You do not need to travel to a remote campsite to give the children their first taste of camping. Sometimes the best family adventures are waiting just outside the back door. Camping in the garden with kids is inexpensive, easy to organise and reassuringly close to familiar beds and bathrooms. It can make an ordinary summer evening feel special without the packing, driving or campsite fees that come with a conventional trip.
Camping in the Garden With Kids
A garden campout is also an excellent trial run for a future family camping holiday. You can practise pitching the tent, test everyone’s sleeping bags and discover which supposedly essential items nobody actually uses. Here is everything you need to plan a comfortable, memorable and safe night under canvas at home.
Why go camping in your own garden?
Children rarely care that the tent is only a few metres from the house. Sleeping somewhere unusual, staying outside after dark and waking up on the lawn can feel like a real expedition.
Garden camping offers several practical advantages:
- It costs very little
- There is no journey to organise
- Your bathroom is nearby
- Forgotten items are easy to retrieve
- You can abandon the plan if the weather deteriorates
- Nervous children can return to their own beds
- It provides a low-pressure introduction to camping
- You can test equipment before a longer trip
- Food preparation is easier
- It works well as a summer-holiday activity
You can make the campout as simple or elaborate as you like. A tent, sleeping bags and a bedtime story may be enough. Alternatively, you can plan themed food, outdoor games and a full evening of activities.
What age is suitable for camping in the garden?
There is no single ideal age. The best time depends on the child, the weather and the adults supervising them.
Preschoolers may enjoy spending the evening in the tent before returning to their normal beds. Primary-school-aged children are often old enough to help with the preparations and are more likely to manage a full night outside.
Babies and toddlers can camp too, but their sleeping arrangements require careful consideration. They need an age-appropriate sleep space and suitable bedding rather than being surrounded by loose duvets, pillows and sleeping bags intended for older children.
If you are unsure how a young child will react, start with an afternoon tent picnic or an evening campout. There is no rule saying everyone must remain outside until morning.
Choose the right night
The flexibility to choose the weather is one of the biggest advantages of camping at home.
Check the forecast for:
- Overnight temperature
- Rain
- Wind speed and gusts
- Thunderstorms
- Humidity
- Very hot conditions
- The temperature around sunrise
A dry, relatively calm evening is ideal. Remember that temperatures can fall considerably overnight, even after a warm day.
If strong winds or thunderstorms are forecast, postpone the campout. The Met Office advises waiting for conditions to improve when wind and rain could make pitching dangerous and warns against camping beneath overhanging or potentially unstable branches.
Garden camping should feel fun rather than like an endurance test. Choosing another night is much easier than trying to persuade cold, wet children that they are enjoying themselves.
Find the safest place for your tent
Choose a flat, dry section of lawn where water will not collect if it rains.
Before pitching, check the ground for:
- Stones
- Sticks
- Animal mess
- Sharp objects
- Thorny plants
- Ant nests
- Holes
- Garden tools
- Slugs and snails
- Very uneven ground
Avoid pitching directly beneath large branches. Keep the tent away from ponds, swimming pools, barbecues, fire pits, sheds, glass greenhouses and items children could climb.
Think about the route between the tent and the house too. Children may need the toilet during the night, so make sure the path is clear and can be lit without using a naked flame.
If possible, position the tent where the early morning sun will not hit it immediately. Tents can become surprisingly warm once the sun rises.
Practise pitching the tent
Set the tent up during daylight rather than waiting until the children are tired.
Read the instructions first and check that you have:
- The tent
- All poles
- Pegs
- Guylines
- A groundsheet, if separate
- A mallet
- Any required repair pieces
Children can help sort the poles, hold fabric and pass over pegs. Keep them away while an adult uses the mallet, and make sure pegs and guylines remain visible once the tent is erected.
Bright ribbons or reusable markers can make guylines easier to spot. This is especially helpful during excited evening games and sleepy trips back to the house.
Keep the tent doors closed when nobody is entering or leaving. This reduces the number of insects joining you for the night.
What do you need for camping in the garden?
Garden camping does not require an enormous collection of specialist equipment. Start with what you already own and borrow larger items if this is your first attempt.
Essential garden camping equipment
You will need:
- A weather-appropriate tent or secure garden shelter
- Sleeping mats or inflatable camping mattresses
- Suitable sleeping bags or bedding
- Pillows, if normally used
- Warm layers
- Torches or battery-powered lanterns
- Water bottles
- Any regular medication
- A basic first-aid kit
- A fully charged phone
- Shoes that are easy to put on
- Access to the house
A sleeping mat provides both padding and insulation from the ground. A pile of blankets may feel soft initially, but the cold ground underneath can make everyone uncomfortable later.
Useful extras
You might also appreciate:
- Camping chairs
- A picnic blanket
- Eye masks
- Earplugs for adults
- A favourite teddy
- A bedtime book
- An indoor and outdoor thermometer
- A power bank
- A lidded container for snacks
- A bag for rubbish
- A spare set of dry clothes
- A small brush for cleaning the tent
- Battery-powered fairy lights
Avoid relying on phone torches. Individual torches make the experience more exciting for children and leave your phone available for communication.
How to make a tent comfortable for children
An uncomfortable first night can put children off camping before they have really begun.
Lay out the sleeping spaces before the evening activities start. Make sure there is enough room for everyone to lie down without pressing against the sides of the tent.
The most useful layers are:
- A tent groundsheet
- A camping mat or suitable mattress
- An appropriately rated sleeping bag
- Comfortable sleepwear
- Warm socks and an extra layer within reach
Do not place ordinary electric blankets, extension leads or household heaters inside the tent.
Keep bedding away from the tent walls because condensation can make it damp. Store spare clothing in a sealed bag so that it remains dry.
If children are likely to wriggle off their mats, fit the sleeping spaces closely together or use larger mats that cover more of the floor.
What should children wear?
Choose sleepwear according to the forecast rather than the daytime temperature.
Useful options include:
- Breathable pyjamas
- Warm socks
- A fleece or sweatshirt
- A lightweight hat if the night is genuinely cold
- A dry change of clothes
Avoid overdressing children or placing too many heavy blankets on them in warm weather. Tents can retain heat, particularly when several people are sleeping inside.
Pack the clothes they will need in the morning too. Damp grass and a chilly sunrise can make sandals and yesterday’s shorts less appealing than they seemed the previous afternoon.
Easy food for a garden campout
There is no need to buy a camping stove when the kitchen is nearby.
A picnic-style dinner keeps the evening relaxed and can be prepared in advance. Options include:
- Sandwiches and wraps
- Homemade pizza
- Pasta salad
- Vegetable sticks and dips
- Sausage rolls
- Corn on the cob
- Jacket potatoes
- Fruit skewers
- Popcorn
- Trail mix
- Flapjacks
- Hot chocolate
Keep perishable food refrigerated until it is time to eat. Return leftovers to the kitchen rather than leaving food inside the tent, where it could attract insects or animals.
For breakfast, try pastries, fruit, yoghurt, toast or breakfast muffins. You can eat outside while the morning is still cool or retreat to the kitchen if everyone needs a more civilised start.
Can you have a campfire in the garden?
A real campfire is unnecessary and may be unsafe or unsuitable in a domestic garden.
If you use a barbecue or fire pit, it must be legal and appropriate for your space. Position it on a stable, non-flammable surface well away from the tent, fences, trees, sheds, children and pets. Keep water or sand nearby and supervise it continuously.
Never take a barbecue, camping stove, heater, charcoal burner or other fuel-burning device into a tent. This applies even after the flames appear to be out. Smouldering fuel can continue producing deadly carbon monoxide.
London Fire Brigade advises keeping barbecues well away from tents and other combustible objects. It also warns never to place a barbecue or charcoal burner inside a tent or another enclosed space.
Use battery-powered lanterns rather than candles.
For a safer version of toasted marshmallows, prepare them in the kitchen or serve chocolate-covered marshmallows and biscuits as an unheated camping treat.
Garden camping activities for kids
The build-up to bedtime is what makes camping in the garden memorable.
Create a nature scavenger hunt
Write a list of things to find without removing or harming them. Depending on your garden, the list could include:
- A feather
- Something yellow
- A spider web
- A smooth stone
- A leaf with jagged edges
- A flying insect
- Something that smells pleasant
- An animal footprint
- Three different shades of green
Children can photograph or draw each item rather than collecting it.
Make a campsite sign
Use cardboard to name your temporary campsite. Children could add rules, opening hours and directions to the tent.
Eat dinner outdoors
Spread out a blanket or use camping chairs. Even familiar food feels different when eaten beside a tent.
Play traditional garden games
Try:
- Hide-and-seek
- Beanbag throwing
- Boules
- Skittles
- Frisbee
- Ring toss
- Treasure hunts
- Charades
- Simon Says
Finish running games before the light becomes poor and move any equipment away from the guylines.
Go on a torch walk
Once it becomes dark, explore the garden with torches. Look for moths, listen for nocturnal animals and notice how familiar spaces change at night.
Keep the garden gate locked and establish clear boundaries before starting.
Tell stories
Take turns adding one sentence to a shared story. Using funny rather than frightening stories is a wise choice if you would like everyone to sleep afterwards.
Look at the stars
Lie on a blanket and look for the moon, bright stars and passing satellites. A stargazing app can help identify what is visible, although a complicated astronomy lesson is not essential.
Cloudy skies do not ruin the activity. Listen to nighttime sounds or watch clouds move instead.
Hold a silent listening challenge
Ask everyone to remain quiet for one minute and count how many different sounds they hear. Compare lists afterwards.
Play cards or compact games
Keep a pack of cards or a travel game ready for the period between getting into the tent and settling down.
How to handle bedtime
Do not expect children to follow their normal bedtime perfectly. The novelty, light and unfamiliar sounds may make it harder for them to settle.
Keep the familiar parts of the bedtime routine where possible:
- Brush teeth
- Use the toilet
- Change into pyjamas
- Read a story
- Cuddle a favourite toy
- Say goodnight in the usual way
Reduce exciting activities as bedtime approaches. A torch-lit disco immediately before sleep is unlikely to produce a calm tent.
Explain beforehand that garden sounds are normal. Birds, foxes, cats, traffic and neighbours may all be more noticeable through thin tent fabric.
Agree on the arrangement for toilet trips and show children how to unzip the tent. An adult should accompany young children back to the house.
What if a child wants to sleep indoors?
Let them.
The purpose of garden camping is to create an enjoyable family experience, not to pass a test. A child who feels cold, frightened or unwell should be able to return to the house without being teased or made to feel that they have failed.
You could:
- Allow them to sleep inside while other family members continue
- Move everyone indoors
- Let them enjoy the evening but skip the overnight stay
- Try again on another date
- Set up an indoor camp in the living room
Some children need more than one attempt before they are comfortable sleeping in a tent. Ending the night early can preserve the positive parts of the experience.
Camping in the garden without a tent
You can still create a camping-themed evening if you do not own a tent.
Options include:
- Borrowing a tent from friends or family
- Building a temporary daytime den
- Using a gazebo with appropriate sides for an evening activity
- Creating an indoor tent beside open patio doors
- Holding a garden picnic followed by sleeping indoors
- Using a small pop-up play tent for stories rather than overnight sleep
A blanket den is not necessarily safe or weatherproof enough for sleeping outdoors. Do not improvise an overnight shelter that could collapse, trap heat or become dangerous in wind or rain.
Garden camping in a small outdoor space
A large lawn is helpful but not essential.
If you have a small secure courtyard or patio, you may be able to create an evening camp using:
- A compact pop-up tent
- Camping chairs
- Outdoor cushions kept dry
- Battery-powered lanterns
- A picnic dinner
- Stargazing before sleeping indoors
Only pitch a tent on a hard surface if it is designed to be secured safely there. Do not leave an unsecured tent where wind could lift it.
Families without private outdoor space can create a camping evening indoors, then plan a visit to a proper campsite when practical.
How to be considerate of neighbours
Tents do not block sound, and voices carry further at night.
Tell close neighbours about the campout if it is likely to affect them, particularly if children will be outside later than usual.
Keep music low, bring noisy games to an end at a reasonable hour and avoid placing the tent directly beside a shared boundary where possible.
Once the children are settling down, switch to quiet stories and conversation. A garden campout can be exciting without becoming an all-night garden party.
A garden camping safety checklist
Before bedtime, check that:
- The weather remains suitable
- The tent is securely pitched
- Guylines and pegs are visible
- The route to the house is clear
- The garden gate is locked
- Ponds and pools are inaccessible
- Tools and chemicals are securely stored
- Food has been removed from the tent
- No candles or flames are being used
- Barbecues are completely out and remain well away
- Everyone has suitable bedding and clothing
- Torches are working
- A phone is charged
- Children know where the adults are sleeping
- Pets cannot jump onto or damage the tent
Do not lock the house in a way that prevents campers from getting back inside quickly.
What if it rains?
A little rain can sound cosy on a properly pitched waterproof tent, but there is no benefit in continuing if bedding becomes wet or the weather feels unsafe.
Before the campout:
- Check the forecast
- Test the tent if it has been stored for a long time
- Keep the groundsheet inside the tent footprint
- Avoid low points where water gathers
- Store spare clothes in waterproof bags
- Have an indoor backup plan
If thunder is heard, move everyone into the house. The Met Office advises staying indoors as much as possible during a thunderstorm rather than sheltering beneath trees or other structures that could be struck.
Make the morning feel special
The adventure does not have to end as soon as everyone wakes up.
Have breakfast outside, take a family photograph and ask each child to rate the experience. What did they enjoy? What should you pack next time? Would they like to try a campsite?
Allow the tent to dry completely before packing it away. Trapped moisture can cause mildew and unpleasant smells.
Check that all pegs have been removed from the lawn and clear away rubbish, food and activity materials.
Is camping in the garden worth it?
Camping in the garden gives children the excitement of an overnight adventure without taking the family far from home.
It is affordable, flexible and easy to adapt. You can make it a full camping experience, use it to test equipment for a future holiday or simply enjoy dinner and stories in the tent before returning indoors.
Choose a calm, dry night, prepare comfortable beds and keep all flames and fuel-burning equipment away from the tent. Most importantly, remain flexible. If everybody lasts until morning, wonderful. If the adventure ends with the family carrying pillows back into the house at midnight, it still counts.
That is the joy of camping at home: the adventure is real, but your own bed is never far away.
Other Posts
Games to Play with 14 Month Old
How to Raise a Curious Child Who Loves to Learn