I took my 18 month old away for the first time at the weekend. I'd say stick to their normal routine/food as much as possible is the main thing. I took some board books, stacking beakers, a few cuddly toys, a pull along toy and a football - nothing too small that could get lost. She slept in a ready bed (my first ready bed - thinking of your 2 year old) in a grobag for extra warmth and was quite happy.
Clothes wise i'd definitely recommend an all in one waterproof suit/fleece suit. We took both, and they were so useful for her when she was running round the campsite. It may not be cold or wet when you go, but I'd rather have had them there and not used them.
Also, our campsite water looked suspicious! We were ok because we boiled ours, but we ended up buying bottled water for our daughter, just to be sure it was ok. So if either of yours drinks water, i'd say give them bottled or cooled boiled water. Anything to try and minimise the risk of upset tums.
And this may be stating the obvious, but I never took any calpol. Nor did our friends. So we've now put some in our first aid kit - we always remember paracetamol for ourselves, but forgot her
I hope that helps a bit. Have fun - our daughter had a great time, so I'm sure your two will too
take a travel cot for em to sleep in ,it can also be used as a play pen or for time-out if they get a bit hot and bothered,
use fleece sleepsuits for em to sleep in , they cant kick em of during the night and keep there feet warm too
a large plastic storage box is also good for firstly transporting pots and pans ect and also for bathing em in ,as campsite showers can be a bit hot cold hot cold and dirty at times,
fill a flask of boiling water befor you go to sleep incase the little cherubs wake during the night for a bottle of milk, its a lot easyer than messing about during the night and waiting for water to boil
One other thing you might want to consider for your first aid box is some junior anti-histamine. Especially if it's a first camping expedition. It's always handy to have in case of bad reactions to stinging nettles/insect bites/heat rash (should we ever get some decent weather!) Believe me, it's no fun having to restrain a kid in the middle of the night cos she's scratching so hard she's causing herself more injury than the itch was in the first place!
Fleece all in ones, waterproofs, we used a travel cot for 2 year old Grandaughter when she was 10 months old, flask full of hot water, kep kids clear when cooking, good sleeping bags & fleece blankets, Good luck i'm sure they will enjoy it
Tip: travel cot or buggy for restraining whilst cooking.
My lads use ready beds which we just chuck a blanket over if its not enough, but they are excellent. You should also be able to use a travel cot for rebecca, we did with harry until this year. otherwise, loads of wipes for cleaning. Have a search on the net and pull off directions for wet weather activities just in case- far better than moping around in the tent. Choose a site with a baby bath- Wood farm in Charmouth and Hollands Wood both ahve them, and are nice parks.
Keep their food simple- a punnet of strawberries with yoghurt to dip in works fine for a pudding or snack, cereal bars for breakfast.
We have an 11 month old who we are taking camping for the first time this weeeknd. We have nought her a vango nitestar sleeping bag which looks really toasty and she loves it!
Have packed a big first aid kit with burn spray, suntan lotion, you name it, its in there. That was my main priority TBH, After keeping her warm, but then she is my first so I'm probably overprotective!
Not taking too many toys, shes had too much fun with al the new enamel kitchen things we have bought, so they should come in handy to play with.
If you havent already got a tent then i'd say get the biggest you can handle/the purse allows. We bought ours because it had so much space inside, which I'm sure will be a godsend when it pours!
Hope you have a grrrreat time with your family! good luck!
Having done this last summer (3 yr old and 18mth year old), I can agree with pretty well everything said already. A few things of mine to add:
If they're not used to sharing a bedroom, put them in different sleeping compartments in the tent, or they'll mess around for hours and not get to sleep!
Make bedtime later than usual - they won't get to sleep with all the noise (and heat - we were in France at 35C last summer).
Get a portable DVD player with appropriate Teletubbies, Fimbles, Balamory etc DVDs.
Make sure the campsite has a swimming pool - this is a great way of keeping them entertained when all else fails and they get bored.
Go to somewhere where decent weather is guaranteed - South West coast of France for example. We went to France when one of ours was just under 1 - very easy for all baby accessories like nappies, food etc - French baby food is great - they do all sorts of exotic flavours you don;t get here, and it actually smells appetising! They're much more geared up to camping in France too - you can buy stuff at all the supermarkets, and facilities are really good. I've seen quite a lot of campsites which even have baby baths available in special baby friendly bathrooms.
Bikes with baby/child seats are great when they're too exhausted to do anything, and too grumpy to go to sleep - ours both fell asleep when on a bike ride several times - remember the sun cream though.
Get a small utility/kitchen tent - you can put all the cooking stuff in here, away from the main tent so little ones can;t get in and interfere.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: TIPS FOR CAMPING WITH LITTLIES!
