5 Top Tips for Entertaining kids on a campsite (whatever the weather!)

🎒 5 Top Tips for Entertaining Kids on a Campsite (Whatever the Weather!)

Let’s be honest — camping with kids is amazing but it can go downhill fast if they’re bored, wet, or hangry. Whether you're basking in the sun or stuck in a soggy tent, here are 5 battle-tested tips to keep the little wildlings entertained (and save your sanity).

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1. Embrace the Mud — Pack for Messy Play

Let’s stop pretending we’ll keep them clean. Its one of those parenting anxieties that holds back the fun, learn to embrace it! Wet weather? Perfect. Give them permission to get filthy. Think wellies, waterproofs, and a spare set of everything! Mud kitchens, puddle jumping, water slides— it's all free fun and keeps them occupied for hours. Bonus: they'll sleep like logs.

Top hack: use your camping utensils, they'll get washed anyway! — wooden spoons, spatulas, plastic bowls, upside down pans for drumming - let them set up their own mini bushcraft café and outdoor band! Most importantly have a big rubble sack ready to collect muddy items before returning to camp!.

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2. The ‘Boredom Box’ is Your Best Friend

Pack a weatherproof toy box or bag with:

-Their favorite small toys (for Ollie its dinosaurs and hot wheels!)

-Travel games (Dobble, Uno, magnetic games, bug bingo, scavenger hunts)

-Colouring books & crayons

-Glow sticks or a mini torch (for night walks and all round coolness)

-Cardboard, string, scissors (great for indoor creativity)

Rain or shine, this box saves the day when energy dips or the tent becomes your prison.

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3. Scavenger Hunts (DIY-Style)

You don’t need a printed checklist — parenting is often just 'winging it' scribble down five things for them to find that you know they'll find in the area:

-Something round

-Something soft

-Something that crawls

-Something that smells

-Something they think is treasure

It gets them exploring the site and lets you actually sit down with a cup of something warm. Yes, it works in drizzle too. For something a bit more engaging and for older children check out the free printable woodland trust and Field Studies Councils resources. Just put them through a laminator or map case ready for rain! Woodland Trust resources Field Studies Council resources

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4. Involve Them in Camp Life

Kids love feeling useful. Give them real tasks:

-Help set up the tent (they’ll love using the mallet!)

-Collect firewood (supervised!)

-Stirring the pot or flipping the burgers

-Washing dishes in a bucket

-Being the litter patrol warden, collecting all the rubbish on camp and shouting at messy parents!

It gives them ownership of the experience — and distracts them from whining about ipads and toys. Ollie loves feeling helpful and sitting with us as the sun goes down talking about how good he's been helping out.

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5. Always Have a Rain Plan

Let’s face it: the weather will turn. Have a backup plan that still feels like an adventure.

-Visit a local indoor pool, museum or soft play

- Ollie's favourite is movie time (we pack a mini projector and firestick to project on the van/tent walls, works great with blackout tents)

-Bring books and create a "cosy reading den" or space to play with their "boredom box"in the tent

-Organise a silly talent show night (Ollie loves a performance!)

-Don’t fight the weather. Lean into it, adapt, and remember — the stories are always better when things go a bit wrong.

-A hidden gem for us was paddling pools and water slides, they work so well whatever the weather just have towels ready at the tent entrance when their finished! Sitting indoors with a glass of wine watching the kids play out in the rain provides some great respite!

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Final Thoughts

Camping with kids isn’t about perfection — it’s about freedom, fresh air, and letting go. They won’t remember the itinerary… but they’ll remember how it felt to dance in the rain, toast marshmallows, and explore with their family!

So chuck the screens in the glovebox, trust your gut, and let them run wild (within reason).

☀️🌧️ Whatever the weather, you’ve got this!.

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Follow our chaos and campfire adventures at @letthembewild.adventures for more family-friendly outdoor inspo!