Family Camping–Advice and Adventures of a Young Mother

by Tamarah Bartmess

“It’s surprising how much of memory is built around things unnoticed at the time”
-Barbara Kingsolver

I grew up on fond memories of car-camping so it is completely logical that I carried on the tradition with my own burgeoning family. Over 7-years of marriage and a variety of camping “adventures” I’ve accumulated a few tips and tricks to accommodate my less-than-enthusiastic husband and overly-eager daughters.

Here are 10 tried and true lessons

1. Take a trial run in the backyard with new tents before you hit the campground. There’s nothing like setting up a tent to discover how differently you and your spouse really think.
2. Unless you enjoy dinner in the dark, test the lantern before you leave. Better yet…take 2 lanterns with extra batteries and bulbs.
3. Strollers are an absolute must! Tie it to the roof rack if you have to! Keep your husband’s marathon abilities for corralling the kids and removing cooking hazards.
4. Kids enjoy dirt… before, during and after breakfast, lunch and dinner. Pack one set of pjs per night/per kid.
5. Sleeping over multiple days? With kids in tow be prepared for little the first night. You might have better luck the second night only to find you didn’t blow up the air mattress!
6. Fill your air mattress nightly or prepare yourself for the worst aspects of sleeping on the ground and water mattresses.
7. Bring a pot for boiling water. Camp close to a water source or make sure to have a 5 gallon water container to use for cooking and cleaning.
8. Plan a variety of meals. Quick ones for breakfast, easy ones for lunch, big ones for dinner and snacks for everything in between. Don’t forget dessert!  Meals take more time then you might imagine. Planning menus ahead of time will allow for more family fun. I chose a lot of Dutch oven cooking. My husband loved the meals, but it was largely wasted on my picky-eaters.
9. First time family camping?  Don’t drive too far. Within 2 hours distance is perfect! Just remember sand and smoke will stay for 2-3 days more.
10. Finally keep the kids out of the car.  There’s nothing like getting everything packed to only to find the car battery dead. Make sure to have AAA and charged cell phones.

I ended up with 2 medium sized plastic boxes for camping at a moments notice. One for the kitchen and one for the campfire.  This is what made the grade:

Kitchen Box

• Hot pads
• Salt & pepper
• Cutting boards
• Hand sanitizer
• Dish washing soap
• Dish scrubber
• Dish rags and towels
• Eating utensils
• Plates, cups and bowls
• Medium size mixing bowl (I recommend steel camping ones)
• Cooking utensils: spatula, wood spoons, ladle and tongs
• Cheese grater
• Can opener
• Vegetable peeler
• Kitchen sheers
• Vegetable scrubber
• A variety of knives
• Small Tupperware for leftovers
• Aluminum foil
• Straws
• Bibs

Campfire Box

• Paper towels and or napkins
• Toilet paper
• Bungee cords
• Flame starter
• Table cloth with clips to hold it down
• Clothesline rope
• Duct tape
• Zip-loc bags in a variety of sizes
• Utility pocket knife
• Hatchet – whetstone
• Garbage sacks
• Bug spray
• Fire-starter blocks
• Small broom and Dustpan

Overall, everyone’s alive with all limbs in tact. After a good scrub down and a welcomed nights rest in my own bed, I’m even planning my next trip. Enjoyable family camping is something you build up to and sweetens with age and probably memory too. Enjoy going into the wild!