Bounty

How to pack for your happy little campers:

Sleeping

• When camping, a tent that you can erect easily and quickly, one that’s big enough for you all, preferably with separate sleeping compartments and some room for storage
• Foam sleeping mats or air beds – don’t forget the pump
• Pillows and familiar pillow cases or blankets from home
• Proper camping sleeping bags not just the ones they use for sleepovers; Grobag for the baby to sleep in plus travel bassinet or Moses basket for small babies
• Cuddly toys for bedtime
• Spare ground mats or plastic-backed picnic blankets to create a clean outdoor play area

Eating

• Cooler box with lots of treats, snacks and drinks, bottles of water… and a bottle of wine for mum and dad
• Camp stove and lots of pasta, rice and tinned fruit, veg and sauces
• Matches locked in a kid-proof box along with knives and a corkscrew
• Jars of baby food or cartons of formula
• UHT long-life milk
• Marshmallows for roasting

Hygiene

• Potty, wipes
• Anti-bacterial gel
• Loo roll

For a rainy day

• Lightweight toys for rainy days such as stickle bricks, Lego or K-Nex, hand puppets, colouring pens, travel versions of the classic board games
• Bat, ball, frisbees, buckets, spades, football
• Disposable, automatic cameras and a scrap book
• Personal stereo with a blank tape for older kids to record a travel diary
• Glowsticks for night-time fun
• If you cannot bear to leave them at home take hand-held video game, DS or PSP plus spare batteries

What to wear

• Waterproofs jacket and trousers/all-in-ones
• Wool hats or sunhats, depending on the weather
• Wellies/walking boots and waterproof jelly shoes
• Quick-drying clothes, fleeces and trousers; at least one change of clothes for each child.
• Small rucksacks the kids can carry containing water, sandwiches, snacks
• Swimming costumes, a towel each
• Head torches for night-time trips to the loo
• Sunscreen, even if it’s not sunny – you’ll be outdoors all day

Just in case

• First aid kit – the great outdoors can be rough!
• Mosquito repellent and mosquito nets for sleeping areas
• Whistles attached to the kids’ belts for them to use if they cannot find you
• ID wristbands with your mobile phone number on
• Mobile phones and car chargers