It’s the year of the staycation and camping holidays are the new best loved holiday. Camping can be the best kind of holiday but it can also be the most stressful if you’re not prepared! That’s why I’ve put together the camping essentials guide for 2021. Not only looking at the practical side of things but also ways to make the trip memorable for your children, creating happy memories that will stay with them their whole lives.

Disclaimer: I was gifted some of the items in this post in exchange for a review and some links are affiliate which means as an Amazon Associate I earn from any qualifying purchases.

Kitchen camping essentials

Camping holidays typically mean a lot of BBQs and cooking on camping gas hobs. Lots of fun and a very fun way to keep your holiday costs down. That does mean you do need to pack some kitchen equipment though. And ideally you want to keep things compact as there’s obviously limited space in your car.

Here’s what I use in my camping kitchen:

The Opinel Nomad Cooking Kit

When you’re camping it is so annoying when you go to slice the cheese or bread and you haven’t got a knife. Or even worse, you go to pour yourself a glass of wine but it’s corked and you don’t have a bottle opener! That’s why I cannot recommend enough this brilliant knife set from Opinel Nomad Cooking Kit. We are the envy of our friends when camping. The set is perfect to take away with you as it’s a compact kit that hardly takes up any space but with really useful tools. In fact these knives are better than my own kitchen knives at home!

The set comes with 3 pocket knives dedicated to the kitchen:

• The No.10 corkscrew, 10cm blade to cut, slice like a paring knife and to open the wine bottles
• No.12 with 12 cm serrated blade, as a bread knife, or to slice large fruits and vegetables
• The No.06 peeler, very efficient blade to peel fruits and vegetables

Each knife has a beautiful beech handle and double security ring. The set also comes with a small cutting board (20 x 12 x 1cm) in beech and a 3 in 1 kitchen cloth which can also be used as a small tablecloth and carrying case, made of high quality microfibre for fast drying.

The Opinel Nomad Cooking Kit is available from Whitby&Co for £59.95

To-Go Ware Bamboo Utensil Set

This is the perfect light weight and reusable cutlery for camping holidays and ideal for hikers too as the carry case has a handy carabiner which clips onto a rucksack and keeps the utensils clean and protected. The set included a bamboo knife, fork, spoon and chopsticks. It replaces 1,300 single-use utensils throughout its life. The utensils are made of natural, responsibly sourced bamboo and case is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.

To Go Bamboo Utensil Set is available from Whitby&Co £11.99

Keep Rehydrated

Having a good water bottle that can keep your water cool is a must! The UK can get very hot and if your planning days out then a quality water bottle is so important. For both you and your kids.

Kleen Kanteen Insulated TKWide Bottle

The Kleen Kanteen Insulated TKWide bottle is vacuum insulated and can be used for any drink, whether it’s cold water or a much needed coffee. The bottle is available in 12oz, 16oz, and 20oz sizes, plus new larger-sizes 32oz and 64oz, ideal if you’re a family or out all day. I have the 20oz TKWide which comes with the leak proof Café Cap with easy-carry swivel loop and features the TK Closure™ internal thread design to prevent leakages.

They come in a variety of brilliant colours and there’s the option to buy additional interchangeable TKWide caps including the vacuum insulated Loop Cap which creates a full stainless steel interior and increases thermal performance, or the Straw Cap which makes it easy to drink and hydrate.

The Kleen Kanteen Insulated Bottle (20oz) is available from Kleen Kanteen £23.96

Kid Kanteen Bottle

This one is perfect for the kids when you’re camping as it helps to keep your children hydrated and the water nice and cool. The easy to turn cap will mean your children can top up their bottles from the campsite drinking water tap.

The single wall design means the bottle is is lightweight and easy for kids to carry and bring anywhere. The Klean Coat™ powder coat finish is 4X more durable, chip-resistant and safe for both people and planet.

The Kid Kanteen Bottle (18oz) is available from Kleen Kanteen £17.95

Have fun with the kids

Outdoor toys whilst camping can make your holiday! Traditional games like badminton, frisbee, swing ball and boules are always fun but there are also some great new outdoor toys on the market, like the Air Spinner.

The Air Spinner is a cross between a flying disc and a balloon. Made of very lightweight materials, the disc has a circumference of approximately 8.6cm. Even before you add air the disc will fly through the air like a large flying disc. Once air or helium is added, you can make the disc perform unusual tricks with a little bit of practice. It’s reusable and can be inflated and deflated just by using a straw (included) so perfect to pack on camping trips. The Air Spinner comes in assorted colours and patterns. We have the Alien UFO which is super cool and it is so much fun!

The Air Spinner is available from Buzz Retail and is currently reduced to £8.

Storage is key

It can get very messy camping with piles of stuff everywhere. Which, if you’re anything like me, is a little bit stressful! However, there are some amazing pop up camping furniture that doesn’t take up too much space in the car. We bought one of our camping storage units from Amazon and I use one side for food, plates and cups and washing up liquid and the other side for things like board games, towels, etc. It also has a really handy table surface.

Keep your food fresh on the go

Whether you’re out for the day or want to keep your food fresh in the cool box, the ChicoBag snack time bags are ideal to keep food fresh on the go. We always take these camping with us. I can keep tomatoes, salads and cheese fresh ion the bags and they are also perfect to keep sandwiches in when we go out for the day.

By packing your own lunch and not relying on single-use packaged sandwiches you not only save money, but will save unnecessary waste from landfill too. In fact the set replaces 1,825 single-use bags throughout its life. Each set includes three reusable sandwich bags that feature a fold-over, hook-and-loop closure system that expands to fit a full-size sandwich or folds over for smaller snacks. Food-Safe water and a stain-resistant liner make for easy cleaning, so perfect when you’re on a campsite.

The ChicoBag Snack Time Reusable Bags are available from Whitby&Co for £13.95

Make sure you have torches

When you need that 3am visit to the loo in the night (and yes you always do when camping) make sure you’re not falling over guide ropes on the way to the washroom. Bring a torch. Your kids will need torches too and I love this brilliant head torch, the Bot.

Princeton Tec Bot Kids LED Head Torch (the Bot)

The Bot is made out of durable plastics with a single arm bracket and large push button make the head torch sturdy and simple to operate.The battery compartment on the Bot screws shut to ensure that the batteries will not be accidentally accessed by little hands. The Bot’s headstrap is also equipped with a safety buckle that will release under excessive pressure.

It looks super cool and is super fun for your kids to wear and use when camping.

The Bot kids head torch is available from Whitby&Co for £19.95

Discover nature together

When you’re camping it’s the perfect time to learn all about and discover nature. Thats where Brainstorm Toys come in handy with their fabulous Outdoor Adventure range.

Outdoor Adventure Monocular from BrainStorm Toys

Your little ones can discover all kinds of fascinating wildlife up close with this handy monocular. Pocket-size and light weight, it is ideal for outdoor adventures. The monocular has a clear and sharp 7 x magnification with 20mm lens. The break-away safety lanyard allows the monocular to be kept easily at hand whilst you are out and about so perfect to go exploring nature around the campsite or to take with you on a day out.

The Outdoor Adventure Monocular is available from Amazon

Outdoor Adventure Camping Projector

This pocket-sized projector is perfect to take on camping trips. It projects 24 full-colour camp-themed images onto your tent walls and ceilings. It’s easy to use, just turn the lens head to focus and it will project clear and sharp images up to one metre wide. The projector transforms into a campfire night light and the starlight projector creates a magical night sky.

The Outdoor Adventure Camping Projector is available from Amazon for £11.53

Collapsable camping essentials

When you’re camping you need to take a lot of things with you. That’s a fact! However there’s not necessarily a lot of space to take these things – there’s only so much you can squeeze into your car! Hence the collapsable camping essentials are a must!

I have both a collapsible washing up bowl and collapsible kettle. I also have a bowl set that is perfect for cooking and again this is collapsable! I bought all of this from Amazon and it means I can literally pack the kitchen sink without it taking up too much room! This definitely goes on the camping essential list!

Solar Lighting

From fairy lights to camping lanterns, solar lighting is ideal for camping. Leave the panel in the sun whilst you’re out all day and light up your tent in the evening. I love this collapsible lantern from Amazon. You cna also get some nice solar lighting from Ikea.

Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo is great to take with you this year. Just in case the facilities close for Covid-19 reasons, you can take your trusty dry shampoo to keep your hair feeling fresh and clean!

Don’t forget first aid and hand sanitiser!

Of course, what should be on everyone’s camping essentials list, the all important first aid kit for bumps and scrapes and hand sanitiser to keep yourself protected on campsites is a must! A thermometer and Calpol if you have little ones is also essential.

Camping Essentials for 2021

Hopefully this will help you prepare for your camping trip and give you some ideas of how to make your camping trip go smoothly. There is always an element of trial and error but these camping essentials have certainly helped my camping go smoothly so far tis year!