This summer we went on two camping trips with our kids. It was the first time we camped as a family, and the first time C and I have camped in five years. Which is bonkers. I did a ton of prep work and research to figure out how to make this as enjoyable as possible. We had many people ask how exactly a family camps with two kids both under five. However, I’ll be honest and say I feel like we’re almost behind on camping. So many families I follow on social media begin their camping adventures before their kiddos are even a year old! But I can confidently say now that I’m glad we did not go camping before both kids were at least two. It’s a ton of work. But if you can do it right, it’s so much fun!
Meals
This is most important part of preparing for camping. If you only read one part of the post, READ THIS PART. I followed pretty much everything that Brooke does with her kids. She is a serious pro and I aim to be like her when I grow up. The first camping trip we did was one night, and the second trip (three weeks later) was two nights. For both trips we did the same meal plans.
Breakfast – Banana bread, pre-cooked pancakes, pre-cut fruit. Lunch – sandwiches, chips, nectarines, cookies. Dinner – quesadillas with pre-cut bell peppers and pre-grilled chicken (night 1), pre-cooked pasta with pre-cooked red meat sauce (night 2).
In summary, we cut and cooked every possible thing we could at home. Which led to about two days of prepping food. But it was so worth it when we arrived. The goal was to use as few dishes as possible, and have the meals be as fast as possible, while still trying to keep everything we ate fresh. Mission accomplished!
Sleeping
We have the REI Wonderland Tent which has a ‘room divider’ in the tent. We slept on one side, and the kids slept on the other side. This worked out really well for us. G was sleeping in her travel crib and wearing this toddler sleeping bag, while A was in his sleeping bag. We had A lay on top of a thick blanket that acted like a small mattress pad. We put the kids to bed around 8pm, and it took them about 30-45 minutes to fall asleep. We brought our travel sound machine which was very helpful too. Everyone slept until about 6:30 or 7am. Honestly, the sleep was what I was most nervous about and it went so well. Especially on the second camping trip because the kids had a better understanding of what it was we were doing.
We did attempt a nap on our two day trip, and that was a major fail. Then G was so tired by the end of the day, she went to bed at 5:30pm! She crashed. And she slept until 6am the next day. Her going to bed so early ended up being really special because we got to stay up later with A and roast marshmallows and get some alone time with him.
The Gear We Used
Fold Up Table – I bought this on a whim in the spring and I can’t imagine car camping without it. It became our kitchen station and it was so helpful to have a spot where I could heat everything up that wasn’t on the picnic table. This is my number must-have item for camping with kids.
Kitchen Pots And Pans Set – Our camping ‘cooking set’ was so old and just thrown together with random pans back when we were in our late 20s running around Utah without kids. We got this complete set for four people and it worked great with our kitchen stove. It folds up small and is easy to clean. I throw everything we use in the dishwasher when we get home, too.
Jetboil – One word: coffee. We use this to boil water to make coffee in our french press. I also used this on the backpacking trip I went on earlier this month. This thing is awesome.
Tablecloth – This felt over the top and not necessary. But again, with kids, this is so nice to have where they can eat on clean surface.
Highchair – We got this as a gift when A was born and had never really used it. We brought it for G and attached it to the picnic tables and it was so handy to have. It helped her focus and actually eat food on a chair that fit her. Not sure we’ll need it next summer, but it was great to have this year.
Reusable 5 Gallon Water Jug – My goal with camping is to use as little plastic as possible. It seems counterintuitive to me to go out and enjoy nature while using a bunch of single-use plastic that is in turn destroying what you’re setting out to enjoy. I’m proud to say that we only used 1 plastic gallon bag on each camping trip. In large part thanks to this reusable water jug. For only $12 it seems like a no brainer to go this route. We fill it up with water from our Berkey and use the 5 gallons for drinking water, dish water, etc.
We had a blast, and I’ve got all sorts of plans for next year! It was the perfect summer for dipping our toes into camping. I’m proud of our kids for going with the flow, and I’m proud of C and me for putting in the work and energy to make it happen!
