After buying our first van last August, I really want to make it more homely for this year for those cosy nights in.
I know most will have board games, cards and books but like most guys I like my gadgets and was wondering what everybody else has in theirs apart from tv's and cd players.
Thanks for any replies
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i fitted a dvd player in the wardrobe and this is fine when there are no tv programmes to watch.found that you can also hire films at the libraries too for a couple of pounds.some don't like tv but when you have the grandchildren with you for weeks they need there dvd's.if you ask in the tv shop they can make you a longer scart lead to reach the tv.would not be without my laptop and broadband dongle.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
I have been looking into this aswell, I am also leaning towards a 19 inch LED Tv with a usb port so I can watch and record movies programes etc to a portable hard drive. With a lot of sites having wifi aswell the laptop and Xbox might also be on the cards...However my aim is to get out and about with my dogs and enjoying wherever we are...that coupled with an ice cold Stella will soon see the zzzzzzzz in the balloon above my head..............I Hope
we like to take the laptop with us ,and try and find sites with either a good reception for vodafone for my dongle or even wi fi ..as i usually wake up quite early i can go on the net a read the morning papers with a coffee ,and if im lucky a bacon sarnie !!
Quote: Originally posted by ruralrob on 16/3/2011
we like to take the laptop with us ,and try and find sites with either a good reception for vodafone for my dongle or even wi fi ..as i usually wake up quite early i can go on the net a read the morning papers with a coffee ,and if im lucky a bacon sarnie !!
some may think you are on holiday.lol
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
As you mentioned we take a couple of games, cards, books & mags. In this country we take a Tesco tele with a built in DVD, the van came with a CD/radio and the lads take their Gameboy/DS & brain training for me (not that it's working).
We have taken a laptop a couple of times but only because we needed it for uni applications while we were away and we bought them a playstation when we were away for Christmas one year. To be honest the gadgets get in the way, wires everywhere and it's a pain having to keep moving them out of the way etc. If we go to France we only take the gameboys...no tele or anything else... sometimes it makes a nice change to leave it all at home.
Usually tv, dvd, ipod (plugs into van stereo) laptop (sometimes). Rummicub, scrabble,boggle, cards, dominoes. We take the tv to France and watch the French news and weather just after we have the barbie. We also have a portable speaker for the iPod for the awning if we're not too close to others. Oh and boules!
We have a few new things for this year, one being the Avtex tv with memory stick to record but OH will mainly be fiddling with this, he's also buying a satellite dish with twin lnb for sky+. We occasionally take the lap top if we don't have time to make plans for places to visit before we go. OH is always fiddling with his blackberry (or crackberry as its so addictive) but thats more a work thing, but you can get online aswell. The latest thing we've discovered is that you can download kids programmes on to my Itouch - this has become a bit of a novelty when out and about particularly when my youngest is fed up!!! The kids have their nextbase twin car dvds so will watch them occasionally at the rear dinette.
Reading the above made me laugh as I make us sound as though we are totally addicted to our gadgets but in reality the kids are normally in the site play area or we are out and about and in the evening the tv is off and we are either in the awning chatting or playing yahtzee or Uno - I guess we just like having plenty of options available to us!
I dont take the TV as I hardly watch it at home either, for me its the laptop, it plays dvds, itunes and bbc iplayer and we have to keep upto date with UKCS. I like to checkout local history and things to do, also the weather forecast. I have an external hi-gain antenna for the internet dongle which boosts a poor signal.
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We've got tons of board games & take the tv which has a dvd player & ipod dock built in.
The dvd was a godsend a couple of years ago when we were in an area that had poor signal, we went & bought some cheap dvd's from the local charity shop.
I take the Wii too when we go for a week or more, we've got trivial pursuit on it & my parents join us in the evening for a thrashing!
playstation and ds lite,card games and dvd and tv what more could you want especially when your getting peace to watch ,best to be prepared for wet days which we get a lot of
We have a telly with dvd player built in - neat, tidy and lighter than seperate units. We tend to use a freesat setup for reception as it is way more reliable that normal tv signals which in our experience vary wildly from place to place. However, we do also use the cooker as a source of entertainment! Cooking with the kids is a great time-filler on poor weather days and they seem to enjoy eating their creations! We have made our own butter, made soda bread, baked cakes, cooked a stew inside a hollowed out pumpkin etc etc etc. Just find some reasonably simple recipies and experiment! Its also great to listen to music while you cook (ipod or radio), or look up recipies on bbc.co.uk/food and all choose the dish of the day together. Oh and remember to pack buzz on playstation 2, the psp, the mobiles for texting family and friends, the digital slr camera for some great photographic memories and last but not least the chargers you will need for all the mobile devices!!!
------------- Why am i doing this instead of camping??!!
Laptop, DS's for the kids, portable mini DVD player, board game (Monopoly, Frustration), mini air hockey, Twister, crayons, colouring books, sudoku, crosswords, books, knitting, Warhammer figures to paint
------------- Smoke me a kipper ............ I'll be back for breakfast!!!!!
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Topic: Onboard Entertainment
