Our Family Camps with a Camping Checklist Download

It’s only a few days away from our camping adventure now and to say I’m excited would be an understatement. Well, I say excited… it’s now that all the nerves start to kick in too. There’s so much to pack and have we got everything we need? What if we forget something really important? And the big question: will it all fit in the car? I’m terrible at doing things in advance, and after the last few family holidays we’ve had, I want to do as much in advance as possible. I do not, I repeat: I DO NOT, want to be packing last minute, literally shoving things in the car minutes before we’re due to set off, getting myself stressed and worried and leaving the house looking like it’s been ripped apart by a hurricane. This time, we’re going to be organised with a camping checklist.

It’s something I’ve NEVER properly done before – a packing list. And to make it even more official, I’ve also made it into a handy camping checklist download so not only can I keep it for future camping trips, but you can download it and use it too if it’s helpful – have a look at the end of this post.

I’ve been picking up a few last minute additions too, including these lovely melamine plates I found in Aldi. The only annoying thing is that they didn’t have any of the matching bowls to go with them… and even a call out on social media hasn’t helped me. I want to know who’s been going around all the Aldis buying the bowls! I think I’ve tried four different stores now, with no success (I just ended up buying more plates!). Bowls must be more popular than plates. Or maybe they didn’t stock as many plates? Who knows. Either way, I’m a little gutted to not have a full set.

We’ve also treated ourselves to a proper standing kitchen unit, and a double stove. Yeah, baby. All the gear. We picked the Eurohike kitchen unit to match our storage table and a Yellowstone Double Burner stove.* I was going to link to them both but the unit seems to have disappeared off the face of the internet. I’m just waiting for the gas hose and regulator to arrive otherwise that could prove to be a bit of problem.

The only thing I’ve had trouble buying is a nice fleece-y sleepsuit for Pickle. I bought one last time we went away (as shown in the photo above!), and it was perfect for camping! Just made me relax a little more, knowing he wouldn’t get cold – and it made for really lovely snuggly cuddles. I think it’s just the wrong time of year to be getting winter-y clothes and although some of the A/W ranges are starting to come in to the shops, I haven’t seen any in his size. I’m off to H&M today as I’ve seen online that they have a velour sleepsuit so keep your fingers crossed for me that they’ll have them in our local one. It’s been on my mind so much that I even dreamed about shopping for fleece sleepsuits last night (I found some on the highest, out of reach rail in a shop and had to climb up on some precarious step ladders to reach them – read into that metaphor if you will).

The only other thing I’m keen to buy before we go are some floor mats. We haven’t got a tent carpet because I wanted to wait to buy a proper one until we know exactly what tent we’ll be investing in so some jigsaw type floor mats will be perfect for us in the time being as they can be configured in whichever way best fits in the future. It’s another thing I’ve seen in Aldi (anyone else always get sucked in by the Aldi Specials?).

So here we have it… next time I write a Camping Post, it’ll be all about how we got on. Keep your fingers crossed for dry weather (it’s not looking hopeful at the moment). As long as I get to have my morning cup of tea sat out in front of the tent, I’ll be happy.

If you’d like to download my two page camping checklist (complete with a notes section on each page for any additional bits you want to add yourself or any reminders of things you need to buy), fill in the form below. By entering your email address, I’ll add you to my email subscription list so you’ll be the first to know about any new blog posts. Happy camping!

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