Easy tips and tricks to make camping simple, relaxing, and fun!
I love camping, but with 10 children it feels more work than it’s worth. For 20 years I’ve had nursing babies, diapers, potty accidents, dirty pacis, and toddler tantrums. To make camping fun for me, I’ve had to keep it as simple as possible.
Two Easy Rules to go Camping With Kids
- Pack light
- Very simple meals
1. Pack Light
The more stuff you bring, the more you’ll have to take care of, keep track of, and bring extra parts for. For example, pots and pans will have to be washed and need a place to be kept. Lots of flashlights will need batteries, chargers, and a place to be kept. Air mattresses need air pumps. With camping, it’s likely you’ll forget something, like bring the stove but forget the propane, so bringing the bare minimum is what works for me.
Stuff We Use/Bring to Keep it Simple
One family tent. All the tent poles are stuck on the tent, so there is no losing poles or forgetting them. It is an all-in-one tent and pops up easily with 2 adults or 1 adult and some children. The one we got is similar to this but different colors. We’ve had it for years. When I take all 10 kids I borrow a small one for the teen boys to sleep in so we have more space.
One king size sleeping bag for 4-5 little kids. Then the older kids get their own so we only have to bring say 4-5 sleeping bags instead of 8-9.
Camping pads that self-inflate. No need to bring an air pump. We have a couple of these for older kids and me. Younger ones just sleep on the ground.
This awesome Worx flashlight. It’s really bright, easy to carry, can stand on the table by itself. We also bring our Worx reciprocating saw for cutting up fallen branches and long sticks into firewood.
A double camp chair. Several people can sit on it and it cuts down on the number of chairs to buy and bring.
More Stuff We Bring When Camping With Kids
Scooters or small bikes if the campground is paved. Our favorite spot has a loop and very little traffic (we go off season) so the kids can ride around it by themselves or we go on family walks/rides.
Books. Every child brings at least one chapter book. I bring a read-aloud book and a bag of picture books for the little ones. Plus a book for myself. I have quiet time during baby’s naptime where we sit around and read. Also, if it rains it’s great to have books to read while hanging out in the tent.
Food in boxes like cereal and crackers. Pack most of the food in 2-3 paper bags to have the bags and boxes to use as fire starter. Pack the rest of the food in 3-4 grocery bags to have a trash bag to hang up every night.
Paper plates for lunch and dinner. Cups for drinks and breakfast cereal (easy for little ones to hold and can go in camp chair cupholders.) No need to bring bowls.
Stuff We Don’t Bring
Very many toys. The beauty of camping is for kids to make forts out of sticks, doll houses out of rocks, and play store with acorn caps. I usually let the girls each bring one doll b/c I know they’ll play house with it. And the boys can bring some cars b/c I know they’ll make roads and play “cars in the dirt”, one of their favorite games.
Electronics.
A cook stove.
Dishes that need washing.
Very Simple Meals For Camping With Kids
Meals are the biggest chore for me at home even with modern appliances, so meals camping are definitely going to be the biggest chore. I don’t want to spend a lot of time on meals. I want to enjoy hiking, playing in the river, bike riding, reading, singing to the guitar, and hanging out with my family. So I call myself a very lazy camper and cook very simply. I started writing it all here and decided to make a separate blog post because it got so long. It deserves it’s own topic.
So I’ll just include the short notes here. For more details and explanation, read my post on Easy Camping Meals.
Breakfast
- Cold dry cereal in ziplock bags or paper cups for toddlers to carry around and eat.
Lunch
- Sandwiches: meat and cheese, peanut butter and jelly/honey, egg salad.
- Cheese, crackers, and meat.
- Leftovers from dinner.
Dinner
Anything that can be cooked directly over a fire and doesn’t need any pot or pan:
- Hamburgers and hotdogs
- Foil dinners (potatoes, meat, carrots)
- Taco salad
- Fajitas
- Stir-fry
- Grilled cheese sandwiches
Last Trick to Go Camping With Kids: Be Excited!
I think my children have a wonderful time camping despite scraped knees, bug bites, rain, tick bites, freezing temps (oops, didn’t realize it would be that cold!), and wet shoes that fell into the water because I’m so excited to go camping. And I make sure to show it to my children. The planning, packing, set up, being there, and take down I don’t hesitate to say how I’m excited to go camping: I’m so excited to finally be here. This is so much fun! I just love it here! I wish we could stay longer. This is the life! (as I sit in the shade and read a book.) It takes a bit of extra energy to be this happy and positive through diaper blow outs and burnt hot dogs, but if you want to have an enjoyable experience you’ll have to. Kids follow your energy and enthusiasm. They will learn to love camping all because it makes their mother happy. Have a great time and make terrific memories!
Pictures of Camping With Kids
~Riding around the campground and even to the bathroom on hoverboards and scooters is a favorite pastime at camp. ~One big spacious tent is perfect for our family. ~No need for toys as the kids spend most of their time at the creek making rock houses (see my YT camping video!) ~Grilled cheese works fine roasted on a hot dog roaster to keep utensils to a minimum. ~My kids love to organize the food in the back of the car for a little pantry. ~A guitar and ukulele are great entertainment at night.