Festival and camping season is here and with it comes a host of questions as to what to take, what you actually need and what will make your stay that little bit more comfortable. Perhaps you want to make your camping experience a DIY Glamping trip?
We have camped quite a few times over the years as well as attended numerous festivals both with and without children. Here are some of the products we will be taking with us this year and why.
At some point in your trip you will need a sanitising spray – whether it’s for post toilet trip or just to ease your mind about their general grubbiness before food. This Aquaint spray is great as it’s alcohol free and completely safe to be ingested which means you can spray it on tops of beakers or even bottle teats. Plus it’s small so won’t take up much space in your luggage.
Wet Wipes are an absolute essential for adults and children alike. Home Bargains have a selection of normal wipes, antibacterial wipes and deodorant wipes to cover all of your wet wipe needs. They also have glow ears, festival bootees for your feet, cool bags and fashion jewellery as well as a make your own flag kit which we will be attempting tomorrow. Definitely worth a trip to your local store:
Snacks. When you get to your tent at the end of each day you will definitely feel the need for a midnight feast after you finally get the children to sleep. Some great ideas for snacks include:
Munchy Seeds – seed mixes and breakfast toppers in handy snack packs. We have been sampling some at home and they are delicious!
Clif Bars – having only read about these in American novels I was excited to try them and they do not disappoint. Full of flavour and pretty filling too.
Crisps – Seabrook have lots of great flavoured crisps including our favourite salt & vinegar. Additional perk in that all of their crisps are gluten free;-)
If you do have allergies or dietary requirements it’s worth noting you may not always find what you need in the food vendors or cafés on site so be prepared. Orgran have an extensive selection of products which are dairy, egg, soya , gluten and nut free. Plus they taste good and they have fun offerings for children. We are taking a number of their products with us to Camp Bestival next week.
Zoot bars are also handy snacks. Dairy and Gluten free and full of ingredients which are natural and good for you.
Metcalfes Popcorn are useful snacks to have in your bag, low calorie but tasty too. We love the new Honey Bee flavour.
Bottles of juice or water are needed as we normally do a lot of walking. I like these Cranberry Juices from Ocean Spray, Life Tonic drinks – my favourite being the elderflower and juniper. And the kids love the Vita Coco cartons too – plus you can freeze these which means they keep the coolbox cool.
Boots have lots of useful products for festivals including sunscreen, dry shampoo, make up removing wipes, bite and sting spray, dry body wash – which will be handy for when the shower queues get too long!
If you will be BBQ’ing or cooking outside your tent then these delicious Encona marinades would liven up your meats. Serve them with mayos and dress your salads with this garlic and herb sauce from Hellmans and you will be eating as well as you would at home!
At the end of the night I have to have a big mug of hot chocolate, I like these options from Galaxy:
My favourite is the Malteser.
I normally take a bar or two of good chocolate as well and they work pretty well for an indulgent cup of hot choc. Love these Seed & Bean bars:
What about luggage and storage?
We end up taking lots and getting it back and forth from the car can be a pain. We have discovered these bags and storage boxes from The Camouflage Company. They look stylish and are great for lugging things about and also for storing things neatly in your tent.
Much prettier than a black bag or a cardboard box don’t you think?
Festival fashion is important too don’t ya know? Especially for the kids. We fell in love with these t shirts from Climbing Trees.
Chloe explored the pirate ship wearing her pirate tee shirt shouting ah har.. Ignore the snotty nose please!
You may see her little wellies which we had during last winter, they are from Bogs footwear and as well as being massively cute they are very durable – as you can see. Both girls love wearing them and I’ve been sent a pair of my own to try.
How cute are these fruity wellies?
Craghoppers have clothes that have a built in insect repellant and sun protection. I particularly like the children’s onesie which is both cool and comfy but my favourite are my lounge pants. Perfect for lounging around outside my tent. I had a pair sent to me a few months ago and I can honestly tell you they are THE most comfortable piece of clothing that I have ever owned. Ever. Well worth the £50 price tag.
Finally perhaps not for festivals but for camping trips these solar lights from Philips would be great for lighting up the area outside your tent safely. We use them in the garden, easy to set up and emit a fabulous glow come nightfall.
Add to that some wine, glow sticks and bubble guns and our festival hoard is almost complete. What do you take?
* Some items in this post have been gifted.
This is a fabulous post thank you! I am always looking at tips for camping ideas, especially with a family there is always so much to lug around. I love the look of these Camouflage boxes and bags, are they strong enough to carry camping food for example?
Thanks again for the great post x would love to see and hear more about how you pack for Bestival!
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Bless you!