Camping with kids- a little guide

I posted a while back on my IG @arangoirene about going camping with our kids sharing some of the adventures we had while we were visiting a UK coastal town. I was surprised by the amount of parents that asked about it- what did we take, did the kids like it, was it cold, what did we eat while camping etc that I decided writing a blog post sharing all my experience in the matter was a must, and here it is. My guide to camping with kids!

The most important part of camping is having the right kit. For us, these are the essentials:

• A good tent. We love our Regatta tent (www.regatta.co.uk) It’s a six person tent and the way its structured works perfectly for a family of 4-6 people. It’s called Karuna. It has three bedrooms, one of them on the opposite side of the other two giving some privacy as the kids grow older. For now, we all sleep in one large bedroom that can later on be divided in two by a very practical fabric zip (included). We use the other bedroom as storage keeping the living room as a place to chill if cold or rainy. We love that it has a large sitting room, a must if the weather turns, but also very practical to store all camping items and luggage. Also for those that are not keen on building their tent or if they are the only adult, I highly recommend checking the inflatable Kolima tents from Regatta. One only person can set them up and it really takes only 10 minutes!  My dream tent 🙂

• Sleeping bags- for camping in the UK, I highly recommend a warm sleeping bag as it gets quite cold at night. I am not particularly a person that suffers with the cold, but I do appreciate having a good & warm sleeping bag. For the kids I highly recommend the sleeping bags from Regatta (the Hilo collection) that extends in size as they grow. The kid’s sleeping bags are two seasons but they are always warm in them as we don’t camp if the outside temperature overnight is lower than 8 degrees anyways. Also, I highly recommend the thermal base layers from Muddy Puddles for sleeping. They have a little hole for the thumb making sure the kids arms keep covered through the night. My kids move around a lot and this way I am not worried they will catch a cold! They also wear woolly hats if very cold.

• Insulation mats. I find this is essential to have a good night sleep. In fact, we are never cold because we always make sure we insulate the sleeping area properly.  We use a combination of foam mats topped with self inflatable mattresses. We create a sleeping surface with the mats and then put the mattresses on top for each of us. We put the kids in between us to make sure they stay on top of the mats during the night and to insulate them from the outside temperature as much as possible.

• Travel pillows- one of the items we have but we need to change because they are not fluffy enough. Even the kids don’t like much the ones we have. They are small to carry, but really thin once in use. My advice- invest in better ones from the start. It will make camping more enjoyable if you have a decent night sleep! NI have been told these ones from Decathlon are amazing and definitely my next purchase. Also a good price to pay for ultimate comfort don’t you think?

• Table and chairs. We didn’t have these before and we simply used a camping blanket but after going camping with @allmumstalk and @alldadstalk and using their Regatta chairs and table we decided they were essentials too! We now have a folding table with extendable legs and comfy chairs from Regatta. The table folds and closes as a flat box and the chairs come with their own bags. Really like them and wouldn’t go camping without them!

• Gas stove. Nothing better than coming out of your tent early in the morning and having a hot cup of tea! We have a basic Camping Gaz stove and it works perfectly for a family of four.

• A cooler bag. We bring a basic one from Decathlon and I consider it an essential item as we bring pre (home)made meals to simplify food prep while camping. I will write more about this later on.

• A water container. We have a collapsible water bag and we fill it for drinking and cooking without the need to go to a water source every time.

• We also bring a frying pan and a pot for making breakfast and dinner. We usually have lunch out while we explore the area where we are staying. We also have a popcorn pan the kids love using as well as s’more sticks for the fire. Most camping sites rent or simply have firepits for use while there. Otherwise we would recommend the foldable firepit from Regatta- does the trick and can be used for cooking as it comes with a grill, its easy to empty and carry back home inside a large rubbish bag (don’t forget to bring rubbish bags too!). Can’t link it as it seems to be out of stock at this time, but keep an eye pout for it- its a fabulous item to have!

• Head lamps and a hanging lamp for the tent- bathrooms are usually on one side of the camp and walking to them at night is tricky. Specially if like us, you prefer to camp more on the wild side rather that fully established camping sites.  We use headlamps for that to keep our hands free. The kids absolutely love these and play with them at night.

• Frisbees and any other outdoor games you can carry for the kids, although they usually find friends at the campsite and enjoy wild play. This is the best about camping- children enjoy nature with very little else than their imagination and truly have the best time.

We really like Regatta and have multiple items from them so we reached out to collaborate with them as we already owned a lot of their camping gear. They are well priced, have great sales and their items are durable, so definitely a great brand to get your equipment from. They provided us with the tent and the camping table.

Another topic that seemed of great curiosity amongst our followers is what to eat while camping. Between me and my friend Esther Kufrin @ekufrin, we came up with the perfect meals to bring for two families for our last camping trip. I am sharing here our tricks and how we bring the items needed to reduce space and amount of things needed. I am sure you will come up with many other meals while reading ours, which is great!

Breakfast. This meal we always do at camp, because the kids wake up early and its just easier to make something there for everybody before packing everything for a day out. We usually bring vegan, eggs (for those that eat them), baked beans, mushrooms and bread for the first breakfast of the camping trip. We bring the items refrigerated in the cooler and are cooked the next day so they are always fresh.  Other breakfasts we bring along breads to make toast with butter and jam and porridge. Porridge is definitely the best breakfast for camping! Doesn’t need refrigeration and its cooked fresh every time. It can also taste so different depending what you add to it. Esther makes hers with cinnamon, maple syrup, nuts and seeds and uses almond milk while my children love theirs with banana, cinnamon and maple syrup and made with oat milk. Both amazing options for a good start to the day. Sometimes I bring my spelt pancakes along to the trip (pre made) and heat them up for the kids. They can also double as snacks if we don’t use them in the morning.

For dinner while camping we have enjoyed having vegan burgers and sausages made in the fire pit. We bring buns, lettuce and tomatoes in the cooler and enjoy this dinner the first night. Another dinner option is what Esther calls Campsite chilli, which we make using cans of beans, passata and cans of corn cooked together in a large pot with cumin powder, a dash of chilli powder. We top the chilli pan with grated cheese and we eat it using corn chips for forks. A fun meal for the kids and very filling.

We also have had pasta Bolognese. We make the vegan Bolognese at home and freeze it so it keeps in the cooler for a couple of days. We simply need to cook the pasta and add the defrosted chilli for a hearty and easy meal.

Before I forget! There is another little trick I have for camping, to make the evenings and bedtimes easier for the kids. I bring their hot water bottles and fill them just before bed so they get warm and comfy in their sleeping bags. I now also have one for me, specially if we camp when the nights get colder- a total game changer!

For any questions, please simply contact me through IG on @arangoirene and check out my reels and posts there for more images.