*This post is in association with Halfords
My parents have both been involved with the Scout Association since before I was born. My dad was a Scout leader for years, and that meant I first when camping when I was 10 weeks old! All our family holidays when I was a child were either camping, or later caravanning holidays and I have such brilliant memories of them all. I would love for our boys to have the same experiences and that is why we are planning a family camping holiday for this summer.
So when I was young, as well as several Scout and Guide camps every year, we also spent weekends camping in the UK and we were lucky enough to spend a month in France and Spain every summer. We got a caravan when I was about 7 or 8. But even after we got the caravan my brother and I would sleep either a small tent or in the caravan awning.
I loved camping so much that it even became my job for after university. I worked for several different camping holiday companies in France and Spain and spent eight months a year living in a tent for six years! It’s not as scary as it sounds I promise – I had a proper bed and everything!
Anyway, safe to say camping is in my blood. After I met Barry we did buy a tent and some camping equipment but we haven’t used any of it since we had the boys. We’ve been waiting until they were a bit bigger (and sleeping a bit better) before we took the plunge and took them on a family camping holiday. We’ve already got a tent but if you’re planning a family camping holiday and you need all the equipment then Halfords have a great selection of tents as well as all the other camping gear you might need. They also have this handy camping guide on their website too with lots of information about different campsites and some other tips for camping with your family.
I can’t wait to take the boys camping. I think they’re going to absolutely love it – they both love being outside and having plenty of space to run free. We’ll probably stay close to home to begin with – just in case it’s a disaster and we need to come home in a hurry! A few weeks ago my mum and dad were staying in their caravan in Clitheroe. They were testing out their new camper van / caravan combo ready for their summer holidays. Apparently they need both so they can go and watch the Tour de France!
Anyway, we went to see them for a day and Toby and Gabe loved it. I think Gabe’s favourite bit had to be chasing the ducks…
And Toby just loved having so much space to be able to run around safely…
Have you been on a family camping holiday? I might have lots of camping experience but I’ve never been with little kids so I’d love to hear your top tips to make things as stress-free as possible!
Having the kids involved with prepping meals makes the outdoor cooking experience A LOT easier. You can’t run back and forth to the pantry to satisfy the needs of the picky eater when you’re all outdoors. So we let ours pick out the meals they’re going to want, and we prepare them in foil packets while we’re still at home. That way, we can just toss them on the campfire or grill when it’s mealtime. And since the kiddos helped us make them, they’re much more likely to be excited about eating them!