We are going camping in a few weeks with the kids - boys 7&2 yrs old. Campsite in Big Sur by the beach - we drive to our spot and will be there two nights. DH has camped a lot throughout his life but a minimalist when it comes to packing/comfort. What else should I bring to make this fun for all?
We have: Tent, sleeping bags, mattress pads, lanterns, glow sticks, warm clothes, snacks. I plan to bring s’mores stuff but not sure about what to cook for food. We live about 45 min away so I can pack a cooler full of stuff. We don’t have camping cook stove type of thing but can get.
Our boy scout troop does things like fajitas - they freeze everything then just cook it over the fire or campstove. You could do the walking tacos as well (taco meat in a bag of Fritos). Will your site have a grill? Burgers, brats etc are all good outside.
We went camping a lot when I was a kid (because it was a cheap vacation, lol). MH and I also camped a lot before we bought a house.
Make sure to have dry clothes and shoes as backups. If it's raining or the ground is damp, make sure not to have your sleeping bags touching the sides of the tent or else they'll get soaked. Ask me how I know this
Entertainment: deck of cards/Uno, a ball or Frisbee, fishing poles, small board game, books/magazines, coloring books and crayons, bubbles, water guns, a kite, portable movie player/things loaded onto phones or iPad (bring a car charger and a portable charger if you have it, like that lipstick-sized $20 Anker charger). A stuffed animal or another lovey for the kids because it can get scary at night in a new place outdoors.
Light and fire: flashlights with fresh batteries, headlamps, lanterns, lighter and matches, cotton balls rubbed with Vaseline to start a campfire. Google for fire starter methods with dryer lint, toilet paper tubes, etc.
Folding camping chairs. This is one thing where if you don't already have it, I'd strongly consider buying them. They're not expensive and they make it a lot more comfortable.
A tarp for under the tent.
For food, we made hot dogs pretty often - stick them on a long skewer or stick and top however you like. If you're going to bring things like corn on the cob or baked potatoes, I'd suggest pre-baking them at home because they take FOREVER to cook on a campfire if you bring them raw. There are lots of foil packet meals on Google, where you wrap everything up in foil and throw it on the fire to bake. You can make marinades at home and put them in a Ziploc with chicken, beef or fish. Popcorn is fun. Wash and cut your veggies at home, and again, pre-bake anything that typically takes a long time to cook.
Shake and Pour pancakes are an easy breakfast. As are eggs, bacon, sausage, pre-cooked home fries/potatoes and peppers.
I also highly suggest bringing some foods that don't need to be cooked, in case it rains or in case the campfire doesn't work out. PB&J or cold cut sandwiches, for example. Fruit, cereal, granola bars, canned tuna, whatever.
Minimize waste and food scraps wherever you can ... everything you take in needs to be taken back out with you, plus you don't want to drop food and attract critters. Plus it's just a PITA to do food prep with no kitchen or running water. Pre-cook/peel/chop things at home, and store in Ziplocs. I saw something on Pinterest where you crack and whisk eggs at home and add them to a pourable container, like an empty CoffeeMate bottle. Freeze your bottles of water/etc. before putting them in the cooler so they stay cold and act as ice for the other stuff.
Remember that you'll have to pack everything up at night and put it in your car trunk, especially if there are bears in your area. So minimize wherever you can, by putting things in smaller disposable containers and not bringing along something you won't use up completely.
COFFEE - instant packets, or a percolator.
Bring lots of paper towels, dish rags/potholders, Ziploc bags, garbage bags, new roll of tin foil, a bucket for water. Pans for baking, tongs, spatula, scissors, maybe a knife. Rain jackets. Hats and sunglasses. Bug spray and sunscreen. A warm sweatshirt for sitting around the fire at night. Toilet paper and wipes, hotel-size toiletries, soap, towels and washcloths. Flip flops for the showers. Band-Aids and Neosporin, aspirin, Pepto Bismol tablets, allergy meds, whatever other meds you need. Plastic tablecloths from the dollar store. Hand sanitizer. Bungee cords and paracord can be useful, and they're cheap and don't take up much room. Bottle opener if you need it. Maybe a small hatchet or axe if you already have it?
A radio, but be mindful of the people around you (again, ask me how I know).
Post by sandandsea on Apr 29, 2018 18:09:14 GMT -5
We camp with the kids quite a bit. But we car camp with them and bring all the stuff....I don't know how you can minimalist camp with kids (ours are 6 and 1.5 now).
We bring campfire foil packets. The best ones we've had are a BBQ Pineapple Chicken and a ground beef with peppers and onions. We also do hotdogs for a meal and smores. We bring chips, granola bars, etc. and usually make eggs and bacon for breakfast in our castiron pan. We also make a chili and cheese dip with chips over eat campfire. And bring PB&J and other "easy" foods.
For entertainment, digging trucks and shovels, water guns, a soccer ball, bocce ball, etc. if you're car camping and can bring stuff.
Lots of wet tips, a tablecloth to staple to the picnic table, a backpack carrier for the 2yo for hiking, camp/outdoor chairs, lots of water bottles, towels (they come in handy for a lot), citronella candles, a battery lantern, bug spray, a poker for the fire along with roasting sticks for marshmallows, fireproof gloves, firestarters/kindling, and your beverage of choice.
A first aid kit is a good idea too with burn cream, neosporin, and bandaids.
And a separate tarp to put down outside of the tent to place shoes and everything before you go into the tent.
We love camping around Big Sur! It's beautiful! Last year we heard whales spouting overnight in the water! We stayed at Kirk Creek.
I really like having a mat for outside the tent to wipe andremove shoes and a small broom and dustpan for cleaning out the debris that will inevitably get tracked in.
Bug spray.
We bring extra blankets if there is any chance of it being cold.
My kids love to bring their kid binoculars. They can also usually think of a ton of games with a piece of rope tied between two trees and a ball.
One time I brought play dough and gave it to the kids when I needed them contained for a bit. They found stuff on the ground and made sculptures. It was a nice way to occupy them when I was busy with setup and wanted them close.
Post by CrazyLucky on Apr 29, 2018 19:45:04 GMT -5
We camp a lot. Be sure you have chairs for everyone. Even with my 7 year old, toy like shovels and buckets entertain for long periods of time. Even if you don't have sand, they will find something to dig. Get a hammock! For fun, they have little packets you can put in the fire (not too soon before you are going to cook on it though) to turn the fire different colors. Let them help gather sticks if they want to. For meals, we always do either pancakes or french toast one day. And we always do cereal/bagels etc the other day because cleanup is so easy. Lunches are usually sandwiches. Trail mix, granola bars, grapes or other fruit - easy is the name of the game. For dinners, we cook over the fire unless it rains. One favorite is foil pack dinners. Divide one pound of chicken, some italian dressing, and whatever veggies you want in four pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil. It only takes 10-15 minutes to cook it. We use squash, carrots, potatoes - whatever you have really. S'mores are awesome. Another thing I recommend if you are planning to go camping a lot is cast iron pie cookers. They are awesome! You can make real food, like grilled cheese. Or you can make campfire pizza or campfire pies with fruit filling, or PB and chocolate pies. so good! If you or DH fishes, get a little fishing pole. DS loves casting and DD loves dealing with worms. And I love that DH takes them fishing and gives me 10 minutes of peace
We went camping with our DD last summer and she was 18m at the time. One thing that really helped was to set up the tent in the backyard a few days before the trip and play in it a little. It got her more familiar with it and also helped dampen some of the crazy excitement about it so she could sleep when we did the actual camping.
Thank you everyone - really fanatastic suggestions!
sandandsea We don’t live too far away so we are doing another camping trip in July to Kirk Creek! This time I forget the name but it’s just a bit further south than Kirk creek.
We just bought a blackout tent at Costco last weekend (we have two other tents, one that we used to use for backpacking) hoping to go sometime in July. This will be our first time camping since I was 32 weeks pregnant with DS1. The boys will be 3.5y and 21-22 months old. I am terrified of how they will sleep but we are just going to give it a go (DS2 still doesn’t STTN). We will be going with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and their dogs so at least we will have extra sets of hands!
Does anyone have the travel homemedics baby spa white noise machine? I was thinking of getting one (both boys sleep with white noise forball sleep but a friend said it turns off every 45 min??? We are going to a yellow post vs a campsite so we won’t be a nuisance to our neighbors.
We don't camp, but DD1 made "campfire pizzas" at Girl Scout camp last year. We made them again at our cabin on a grill and they were a hit. You just put a large flour tortilla on a piece of foil. Spoon toppings onto one side of the tortilla (one half of the side facing you)--pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni/pre-cooked sausage/canned mushroom. Fold in half to cover toppings and wrap in the rest of the foil. Everyone can make their own and you can write names onto the foil. Heat for just a couple minutes until tortilla is toasted and cheese melted. They cook VERY FAST. Fun for the kids and surprisingly tasty. Caveat: you kind of need a grate over your fire.
Also, we used to make "taffy cracks" in Girl Scouts, in addition to S'mores. Heat a Kraft (or similar) caramel on a stick and sandwich between two Ritz-type crackers. Tasty!