Camera Essentials

First up is something you may not think you need but believe me you do.

The selfie stick – this will help with taking photos of you and the kids – not just the kids, for video blogging, for taking high photos of people on stage when all you can otherwise see is a sea of heads. It’s a really useful piece of kit. and is currently just £6 including postage!

4 in one iPhone lenses – This little gem has produced some cracking photos from my iPhone, you just clip them on and you’re away. It allows you to get that little bit closer to the stage, whether it be at a festival or kids assembly, you can take impressive macro shots too. Really amazing value at just £5.55 inc delivery too. Makes sure you get the 4 in one, to get the macro lens.

Bell tent

From £269 – Bell Tent UK

Always the essential tent. Ours is the 4m Pro Bell Tent from BellTent UK. We LOVE this tent, and are complimented on it at every site we go to. We were offered another tent to review but turned it down because of the love and loyalty we have for the Bell Tent. So incredibly easy to put up – takes just 10 mins on my own, or 30 mins with “help” from little people. I would recommend getting the zipped in groundsheet – keeps it warmer and bug free.

You should also take bunting, fairy lights and as a mum in business a screen printed flag on a pole – like ours. All available on Amazon.

Festival wellies from The Welly Shop

From www.thewellyshop.com

Every year I like to get a new pair of festival wellies, it’s kinda my thing, especially if it’s been a while since I had new shoes, new wellies will satify my shoe fetish. I love shoes and I love these. As soon as they arrived I put them on and actually forgot I was wearing them, thank goodness I work from home. Unlike some other wellies I’ve had, these didn’t make me uncomfortable – you know that sweaty stickiness feeling you get? Didn’t get that. Really quite bouncy too, they have a great sole, hence the name “Sole M8” clever eh?

These will not ever be my Dunny wellies that’s for sure.

Being a fan of packaging, the box these arrived in was super – akin to the box that ice skates come in – really well made storage box. Won’t be throwing that away that’s for sure.

Yep can’t wait to get wearing these, I wonder how they’ll fair on the massive hill that we’ll be conquering daily at Camp Bestival. Let’s wait and see.

And if autocorrect changes wellies into willies one more time I swear I will… swear!

Vango Sleeping bags

Ambience Sleeping Bags – £45

I’m delighted to have found these, we’ll be giving these newly launched beauties a test drive at Camp Bestival this year.

I tend to feel locked in the modern style sleeping bags – the ones that come in tight around your face, so I loved the idea of these because being Vango they’re purpose made for camping (not just for kids having a sleepover) and they’re open at the top too. But what’s special about them is that they’re ideal for both warm and cooler camping nights, having a top layer – like a blanket that allows you to convert from a 3 season bag to a 2 season by zipping a layer away in the summer nights that you can fold beneath you to have a softer bed. But for those cooler nights it’s an extra blanket that zips over you, giving you an extra warm layer of sleeping bag. They say the Ambience creates the ultimate sleeping experience… I’m in. Literally.

Brita Fill&Go

Available in pink, blue, green and grey £14.99 Fill&Go

I’m a fan of filtered water but it’s never before been the ideal camping water bottle. However, the BRITA Fill&Go makes it easy, making sure you’ve always got water, especially if you’re at a site where you can’t be sure of the water quality.

I was surprised at its size – it can hold a decent amount of water and can be refilled at any time. Interestingly my 9yr old has his own in blue, and since getting it, he’s hardly put it down; he really likes drinking from it and as a result he’s drinking a whole bottle of water a day – I’m delighted with that and we’ve not even gone camping yet. His dentist yesterday was impressed too 😉

 Squash’d out

Costs vary in supermarkets – SQUASH’D

This perfect for festivals. It’s 66ml of highly concentrated squash which adds great flavour to your drinks. Pop it into your bag and it’ll easily last a week of camping, in fact I’ve taken these on a 2 week holiday abroad and it was brilliant. There’s flavours to please every fussy little so & so too…

NatraSan – first aid spray and hand sanitiser

£10 for 250ml and £7 for 100ml – www.natrasanuk.com

This is the mum-to-mum tip. We have always had the obligatory bottle of hand disinfectant it is an ABSOLUTE MUST for festival loos when there are no washing facilities.

But this year I’ve come across NatraSan. It’s a first aid spray, a hand sanitizer and when used with cotton wool pads it becomes a disinfectant capable of sanitising lots of surfaces.

It can also be safely used as a natural mouthwash. Perfect for camping

Blow up bed fleece protector

Around £10 – Amazon.co.uk

These were recommended to me last year and I’ve been delighted with them. Cheap to buy, they slip over blow up beds and really do make a difference, in both making the beds a little softer and should you go camping not in the summer, it’s an extra layer of warmth between you and the ground.  We were camping in Woolacombe at Easter and it got chilly at night.

For a standard blow up bed, the Bunk Bed fit works nicely. Check your beds measurements though. Cheap as chips.

Dinosaur tops for girls

From £11 at Climbing Trees Kids

I don’t have a daughter but if I did I’d get one of these awesome – non stereotypical t-shirts for girls. They are bright, bold and feature cute dinosaurs, female robots, a feisty girl pirate, a rainbow rocket and my fave; the snazzy She-Rex.

It’s a newly launched mum’s business so go ahead and connect with her. Because “girls like dinosaurs, robots, rockets and pirates too”. The range comes in sizes from age 1 to 9.

Adventure Packs for kids

Currently on offer – just £22.95 from Harry and Jacks

This is truly awesome way to get kids started carrying their own kit. It’s surprising how easier festivals are when the kids carry their own drink and lunch bag, freeing your bag up for more important things like wine and chocolate…

ADVENTURE PACKS come in either the Jetpack or Scubapack designs. Both fabulous.

Hipseat from Hippychick

The Hippychick hipseat retails at £39.95

We no longer have toddlers but this is quite cool so I thought I’d include it. The Hipseat from Hippychick is a belt which either parent can wear with a ‘seat’ on which a toddler can perch.  It is incredibly useful for carrying babies/toddlers without putting unnecessary strain on your back.  It’s far easier than a buggy (particularly if the ground is wet) and great for dancing and standing in the audience.

Festival Badges

Just £1! (plus p&p) – makeabadge festival badges

Makeabadge have badges for every occasion so I wasn’t surprised when I checked for festi badges and saw several. We all like to keep a momento – it could be the lanyards, a t-shirt, the programme or even the actual tickets, but having a badge with the date of the festival you went to is a lovely and cost effective way for your kids to remember their time there.

Personally speaking, as someone who has a huge bag of badges from a childhood collection, this is essential!

Toys

My son’s birthday falls just after we get home from Camp Bestival so we’ve fallen into a tradition of him getting some presents when there – it could be toys that are perfect for playing with, and making friends with on the campsite or things to keep him occupied in the car. I like to find new and exciting toys so this year, these are some of his Bestival Birthday treats…

Ringstix

from www.Prezzybox.com

Ringstix Lite from Maps Toys is set to be THE only game you need to buy this Summer. The brilliant game of skill and dexterity is fun for all the family and even if you can’t rely on the British weather you can take the fun indoors. Throw the ring and catch on the cool stix – the bright colourful game is lightweight will become a must-have product for all your summer outings. So simple its genius! Priced at around £12.99.

Balanstix

£14.50 from Prezzybox

Looking forward to giving this a try, they say every member of the family will want a go. The idea is to balance the pole on the palm of your hand or even your finger tip and add as many Balanstix as you can (1-6) and then remove them. As you improve you can balance on your fingertips, or even on your foot….just don’t hold it! It comes with it’s own bag so it nicely portable and perfect for holidays.

FoameeZ

£5.99 From Amazon

Love that I found this. You will be nagged and nagged to buy bubbles from the truly amazing Bubbles Inc at Camp Besti – and we always do buy something, But I do like to go prepared too – and you’ll find this type of bubbles really popular at the festival. So buying these before you go is a no-brainer. You’ll thank me for this.
Kids can create endless trails of foaming bubbles and change each other bubble ‘hats’ undetected and can have who can blow the longest foam trail competitions? Love it.

Dr Zigs Giant Bubbles

Starting from £8 – Dr Zigs

We’ve had these giant bubbles from Dr Zigs for a couple of years and it’s still going strong. Really easy to use and very portable, it comes along camping with us all the time and has become a welcome end-of-day-wind-down toy for both us, and for other kids we meet on sites.

Great for making friends on a campsite and a must for any child and bubble enthusiasts.

FREE STUFF!!

Free washing from Indesit at Camp Bestival

Well I didn’t see this last year, washing put me off from extending our trip too. This year we may well stop off at another campsite on the way home for a couple of days, after doing the laundry at Camp Besti. Cheers Indesit.

OS Locate – find your way around

Well this is a nice little app to take camping. One problem with festivals is finding your way round; your tent, your friends and where you want to be.

Knowing the exact reference point can identify your location on OS Maps and give you a route back to your tent.

• To start, download OS Locate from Android or iOS.
• Turn on your phone’s location services.
• OS Locate will then find your location. This may take around a minute to ascertain the accurate area.
• Make note of the 6 digits on the screen, as well as the two letter code above it.
• OS Locate does not require a mobile signal to function.
• Now that you know where you are you can use OS Maps to find your way around.

As long as you know the reference, you can also use this method to find your friends’ tent, the bar, the toilets, anything!

OS Maps is also available as a desktop app, and allows you to plan routes and journeys. These can then be printed and taken along to help guide you to and from the festival.