We’re all going on a summer holiday…. sing it with me people!!!
Yes, that’s right, we are busy making plans and organising a tenting holiday. We are so excited to be able to sneak away and spend time together as a family, but even more excited that we will be doing it with some of our closest friends. We’re meeting the traitors who moved to Queensland half way, up on the NSW north coast for a week of Christmas camping and we can’t wait! So not only are we trying to organised birthdays (the Baldy Boys is this week and the Twindoes at the start of November) and Christmas but also our holiday…. can we all say ‘crazy busy’ seven times really fast???
We managed to grab a bargain tent off ebay as our old one just wasn’t going to squeeze in an extra person (we haven’t been camping since Muski arrived), and we figure as the small people grow it was only going to get squeezier.. so we are now the proud owners of a nice big ’18 man’ tent. We pitched it in the backyard when the Baldy Boy bought it home and I am not sure how you’d squeeze 18 men and all their stuff in the tent, but it is plenty big enough for us.
We have a bit of camping gear as we’ve camped on and off… well more off than on since we had kids, so some of it needs and update, and since there is now more of us, we need more of it. So on our list of holiday things to organise we’ve now checked off the first big item – place to sleep? check! We’ve also managed to grab a new camp stove on sale, a car dvd player with two screens (also on sale but we’d have paid full price for the silence it creates in the back of the car) and super Nanny found a replacement kiddy camp chair for the one we broke… but oh the list is still rather long!
We need to sort out what everyone will sleep on. We have two self inflating camp mattresses which the girls have claimed as their own. Last time we camped (on the drive up to Queensland, when I was pregnant with Muski) The Badly Boy and I slept on one of those inflatable mattresses, nice and big but not very comfy. It leaked a tiny bit, not enough to have you sink into the cold hard ground but enough to make me catapult out of bed every time the Baldy Boy rolled over. I have two requests while camping – keep me warm and give me a good nights sleep and I can cope with anything… So I am on the look out for a decent, thickish, comfy camp mattress. Suggestions people?
And that is just the beginning. We still need to sort out food, cooking equipment and some kind of table(s). I need to sort through summer clothes and figure out how to pack a little but enough. We need to figure out how to entertain three small children on the long drive – the DVD player and lots of drawing should work for the big girls but Muski is a whole other kettle of wriggling whiny fish.
So hit me with ’em! Come on people… I have about nine weeks and not heaps of disposable income to get organised for a family camping trip, I need your best suggestions, advice and help!
mommy bee says
We got an aerobed this summer. Pricy, but comfy (and it works for DH and me, which is rare, as he’s about twice my weight). It does have to be plugged in to inflate, so we had to get an adapter for the van, but it’s well worth it.
If that’s out of your budget (it IS pricy, and might not even be available over there) then I’d recommend looking for A–two single-size mattresses that snap together (my mom has this) or B–something with channels in it, rather than just being one big chamber…that way each others motion should affect the other less…
As for organizing to travel…we have a camping kitchen. This is another brilliant thing I got from my mom, LOL! Basically a big tote with all the kitchen needs in it–we got old or thrift store dishes and silverware (just a bunch of mismatched stuff) plus a little bottle of dishsoap, a couple of washrags/towels, a dish drainer, salt and pepper, a couple of pans, etc. The secret ingredient is the two rubbermaid tubs (around 2 gal each)–those are my sinks for dish washing–one to wash, one to rinse… Outfitting the entire kitchen the first time was, I dunno, $30? and since then we rarely have to add to it, and it’s always portable, ready to go…oh, and I never forget stuff because it’s already in there. :)
The best thing I knwo for clothing is layers and mix & match outfits. Change them when they get dirty, but wear it again if they don’t…have clean jammies for night in the tent, but otherwise hey, everybody gets dirty anyway, you know?
sounds like fun! It’s pouring rain here, and wont’ stop till it snows…and then it’ll snow for 5 months. I should migrate with the birds I think. LOL!
Guera says
My parents bought an aerobed recently (you can get them here) and they are great – comfortable and very easy to inflate. The battery charger plugs into the car cigarette lighter so they are good for camping.
Haven’t done a lot of camping myself though, so I’m not sure what else you might need. As for long car trips – music has always been a godsend! Whether its The Wiggles or adult music that everyone loves and will sing along to or an audio book/story, it’s often a circuit breaker when things get a bit testy in the car. We love the Storynory podcasts (you can download them from iTunes) – they are nursery rhymes and original kids stories (including Alice in Wonderland Chapter by Chapter) read by a lady with a very proper English accent – good fun to listen to.
Cadi's Mum says
We have 2 of those airbeds that are as big as a double mattress. If you blow them up hard enough they are fine. They are also pretty cheap. But you need to put a mattress protector onto them before making them up as they can get a bit cold around the kidneys. We also take sheets and blankets, not sleeping bags (for us). The kids have sleeping bags.
For in the car we have one of those pocket things that sits on the back of the front seats. They are great – places for everything, drink, tissues, wet ones, pens, pencils etc. Keeps it off the floor.
Another thing that we find great to keep the kids occupied are pipe cleaners. They are light, easy to shape and don’t make a heap of mess. You can give the kids challenges to make things. Or Fuzzy Felts, which can be fun. Depends on what your kids like to do in the car.
Bettina says
We have one of these – http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/air-bed-queen-size-built-pump/
not that particular brand, but that style of air bed. I loves it! Much more comfortable than getting down lower on the ground lol
We often pay the little extra when camping for a powered site. That way we can take the kettle and toaster and chargers for the various electricals (battery chargers, camera chargers, mobile chargers)which just makes it a little easier. We found a great electric lantern that doubles as a powerpoint that makes it easy to light our campsite at night and plug in other appliances at bunnings for around $20.
If I know we have a trip coming up I often grab activity packs or puzzle books, we have some magnetic travel board games and lots of card games that we take on trips too.
And most places have a laundry so you shouldn’t need to pack an awful lot if you are able to do a load of washing mid trip.
I’m hoping that we get to go on a summer camping trip too this year.
PlanningQueen says
We bought some camper stretchers as I am just not a fam of air beds. They are single size, but I like being a bit off the ground and found them quite comfy.A basic model will set you back about $25 while the more flash version is about $50. We have one of each and both are fine. https://www.raysoutdoors.com.au/catalog/index.php?cPath=23_44_97&&page=2
tiff says
Yeah, we have the bunk bed camping stretchers. THey are great, not too expensive and good space savers.
For us we have an inflatable matress that sits on a tressel of sorts. It was good but not so good when you have to share it with toddlers.
David says, don’t forget the biggest tarp you can find. Good for everything, apparently.
Tracey says
Yes its the traitor…….on my god, oh my god. I am so excited…………..
Angie says
We are doing the same thing before Christmas, meeting up with friends to go camping for a week….you’ve reminded me I need to get organised!
We have a self-inflating mattress (more like a mat) called the bushmate (I think). We find it comfy after years of sleeping on therma-rests (It’s kind of a thick therma-rest). The problem with it is it’s bulky even when rolled up so you need the room. The only thing I’ve managed to prepare is buying a second hand car box (for all that mainland goodnenss I may want to bring back!)