5 Tips For A Stress Free Family Camping Trip
1. Make Reservations Early
This may sound silly, but we have found as each year passes, the need to make our reservations earlier and earlier. My wife tried to book our usual campground for Memorial Day weekend, in December, only to find it was sold out! No kidding. December. Maybe it has to do with the economy? Where else can you stay for $15.00 a night? Luckily, we were able to reserve a couple of sites at another campground, on the same lake. In any case, there is nothing worse than planning on having a great, long weekend, only to find that it’s completely booked.
2. Pack Everything In Advance
This is a huge time saver and STRESS REDUCER. We bought plastic bins and store all of our camping supplies in them. We keep these, along with the tents, tarps and other necessities together in the garage. Gone are the days of trying to find and gather all that is needed for the trip. We just grab and go! Also, we pack all of our personal items, clothes and non-perishable food in the days leading up to the trip. This one step has made the entire trip less stressful and more enjoyable.
3. Plan Meals And Shop Prior To The Trip
We plan all the meals in advance and shop accordingly. About a month prior to the trip, I start buying snacks, canned goods and anything else needed, on sale. For instance, I buy hamburger in bulk, make all the patties and freeze them in zip lock bags. I buy chicken on sale, marinade it it for a day and freeze it in bags. When it’s time to go, we just throw the bags in an ice filled cooler. The payback on this is two-fold. We save a ton of money buying everything on sale and we are not cutting into our fun time trying to shop at some over priced camp store.
4. Plan Activities For Kids
I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a worse experience than sitting in the woods with whinny kids complaining they are bored! Depending on the campground, there are plenty of activities to occupy your little ones (or not so little ones). Some items you may want to consider: corn hole (bean bag toss), horse shoes, hiking, biking, swimming, roasting marsh mellows, making S’mores, camp fire stories, camp fire songs, bubbles, board games, deck of cards, star-gazing, hide-n-go-seek and the list goes on. Use your imagination. Some campgrounds we have visited have had swimming pools, tractor hay rides and live music. Call ahead and see what is offered.
5. Set Up Camp Site Before Dark
Our favorite campground is about 3 hours from home. We used to get off work at 5:00 P.M. on Friday and arrive as it was getting dark. Let me tell you, it’s no fun setting up tents in the dark. Before it was over my wife and I wanted to sword fight each other with the tent poles! One of the smartest things we’ve done to reduce the stress is taking turns getting off-work early. The “lucky one” takes one of the kids to the site to set things up. When the others arrive, things are just about done, just in time for dinner!
So there you have it. I hope you will give these tips a go and take your family camping! It incredibly fun and will create many lasting memories. For those of you who have already been bitten by the camping bug, what do you think? Do you have any other tips to share with us? We would love to hear it!
July 15 2009 11:02 pm | How and What