sounds like alot but it's not. We fit pretty much everything we need for a weekend camping trip with 3 children in the back of the SUV (behind 3rd row seat) with a few things by the kids' feet.

we went camping with our 5, 3 year old, and 7 month old kids a few weeks ago, and had a great time!!!

we brought an umbrella stroller for the baby's "camp chair" and it worked great!

we made hot dogs on sticks and s'mores, which are pretty easy campfire food. other camping foods we like are chili or baked beans (just open the can in one little spot, put it on a hot rock for a "stove" and wait till it's bubbling out the top. also foil dinners and banana boats are fun.

DON'T forget your bug spray-- i wasn't liberal enough with it and we had to pull a lot of ticks off everyone. if you do get a tick be sure to check for the head of the tick-- you don't want it stuck in the skin. yuk!!!! i know!

matches, kindling, firewood

have fun!

We camp a lot and all these are great answers....I always take the kids' medicine and a thermometer - without fail when they were that young, one of them would get the sniffles or a fever. One more thing to pack, but worth it.

If you're camping over fire - a great purchase would be the pie/sandwich maker. You can do grilled cheese, pizza sandwiches and of course the pudgy pies. Of course PB&J, cereal, snacks, etc.

You may already thought of this, but take some toys for the kids. Shovels and buckets, balls, get them their own "fun" flashlight, etc.

Camping is a lot of work but so much fun! We always have a great time! Have fun and best wishes!

One of the greatest life savers could be a canopy of some sort one with screen sides is even better. Comes in handy for rain and sun... bugs too. I always would set up our kitchen under it. I bring 2 buckets as well for carrying water and washing dishes(one to was in and one to rinse). Shower shoes for all the showers can sometimes be really yucky! Hope you have a great time!!

Shaun...We keep a "camping list" on our computer. Things to pack and when we feel we need another item we add it to the list. You might want to buy a cookstove of some kind. We have a portable coleman thing on wheels that folds down and goes into a cover. It's not always easy to get a fire started and it may even rain. You will need sun lotion, bug spray, pillows, sleeping bags?, games, hats, walking shoes, wet wipes, cooler full of water bottles, food, flashlights, coleman lantern or electric light, swimsuits?, and clothes. Have a good time and enjoy the outdoors. It is good for the whole family......

Be sure to bring paper and a pen to write down everything you forgot or things you might need for next time and then make a check list for next the next trip.

Here are some things to think of for camping with kids.

http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/535

For gear flashlights or a lantern, bug spray, sunscreen, water if there isn't any there that is drinkable (most places have water you can drink), tp to be safe, and a tarp to set the tent up on.
For food- hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, smore makings :)

Have fun! We just went last night and had a great time.

Some items you'll need.... (many of these are for cooking over open fire)
2 tarps - one for under the tent another for over the tent, helps if it rains
vinyl table cloth
aluminum foil
a dish pan or bucket for doing dishes
a rack to put over the fire to cook on
a long handled fork and spatula
a sharp knife
flashlights
shower shoes
bug spray
suntan lotion
waterproof matches
even if its warm out, be sure to bring along a sweatshirt, gets damp at night
a jug for water

Food.... depends on your likes and lifestyle
we like boneless chicken breast
wrap potatoes in heavy duty alumium foil and throw into the coals, they do take a long time to cook, - 1 1/2 hours depending on size and heat

our camping list is ridiculously long because we turn our campsite into an outdoor 4 star hotel :) but here are some things that were helpful with our young kids.
- potable toilet seat that folds up. our 3 year old wouldnt hold poo like an adult might!
-close toed shoes for the kids- they got sick of rocks and sand in their sandals.
-lots of extra clothes and undies for the toddler. they get dirty and we were by water so clthes got wet.
-Lots of garbage bags. You can hang from tree for camp garbage. use for dirty clothes, cover things you want to keep dry at night, store dirty pots, utensils etc....
- we camp in nature and not at sites with water. We buy the big jugs of water from the grocery store that have the water spout at the bottom. This is great to put on the edge of a table to wash hands, get water to drink, brush teeth, or wash hair or dishes if necessary.
-small portable shovel to fix up fire pit or dig a bathroom hole.

If you want to send me a message we can talk via email and I can send you a copy of my camping list and food/menu ideas. I have the documents on my computer so it would be easy to share.

have fun!!!!

our kids are 5, 3 and 1 we have done a lot of camping with them. Here are some other things you might want.
grate for cooking over the fire
cast iron dutch oven and skillet metal spoon and spatula
cutting board and knife
lantern
air pump for mattress
tarp and roll of string or easy-up in case of storms
Matches paper or cardboard for fire starting ease
I usually buy a new bucket of sand toys to take for the kids to play in the dirt with. And they like catching bugs and putting them in a bug collector. Also they love having their own flash light or glow stick.
Have a great trip.

don't forget hot dogs and hot dog sticks! marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars for s'mores! :) you don't mention if there is a body of water, but you might want to bring swim gear. we went for three days and it was super simple. we ate a lot of hot dogs! lol. my 3 1/2 year old loved it. have a blast and just remember to relax and let kids have fun!