Camping with your family is a great chance to make memories and deepen your bond. It can also ignite an adventurous spirit in your kids that will last a lifetime.

We’ve collected our favourite practical camping hacks to make your time under canvas more comfortable and cosy, allowing you to focus on the fun!

These hacks will help you wherever you choose to go camping. If you are coming to Camp Kindling then remember our team are here to give you extra help and support.

Wrapping some glow-in-the-dark string, fluorescent tape, or solar fairy lights around your guy ropes is a real lifesaver. It will help you find your tent and stop anyone crashing into it in the dark. Wrap your ropes all the way to the base if you can. There’s nothing quite like stubbing your toe on a secure tent peg or, worse, kicking it out and having to fumble to replant it.

Frozen bottles act as extra ice blocks and ensure that you have refreshing beverages available throughout your trip. Fruit juice freezes well and makes a delicious slushy treat for the kids as it starts to defrost. Milk can also work well and can be used in teas and coffees before it's even fully thawed. Choose skimmed milk: the fat in the semi-skimmed and full-fat milk separates during freezing, giving it an odd taste and texture.

This also makes your coolbox lighter for the way home as you wont be carrying heavy ice-packs back home with you.

Use your sleeping bags and other bedding to wrap the sides and top of your coolbox during the day. This will give it extra insulation against the daytime warmth and keep it cold longer.

Prepare each outfit in advance and roll them up. Wrap masking tape around to keep the roll together and write on it so you can easily identify each one. Then when you are getting dressed each morning you don’t have to route through all your bags and make a mess of the tent!

Life happens, and when it does the last thing you want is to be caught unawares in the wild. Pack a change of clothes (including shoes) for everyone in a bag and leave it in the boot, or in a waterproof bag in your tent. We can’t tell you the number of times this has been a lifesaver for us, even if it’s just providing a set of fresh, dry socks for the journey home.

Adding keyrings to your tent zips makes them much easier to handle and pull. They're perfect for little hands and for you when you’re sleepily taking kids to the loo at night. Go for a plain ring: attachments tend to be rather flimsily secured and will often break right off from a stern tug.

A stuck zip is never any fun, especially when kids become frustrated, try to force them and end up breaking something. If you rub a candle across the teeth to lightly coat them in wax, then run the zipper along the teeth a few times, they’re much less likely to catch. You can do this a few days before you leave and the zippers will stay slick for the whole trip. This one sounds odd but it really does work!

Prepare and cook food at home. Then, freeze it in individual portions to reheat on your camping stove. This makes it fast and easy to feed your family a nutritious meal without too much fuss. Foods with spices, marinades and seasonings can be especially delicious as you leave the ingredients time to meld together. Some of things we find work best include:

At Camp Kindling our food villages are reasonably priced and cater for all dietary requirements so you don’t need to cook any meals at all!

You might think that covering your tent during the day would make it heat up even more and leave it scorching hot by nighttime, but the opposite is actually true! Drape a reflective tarp or survival blanket over your tent with the shiny side out. It will reflect much of the sun’s rays and keep it cooler in the day. Look for a tarpaulin with holes in each corner so it’s easy to secure to the tent frame. Remember to take it off before going to bed to stop it rustling and disturbing your sleep.

If you are planning to sleep during the day then bringing a small battery powered fan can make the tent feel more comfortable in hot weather.

Reusable shower caps can be repurposed to help keep your tent clean. When everyone takes off their shoes, they can simply wrap the bottom in the cap, keeping all the mud and little bits of muck contained. You can then bring the shoes just inside the tent to stop them getting damp from rain or dew. They’re robust enough to not split easily, and can be washed, stored and used again next year.

Being in the great outdoors doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice sleep, and getting the right setup to ensure you are well rested is worth the effort. This little list of mini hacks to help you get the shut-eye you need;

Take a plastic jam jar or any container with a decently wide lid. Cut a circle of sandpaper a little smaller than the lid and glue it to the inside of the lid. Fill the jar with matches and you have a stormproof solution that is never going to be too soggy to light.

It might seem a bit over the top, but having a doormat by the entrance of your tent, with slippers inside, is a great way to prompt everyone to remove their dirty shoes and keep the inside of the tent clean. Once you get mud inside the tent, it’s likely to turn up everywhere from inside shoes and sleeping bags to inexplicably getting into the coolbox!

Some form of lighting is a quick and easy way to make your campsite feel more like a home. We’re big fans of putting a headtorch on the outside of a big, translucent or transparent plastic bottle. Use the elastic to secure it and face the torch inwards towards the liquid. It diffuses the light beautifully, can easily be carried around, is solid enough to stand on its own without getting knocked around. The headtorch can easily be detached if you need it and is an absolute gem for when your hands are full but you need some light.

Most high-quality drinking water bottles can safely hold hot water (check the specification of yours). If you are cold at night you can fill your water bottle with hot water and put it in your sleeping bag to keep you warm. You want an uninsulated bottle with a secure screw on cap. The bigger the bottle the longer it will stay warm. This works with both plastic and metal bottles, but be careful not to burn yourself on a metal one, if it is too hot to touch wrap it in some clothes. Do not use disposable plastic bottles as they will warp or melt with the heat.

Have a grab and go bag with everything you need for a trip to the toilet by the door of your tent, along with some crocs or flip flops and a torch, so it's easy for night time trips! Add toilet roll, soap, sanitiser, wet wipes, nappies, period products etc. You don't want to walk all the way over just to find out they've run out of something you need.

For more great tips and trips, and to share any of your own, check out our Facebook groups.

Attendees Group

Solo Parents Group

Accessibility Group

Happy camping!