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Taking your little ones to a festival? Here's what you'll need to pack!
Thinking of taking your kids to a music festival this summer? From ear protectors to the coolest welly boots, we bring you the essential kit list for taking your whole family camping.
If you have toddlers in tow or a new baby strapped to your front, shlepping to a music festival to hang out in a soggy field might sound like a slog. But just because you have kids, it doesn't mean the fun has to stop. And we'll let you in on a secret: festivals are well set up for little people and children absolutely LOVE them.
Plus you get to have a dance and swig on a mojito with UV paint on your face without getting frowned at by strangers. It's a win-win scenario for family summer fun. Keep scrolling for everything you need to bring...
There are a few obvious essentials you should never leave the house without including snacks, wet wipes, water bottles, sunscreen, a first aid kit and hand sanitiser. But the following tips are also worth considering before you hit the festival circuit...
From ear protectors to portable potties, we've rounded up everything you might possibly need to take your kids to a festival this summer...
First things first, when you take your baby to a music festival you're going to need a pair of protective ear muffs to look after their precious eardrums. Admittedly your kid will probably refuse to wear them for longer than half a song. So, you might find you have to avoid the larger sound systems while you have your tot in tow. But if you can persuade them, these are the go-to kit for little ears.
While it's never your intention to take your eyes off your kids for even a second, little legs can move surprisingly fast! So, if you're attending a large festival, you might want to consider tagging them in case they get lost. We love these clever ID bracelets from LittleLife. It's basically a wristband with a secret pocket to store your contact details (and medical information if necessary) and hopefully you'll be reunited before long. Or if you're really anxious, these GPS trackers will help you keep tabs on your whole brood.
The must-have accessory for family camping, go to any kid-friendly festival this summer and you will see a number of these brilliant trolleys. Use it to cart your kids about, carry your mountain of essential kit, and take nap breaks. They might be a bit risky for really small tots, but once your kids are big enough to sit up and move about, they really will save your bacon (and your arms).
Remember that trolley we mentioned? You aren't going to be the first person to think of this. In fact, at kid-friendly festivals you will find a sea of trolleys packed with dozing tots just by the dance floor.
So how do you differentiate your sleeping baby from all the others when it's time to go back to your tent? You need fairy lights people!
But not just any old lights. Opt for something unusual so yours stand out from the pack. We went for light-up shrooms. They'll prevent you from tripping over your own buggy in the dark too. If your kids are old enough to run around, cover them in UV glow sticks so you can spot them too.
On the subject of lighting, have you ever tried to change a nappy in the pitch black with your iPhone balanced on a tent pole? Save yourself a lot of stress and invest in a camping lantern to light the way. We like this eco lamp from Vango that can be charged via the sun or USB. It also comes with a hanging hook to light up the whole tent.
We can't publish a piece about festival essentials without at least once mentioning the dreaded toilet issue. Festivals loos are notoriously icky places and not somewhere you'll want to consider potty training. So get the job done swiftly and hygienically in your tent with these brilliant travel potties from Hippychick.
If you're going to a festival anywhere in the UK, you stand a strong chance of experiencing adverse weather conditions. Fortunately, kids don't mind. With the right kit and some entertainment, even the soggiest little people will enjoy the whole experience. So pop a puddle suit in your suitcase. And always go for bold fabric so that your toddlers are easy to spot in a crowd.
A festival essential for the whole family but especially your little people, don't forget to pack the wellies too. This funky weather-inspired pair from Muddy Puddles will keep your little one's feet warm and dry, plus they have a reflective strip on the back so you can spot them running away! Available in sizes 5 infant up to 5 youth.
All the cool kids wear shades! But they also sit on them, chew them, snap them and lose them at an alarming rate. Protect your little one's precious peepers with these super-cool UVA/UVB sunnies that also happen to have an unbreakable frame. While we can't promise they won't lose them, you kids are less likely to snap them in half.
Camping is seriously exciting for most little people! But if you pitch up after dark in the pouring rain and your kids are overtired and hungry, it can also be a total ball ache. Take the fuss out of bedtime with these brilliant ReadyBeds, which are quite literally, inflatable mattresses with sleeping bags attached. Just blow them up, pop the little ones straight into bed and pour the wine.
If your kids are under three and prone to going walkabout late at night, keep them safely hemmed in with this brilliant travel cot from BabyBjörn. It is at the pricier end of the spectrum, but it assembles in seconds, is incredibly light to carry and the accompanying mattress is just the right thickness to keep your tot cosy in the tent all night long.
Yes, bedding and raincoats and wellies are all essential kit for festival season. But looking super-fly is even more important! So don't forget your rainbow tutu. And you're probably going to need this pompom crown too.
It's perfectly fine to feed your kids nachos and pizza every once in a while. But you will still need a steady supply of refreshing drinks (and milk) to keep them hydrated, plus beer and mojitos for you.
But how do you keep things cool and fresh on the move? With a super-cool mustard coloured 15 litre insulated backpack of course! This one is insulated, lightweight, leak-proof, and made from recycled plastic bottles. Perfect for popping about the festival on a sunny day.
A giant sheepskin rug, at a festival? Bear with us... If it gets chilly at night both you and your sleeping kids will appreciate some real animal fur to snooze on. And for rainy days lounging around the tent it provides the cosiest play mat. And because it's made of real fur, it will retain the heat when it's cold and keep you cool when it's hot. Magic.
While trolleys are great for lugging tired little people around at festivals, if the ground gets muddy (which it definitely will at some point) you're going to need to carry your kids about. And trust us, when your arms are tired and you're gagging for a beer, you will praise the WH gang for reminding you to buy one of these. It also comes with space for snacks, drinks, nappies and a rain hood. You can thank us later.
Sunny? Rainy? Torrential storms? Festival season is unpredictable so it's best to prepare for all weathers with this super cool hat that includes a neck flap for extra hot days. Plus the pineapple print is bold enough to keep your little ones in sight in even the most packed festival field! And best of all the brand is an all-woman team of mamas.
Unless you're blessed with Nanny McPhee skills, then you're probably going to relax your schedule and let your feral kiddies stay up later than usual. But while this is perfectly OK and won't do any lasting damage, the temperature might drop after dark. So you'll appreciate this funky snuggle suit that will instantly warm up chilly tots and make late night trips to the loo (and fireside marshmallow toasting) infinitely more enjoyable too.
All babies look cute in bonnets. This one has ears. Consider it a festival must-have for chilly nights, rainy days and little bunnies bouncing round by the campfire under the stars.
Picnic blankets come in handy for all sorts of reasons at a festival, including their intended mealtime purpose, a safe spot to pop your baby down, a towel for wet toddlers and an impromptu headdress too. We love this recycled blanket from Salt Rock that's colourful and super light.
A blow-up sofa is technically not an essential piece of kit. But if you do have space to pop one in the car, it's worth it. They're not the most sensible camping seat options in the world. But inflating one and jumping around on it like a mini bouncy castle will keep your kids entertained for approximately 30 minutes, which in exhausted parent land is long enough to make a cuppa/pour the wine.
And once the kids are finally in bed? Lie back on your squidgy chair and watch the stars... Plus it's on sale!