This post is written in collaboration with Millets; I received the items pictured in exchange for this post. Find out more in my disclaimer here.
Confession: Camping has never been very high on my list of Things To Do In The Name Of Fun.
Having spent many childhood holidays in a tent, I do have a lot of happy memories but it is definitely something I have no yearning desire to revisit.
Noisy kids playing football against your tent, people snoring like tractors, birds and brilliant sunlight waking everyone up at 4.30am and not even a proper cup of tea… I’d personally rather be relaxed on a sunbed sipping cocktails to be honest.
However the kids are quite taken with the idea of sleeping under canvas.
We thought we would do a back garden camp out to lift lockdown spirits and make up for the fact that we won’t be getting away anywhere this year.
Unfortunately, the only bits of camping gear we own are leftovers from festivals from bygone years; a musty tent and a deflating airbed, and a gas cooker without any gas.
Luckily Millets came to our rescue with not only a tent, but sleeping bags, seats and a picnic kit as well as a collapsible barbecue to make our little staycation go swimmingly.
Here is why you should try a garden campout!
1) It’s free!
Although camping is a good value alternative for a family holiday, you do have to pay pitch fees; not so in your garden. Obviously.
2) You have all the fun of sleeping under canvas, with hopefully less of the noise
Depending on your neighbours of course; ours are quiet types so you are much less likely to have to deal with tent-shaking snoring or chatting into the early hours than on a public campsite.
Of course there’s not much you can do about the noisy foxes or the birds at 4.30am but I do wholeheartedly recommend earplugs!
3) It takes far less planning
When you’re camping, you have to take literally everything with you; as well as your clothes you have to bring your own bed, bedding, kitchen, food, furniture and of course the tent… If you stay home, there is no need to spend hours packing up everything you need and playing car jenga.
There is no three-hour drive and the tent we have been sent pops up in seconds too!
4) You can have a private on-site swimming pool
Well, paddling pool.
5) You can use a proper loo
No trekking a mile to the toilet block and tripping over guy ropes in the middle of the night; you can just pop inside and enjoy all the creature comforts of home, because you are at home.
6) If your barbecue fails, you can use the kitchen
Don’t fancy eating a raw sausage? You can always nip inside and cheat. I mean it tastes the same, so…
As long as you get to eat it outside on a picnic blanket or in a camping chair, it still counts.
7) You can take as many creature comforts as you’d like with you
There is no limit on the number of games and toys your kids can bring with them. And if they forget something vital, such as a stuffed toy they just cannot get to sleep without, you can go inside and get it.
8) The bar is mere steps away
And the drinks can be served from the fridge, with ice.
9) You can reschedule if it’s too hot, or raining
Camping trips are at the mercy of the Great British weather. Even booking in the middle of summer risks gale-force winds and torrential rain; and if it’s too hot you risk waking up in a sauna.
By camping at home you can pick the best timing.
10) If they decide they don’t like it once it gets dark, you can always go inside and sleep in your own bed.
But, if they decide that they absolutely love it and they do sleep well, then you might want to consider going camping for real!