I’m just back from my first ever camping trip and first ever family music festival, so being addicted to lists I thought I would share and share alike!
I promise you won’t get such a comprehensive list elsewhere because:
(a) I’m a bit wacky and love a bit of glamping and
(b) I’m retentive about lists.
I’ve highlighted the MUST HAVEs for you!
If you haven’t been to a festival with the kids yet, check out my post on why family festivals are a great adventure to try out with the kids and my review of the fabulously muddy Penn Festival and last years Just So.
Clothes
Check out my tips on what to wear to a festival, plus my Pinterest board with more ideas and links to the clothes.
Wellies (there are some lovely ones on my Pinterest board)
Crocs (don’t use if very muddy, they’re feet will be a terrible mess!)
Daps if it’s not muddy (There’s some cute daps on this Pinterest board of mine)
Fleeces – were brilliant for me and the kids (I’ve now bought an extra one, so that I’ve got daytime and nighttime ones!)
PJ’s – take extra incase of trouble for the kids (mine are fleecy Joe Browns ones)
Water proof coats and trousers – I don’t wear the trousers (yuk!), but they were a must for the kids and the hairy one. The macs need to be those pack-a-mac ones for lightness (try to get a prettier one if you can)
Wooly hats – for kids in evenings
Pashmina Scarf – for me (I don’t go anywhere without them)
Socks, Knickers, Bras – just incase you forget
Wings, Tutu’s and wands for Little Dimples
Fancy Dress For Curly Headed boy
Poncho Towels x 2 for the kids for after a shower
Nappies, wipes and bags
Outfits for each day plus spare leggings/tracksuit bottoms
Bedrooms
Hotwater bottles for me and the kids – OMG so glad I had these as I’m a wimp!
Pillows for me – yep wimp again.
Those cuddly teddy bear pillow for the kids – make great teddies and travel companions too.
Sleeping bags – a double for me and Little Dimples, Moshi Monster one for Curly Headed Boy and ‘proper’ one for the hairy northerner
Double blow up bed (and pump) – for the girls
Sleeping Mats – thick mat for the little boy and thin mat for the ‘hard’ one
Blankets x 4 – 1 under me, 2 on top of me and 1 more for Curly Headed Boy
Bed Bumpers - so that little dimples doesn’t roll into the tent side (she doesn’t like it)
Towels x 4 – can’t have enough towels
Microfibre hair turban if your hair takes a while to dry (£1 from Wilkinsons or a pound shop)
Festival
Rucksacks – for each of us, don’t use over the shoulder bags, and if you can get oilcloth washables one for you, they will be the easiest to clean afterwards.
Ear Defenders for kids
iPads and iPhones with films on for packing and unpacking
Power monkey to charge up iPads and iPhones – AMAZING!
Radio Flyer - perfect for carrying two kids, sleeping babies, lugging stuff from the car, and getting through mud. (some places you can rent them)
Games
2 books of drawing/sticker activities
Lego book for son, Duplo for daughter
Football – didn’t take it, will do next time as it is much more sensible than a frisbee
Books – thin ones that work for both kids (Gruffalo!)
Bananagrams game
Some little characters to play with e.g. Mini mouse plastic tiny travel house for Little Dimples, and Octonaughts submarine for Curly Headed Boy
Camping Stuff
Here’s my pinterest board for camping/glamping stuff.
Bog in a Bag – OMG you HAVE TO HAVE one of these – no long trip to the loo overnight or panic when it’s pissing it down!
Bunting and solar fairy lights – 2 lots – VERY important!
Tent – check out my review of the Vango Airbeam Tent
Pink whistling kettle – obviously!
Enamel Tea Pot – Keep Calm and drink tea from John Lewis – tea is obviously a necessity!
Enamel Plates and Bowels – pretty ones with bunting on from John Lewis – I was disappointed that the edges seem a little dodgy. You can buy the blue ones from the pound shops.
Cuttlery – we had plastic, but it was horrid.
Cooking spoon – get a metal one, we melted the plastic one!
Saucepan and frying pan – doesn’t need to be big, just enough for a whole meal for the family.
Front door mat – WOW this was useful – I’d bring two next time one for inside and one for outside
Wind break, HUGE picnic blanket and cushions from GLTC – gorgeous and made it feel really homey. Would have been wonderful if it was sunny. But didn’t wash very well 
(
Picnic basket and cool box – we didn’t really use this as we decided not to take lunch with us, but we will use it at the Just So festival and our holiday in Siblu (french caravan park).
Cooker with 2 hobs and under toaster (plus canister) – great for tea, a full english breakfast and making dinner on the night we arrived.
Collapsible water bottle – a must have
Collapsible washing up bowl – so useful for feet, washing up and catching drips from wet clothes!
Oven gloves – get thinner light ones as the lids are small
Light cutting mats for cutting up things to cook on.
Knife with cover.
Tea towel – we forgot!
Dustpan and brush – definitely needed on longer trip.
Kitchen cooker table – was very wobbly, I wasn’t sure that it would stay straight. Not needed for a festival (just cook on the ground), but good for a longer trip as long as you buy boxes to store stuff underneath.
Table and Chairs – This one from Cotswold is very easy to transport, but a little wobbly with little kids and takes up lots of room. I don’t think you need it for a festival, just for camping longer than a weekend.
Cheap Plastic backed picnic blanket – was a god send outside the front door.
Wind up Lamp, plus two little ones for the kids (head torches are great too)
Something to hang up wet stuff with – a washing line or I got a pink plastic oval thingy with pegs on it that I could hang from something
General kitchen supplies
LOADS of black bags
LOADS of antibacterial wipes
LOADs of baby wipes
LOADS of kitchen roll
LOADS of Loo roll
LOADs of little packs of tissues
Matches
Little travel bottle with washing up liquid
Newspaper can be great outside the front door if it gets muddy (or straw as we had)
Dish cloths
Toiletries
EAR PLUGS – (Reminded by a lovely commenter!) – I use the blue waxy ones from Boots, not the yellow foam ones or the plastic ones.
Eye masks – you know the ones you get on a plane – can be useful because it gets so light in a tent in the mornings!
Wipes to wash face and take off make up
Travel bottles with shampoo and conditioner. (I can’t travel without mousse either).
Moisturiser
Deodorant
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Makeup.
Tampons and pads – if there is a chance your period is going to come while you are away, you so know it will!
First Aid - Plasters, Suntan Lotion, Sudocrem, Thermometer, Calpol, Aloe Vera (after sun and good for bites)
Food
Note: Remember not to take glass bottles to a camp site or festival.
Most important – Tea (or coffee), milk (take 2 x 1 litre and have one of them frozen), Orange juice, apple juice (take a frozen one), squash in a plastic bottle
Alcohol – now at the penn festival you couldn’t take alcohol on site, so the best bet would have been cans of cider or gin in a tin. But at Just So last year we spent some time at the tent in the evening, so a box of wine is a good plan. (Be considerate if you get drunk please!).
Fruit – last year I felt a bit unwell after going to Just So because my body is fussy and likes it’s fruit and veg. So definitely take grapes, apples, satsumas, those innocent fruit drinks for the kids, and some extra veg for the adults for the first night’s dinner.
Snacks – will be expensive so add some high sugar but healthy emergency rations: bear fruit, yogurt covered raisins/strawberry flakes, sesame seed snaps etc. Plus late at night the kids might be snackish, so some crackers are a good idea.
Breakfast:
Cereal – those little travel boxes of cereal are great if you aren’t taking bowls. But they caused arguments between the kids as they don’t have equal numbers of types of cereal. So I’m going to pick one type and put in a plastic box next time.
Toast – nice and easy and a good back up to have a loaf of bread with butter and marmite
Brioche – can make a lovely breakfast or snack later
Lunch/Brunch
Eggs, Bacon, Sausages, Tomatoes – we had a full english breakfast because the Penn Festival didn’t start until 12, so didn’t need to take a picnic lunch with us. Whereas the Just So festival starts really early, so there will be no time for this.
Baps, cheese, crisps – when we go to Just So it starts earlier so we will take lunch with us.
Dinner – on the evening of arrival and last night – but don’t bother during the festival.
2 cold cooked chicken breasts chopped up added to fresh pasta (quicker to cook). Add pesto and a big tin of sweetcorn.
Tins of tuna heated up with some philidelphia and milk to make a sauce and big tin of sweetcorn with pasta or noodles
Tins of spagetti bolognaise on toast with big tin of sweetcorn
Tins of tomato soup, big bread, cucumber and carrots
Hotdogs (but my hubby is allergic to celery, so they don’t work for us)
I was tempted to introduce the kids to spam and corned beef!
Remember you can get tinned potatoes, which would be quicker to cook than normal ones.
What do you think of my tips and list? Let me know if you use it and if there’s anything to add. Also feel free to add your own lists in the comments!