Must Haves For Camping With Your Family

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Field & Stream for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

December in Texas is bringing us temperatures in the low 70s, which means it’s perfect camping weather outside. Most adults I know have camped at some point during their childhoods, but camping with kids is something new and a little bit intimidating the first time.

 

I am so thankful for stores like Field & Stream that make it easy to go to one place and get everything you need for an epic adventure with the family!

 

When preparing for a family camping trip, you’ll want to be sure you set realistic expectations with everyone beforehand. Let the kids know what they are getting in to with this trip, so that they are prepared and not shocked when accommodations are different than what they are used to.

Protip: Spend some time really researching which campground you want to go to with the kids, be sure the first one you pick has bathroom accommodations. Teaching kids the dig-a-hole method on their first ever camping trip isn’t the most fun.

Next, you’ll need to pick the perfect tent. In cases like these I always wish that I could set up a tent and look around to see how it is shaped and if I think it would work. I love the way the Field & Stream store displays their mini tents so you can explore them, without having to put up a tent in the middle of the store.

 

If you will be camping somewhere with hiking trails close by, make sure everyone in the family has a good pair of shoes. While we all have shoes that can get us through the day, hiking is something else entirely, you’ll need good grips for the bottom of the shoes and better support inside the shoe than you would normally have. Field and Stream had a huge selection of shoes and hiking boots perfect for families! I loved that in my particular store there was a huge display of animals in the middle of the shoe area too. Those would keep kids entertained while their siblings were being fitted for shoes for sure.

 

I wouldn’t be a very good Texan myself if I didn’t point out the huge variety of cowboy boots available, most notably the Texas Flag boots. They had these in kids, women’s and men’s sizes!

 

You have a tent, you have boots, but next you’ll need food supplies! There was a huge supply of dried foods, bars and even cooking supplies! My husband uses a cast iron skillet to cook out of even when we’re home (every night that he’s not using the instant pot) so this part of the store was familiar to me! I know just how tasty things cooked on cast iron can be, and I loved seeing the variety of pans. They had everything from woks, to tiny skillets and even dutch ovens, to be sure you can make whatever tasty foods your family wants while camping.

Keeping everyone well fed is a huge part of making a camping trip a happy experience for the whole family.

Make sure the sleeping arrangements are just as comfortable. You can choose from a variety of sleeping bags and even camp beds or blow up mattresses depending on what suits your family best. They are all in one corner of the store together so it’s easy to compare prices, sizes and really decide what kind of camping trip you want this to be.

Lastly, think through messes. The extra circumstances that you wouldn’t expect to happen on a camping trip. Make sure you have a first aid kit, as well as camp towels to clean up messes or to simply use after taking a shower or swimming. Regular towels take up too much room in a backpack so picking up these small camping towels can save you a lot of room, especially if you’ll be swimming on a hike!

 

Remember to keep everything fun and upbeat for the kids. The first camping trip can be a time of easing them into it and showing them how fun it can be to sleep in a tent, all together. As they grow up loving it, you can do more and more a slowly become more intense campers! There’s no pressure to jump straight to the most difficult of campsites with minimal gear on the very first trip. Especially not when you can so easily get everything you need to make the family comfortable at your local Field & Stream store! Use the Store Locator to find the one closest to you!

If you ever need help in the store, I found the employees to be very helpful, I was asked several times if I needed help finding things as I explored the store, but never in a pushy way that made me feel awkward. There were also call buttons throughout that allowed you to easily call an employee over for assistance if you needed any. Honestly, the entire time I was in the store I never saw anyone use them though because the employees were so helpful and present throughout their store, it was clear they enjoyed what they were doing!

They have everything you need for the “extras” while you camp too. Kayaks, fishing gear, hunting equipment and so much more.

I hope you have fun collecting all your gear for you family camping trip! Hopefully the weather stays nice where you are so you can go soon!