Never Camped

Shelter - the van and sleeping bags, a lantern or good flashlight
Clothes - something for everyone for a range of temps
Food - bring a cooler and almost any kind of food you want, something to carry water in
Entertainment - the great outdoors, flashlights for the kids, sticks to put marshmallows on to roast, a couple of toys like balls for playing outside
Safety - a first aid kit and a cell phone

My biggest mistake camping is usually bringing a little too much stuff.

dont forget bug spary and sunscreen

Lots of hand towels. You will go through a lot. If you private messenge me your email address I will forward you a list that my coworkers uses to go camping. She is an organized freak! LOL

can opener, fire wood, matches or lighter....flash lights and batteries...bug spray/insect repellent...sleeping bags....

I take it this means Geiger is all better?!?! YAY!!!!

Hamburgers and hot dogs are good and easy...since you can't have gluten - maybe you can "go bunless"? :)

Don't forget the S'mores!!! Can't go camping without S'mores!!!

I think you'll have a blast!! ENJOY!!!

- Air mattress in case tent and van aren't cutting it
- Folding chairs
- Toilet Paper
- Wet wipes
- battery powered fan and batteries
- First aid kit
- sunscreen and bug spray
- Toothpaste n toothbrush
- I wouldn't bother with other toiletries like shampoo unless you plan to stay for a week and there is a place to shower.
- Tool to pound in stakes if taking tent
- backpacks
- candles or lamps of some sort
- games for kids
- matches
-plastic forks n knives and a can opener
- tons of ziploc plastic bags to put dirty things in, your toothbrush, etc.
- plates
- trash bags

Make sure you bring enough flashlights for everyone to have one. I usually bring 2 or 3 lanterns as well. If you have headlamps that will strap around your head, those are great and keep your hands free.

Extra pair of shoes and socks. If your feet get wet, you will want to be able to change out of the wet socks.

Scarlett has a pretty good list. Trash bags and some way to tie them up in a tree or high so that animals won't get into them. If you do end up in the tent, don't bring food in the tent.

I grew up being dragged on camping trips, and my advice is to get a hotel. Seriously, we spend our lives trying not to be homeless, so why go on vacation and pretend to be homeless? (And buy hundreds of dollars' worth of gear to accomplish the homelessness.) I don't know. Maybe I'm missing how camping is so great, but every time I have ever gone, I've just been pissed off to have to sleep somewhere uncomfortable, feeling grimy and stinky and slapping mosquitoes the whole time, and it never ends up being cheaper than going on a real vacation. I have always had a better time staying in a hotel, where I can start the day feeling clean, then go hiking, play in the lake, have a campfire, and then go back to the hotel, where there is a hot shower and a real bed. But maybe that's just me.

You might want to look back in my questions, I asked this I think last summer or so. Our first trip did not go very well, so I posted about camping trips from hell and mamas shared crazy stories so you may want to read those too! Good luck!!

OMG...I'll pray for you! haha I think you're either the "camping" type or not. I'm definitely the latter!
Smore stuff maybe? And some snaps!

Food:

With a heavy cast iron skillet, you can cook just about anything over the fire. If you're at a campground, many permanent fire rings have grates that you can place over the fire to rest a pan on. You have to be really careful about moving the skillet around to control the heat, but it works. There's nothing like bacon and eggs over the fire in the morning! We also like to do thick-style canned chili over the fire...Just open the cans and set them on the grate. Stir occasionally, and eat directly from the can.

Also, if you want to buy a little gear, camper pies are a blast. You take bread (the size and shape of good old wonder bread works best...but I'm sure you could find a GF alternative for yourself), make a sandwich (we use pizza sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese), and coat the outside with soft butter or margarine. Put it in a pie iron from the sporting goods store, and cook in the fire until the bread is toasty and sealed into a pocket. For a dessert pie, fill with your favorite pie filling. Yum!

And remember trash bags and eating utensils. If you're going easy, bring all disposable. If you need to wash dishes, you'll want to bring a way to boil water, a couple of dishpans (one for washing and one for rinsing), and some dishsoap and towels.