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The Essential Camping Checklist for Families

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This camping checklist will take out all the uncertainty and provide you with an  inventory of all the items you need to enjoy a comfortable night away from home with your family. We have young children – ages 7, 5 & 1 so we want to make exploring the outdoors and nature as relaxed as possible.

 Camping Checklist

**You can find a printer friendly version at the bottom of the post.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

1. Tent
Consider the size and height when purchasing as some are quite low inside.

2. Air bed / self inflating mattress – or some form of bedding.
You can go as cheap or as expensive as you like. You can purchase air mattresses from stores like Kmart for $10 or a $200 self inflating mattress from a camping store.

3. Sleeping bags / blankets & pillows

4. Camping Chairs

5. Flooring
This can be anything from shade cloth to foam pads so when you walk in and out of the tent you don’t take dirt/sand with you.

6. Awning / gazebo
This can be as lavish or as simple as you like. A pop up gazebo, framed awning or even tarp with 4 poles.

 

COOKING

1. Barbeque plate
If you are new to camping it might be a good idea to camp somewhere with amenities, tables, showers and barbeques. There are a lot of great options available for beginners. I have shared our experience on the blog previously about camping at Lake St Clair, it is one of our favourite places to camp with the kids.

2. Pan

3. Plates & cups

4. Cutlery

5. Utensils

6. Chopping board

7. Folding table
Not essential but once you have one you will never go without it.

8. Welding gloves
These are great if you are cooking over an open fire because they protect your hands from burns.

FIRE

1. Fire wood

2. Kindling

3. Paper

4. Matches/lighter

FOOD

1. No one is too good for a snag wrapped in bread and sauce but it is ultimately up to you what you eat.

2. Marshmallows

3. Oil

4. Condiments – sauces

5. Salt and pepper

6. Snacks

7. Drinks – including lots of water

8. Ice

9. Esky

 

TOOLS

1. Mallet
To hit tent pegs in.

2. Shovel
To stoke fire (turn coals/roll logs in the fire)

3. Axe
If purchasing pre-packaged wood and kindling this is not as essential. Use for wood preparation.

4. Torches / Lanterns

5. Marshmallow sticks

 

CLEANING UP

1. Bucket

2. Tea towels

3. Wetwipes

4. Paper towel

5. Spray & Wipe

6. Dishwashing Liquid
This is depending on your camping duration. If we only camp for 1 night we give everything a good rinse and wash it when we get home.

FOR THE KIDS

1. Frisbees

2. Bikes

3. Ball

4. Fishing gear

5. Cricket equipment

6. UNO cards

 

ESSENTIALS

1. Sunscreen

2. Aeroguard

3. ParaKito

4. First Aid Kit

5. Cash for camping fees

 

If you haven’t been camping before and are just starting to look into it – look for sales and research prior to making any purchases. You will be amazed at how much you can save.

I hope this camping checklist has helped you get organised and ready for your 1st or next trip away. You can print out a tick and flick version of my camping checklist (without the notes under items or images) so you can ensure you leave nothing behind.

Do you think there should be something else in my checklist?

Have you forgotten something when you went camping? 

PRINT >>  Camping Checklist – Printable Version.

Camping at Lake St Clair

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Over the school holidays we tried to jam pack as much activity into the 2 weeks as we could. This included camping. We chose somewhere local (approx. 1 hour from where we live) as Poppet hadn’t been camping before so we wanted somewhere that was close enough to home in case it was a failure. Thankfully she loves it as much as the rest of us. We live in the Hunter Valley so there are a wide array of options available for us where camping is concerned. We decided that Lake St Clair was the perfect place as we had been there previously so knew what to expect. Lake St Clair is approximately 30 minutes North of Singleton, NSW and has a great deal to offer for day trips or overnight.

You can camp (obviously), boat, ski, fish, swim or even just enjoy a picnic with the gorgeous scenic views. Offering 38 hectares of camping space the kids have plenty of room to ride their bikes, play with the frisbees or even enjoy a game of cricket. The dam is regularly stocked with Bass, Golden and Silver Perch so the fish loving men, women and kids are catered to. B1 and B2 absolutely love fishing; it is a new found hobby of theirs. Lake St Clair is a very clean and tidy area that allows the luxury of campfires. In my opinion campfires are a pretty important part of camping ~ does anyone else automatically think of toasted marshmallows?

Lake St Clair is a favourite for families and new campers as it offers great facilities. You can enjoy showers, flushing toilets and barbeques. Camping areas like this make starting out a smooth transition as you wean into going without the essentials aka everyday luxuries. There are also powered sites or sites for tents/swags and you can choose to camp along the water, near amenities or even away from everyone. It is a very comfortable place to camp and very affordable – $27.50 per family. If you are considering camping in the Hunter Valley region and think this may be of interest, you can find more information on the Singleton Council website. I highly recommend this place, we love it there.

Where do you go camping? What do you look for in a camping area?

Para’Kito – A Buzz Free Summer + GIVEAWAY

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Summer is a time for camping, beach, picnics and trips to the park with the family but often mosquitoes put a damper on the fun times. Unfortunately for me and my 5 year old we seem to have good blood that’s ripe for sucking; if there is a mozzie around chances are it is having a feast on one of us. This is quite unfortunate for Kye as not only does it make him itchy he is allergic to their bites, resulting in hives and swelling around the affected area, hardness of the skin and it always gets infected.

Para’Kito clips RRP $24.95
and
Para’Kito bands RRP $24.95

I received an email a few weeks ago asking if I wanted to give Para’Kito a test run which coincided perfectly for last minute outings to the creek, Australia Day BBQ and last bush walk before school resumed. For something that is 100% natural and eco-friendly I can see why it has been so popular worldwide; it works to offer 24 hour protection from mosquitoes and insects while having no direct contact with skin making it safe for allergy sufferers, pregnant women, children, babies and adults. The Para’Kito range includes a neoprene wristband and a clip which are refillable with a polymer pellet. The pellets are infused with a blend of seven essential oils: lavender, geranium, citronella, pine tree, patchouli, clove and peppermint which are convenient and easily slipped into your Para’Kito™ wristband or clip. The oils effectively make the wearer seem invisible to mosquitoes even when in contact with water. Each pellet also offers 15 consecutive days of protection which is great when camping for a few days or if you are going to a festival.

Refill packs with two pellets RRP $15.95

I have found the clip to be very handy when I go walking as I just clip it to the pram and not only am protected and no longer get attacked by insects but neither does my baby or my boys walking next to me. The clip would also be great for travelling as it can easily attach to your belt, back packs or even hung inside your tent when camping. Para’Kito™ bands and clips are priced at RRP $24.95 and come with two refill pellets, which provide 24 hour protection for a total of 30 days. Refill packs with two pellets are also available and priced at RRP $15.95.

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 Giveaway ~ I have 1x Family Pack from Para’Kito which includes two Para’Kito bands (valued at $24.95 each) and two Para’Kito clips (valued at $24.95 each) to giveaway to a deserving Mad Mummas reader. (Total prize RRP $49.90)

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To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below.

1.Winner is decided based on skill and chance plays no part.

2.Australian residents only! Sorry everyone else.

3.The mandatory instructions MUST be completed or your entry will be void!

**As the winners are chosen based on skill and not chance; you will be sharing for 0 extra entries. It’s good karma though and I’d love you to share the giveaway with friends and family**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

He Is A Happy Camper!

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He Is A Happy Camper!
I’m going to keep this post short and sweet.
We survived! I have to give C credit he embraced every second of camping or he hid it extremely well if he didn’t. Actually we all did – C, the boys, myself and our friends. C seemed to enjoy everything from putting up the tent to lighting the fire (he may have required some extra help for this bit) but he was a trooper. My eldest son D was trying to light the fire by rubbing two sticks together – he kicks it old school!
We went fishing and the boys loved it (it was their first time). They got to watch me thread the worm onto the hook and then helped them cast it. Unfortunately we didn’t catch anything but they learnt so much about nature and the fascination in their eyes was great. K (the youngest) is definitely more of a nature child then D but it was a learning experience for us all. They went and found marshmallow sticks, the good ones that you can toast two at once. They were delicious – the marshmallows not the sticks!
                  
The view was amazing and the air was fresh. The strange but rather liberating thing was that there was no phone signal where we were so that meant no texting, calls, Facebook, twitter, blogging, etc. It was quite nice for two days not to have the distraction but I think I would go a little stir crazy if I had to do it for much longer than that.
The boys enjoyed using their glow sticks (that were for safety reasons) pffft they were, but they had so much fun with them so that is all that matters. C used his self-inflating mattress and actually slept in the tent all night! It was amazing to see that he wasn’t in the car when I woke in the morning.
So that pretty much sums it up. It was a lot of fun and we will definitely be doing it again at some stage down the track!

What Makes A Happy Camper?

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What Makes A Happy Camper?
This weekend we are going on an adventure. Well kind of. The man of the house has finally been broken down enough agreed to go camping. After many years of me pestering asking very politely, he has at long last surrendered to peer pressure the idea it will be fun. He did of course agree to this while enjoying a few drinks with friends at a barbeque recently but that still counts as a yes.
Now I don’t want to make him sound uptight or less of a mans man but he isn’t exactly what I would call a camper. He is more of a fancy 4-5 star hotel kind of guy, you know – hot water, soft comfy bed, nice meal, etc. Which is great of course and I appreciate everything about that, who wouldn’t? I however think camping would be a great deal of fun, benefit the kids educationally and not to mention a cheap night away.
The whipper snappers are so excited about it! This will be their first time ever camping, sleeping outside or sitting around a fire eating toasted marshmallows off sticks. The enthusiasm and interest they have is infectious and encouraging to try new things.
Anyway, we went and bought a tent which of course got set up in the backyard as soon as we arrived home from the shop. C wanted to make sure he didn’t look like an amateur trying to set up the tent when we arrived at the camp site. I think he was running on the practise makes perfect theory. It was such a gorgeous sight witnessing all 3 of my men preparing for the wilderness (yes in our backyard!) C has purchased not only our tent but a very fancy self-inflating mattress and pillow for himself. Seriously? Self-inflating, are you kidding me? Like I said, he’s not a camper. The boys and I got sleeping bags which we will most definitely be needing because it is going to be absolutely freezing. I hate the cold but I’m sure a few drinks and a big feed will help with the anti-freeze aspect of the night.
We also got the boys some state of the art glow sticks for safety reasons or that’s the explanation C is giving me for us ‘having’ to buy them. I think secretly he just wants one for himself. Anyhow, Saturday will be our first ever camping trip and is sure to be loads of fun or interesting to say the least. C could very well end up sleeping in the car so the bugs and scary noises don’t get him, he’s a big and tough when it comes to things like that. We are going with a couple of friends so there will be a certain level of excitement and learning for us and the boys that they wouldn’t usually get at home.
Here is to hoping the rain holds out and everything goes to plan.
Do you camp? What makes a fun and successful trip? Is it good company, a great location, the beverages (whatever they may be), the marshmallows or the fresh air and starry sky?    

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