Our family is going camping this weekend!

Each year we take a weekend to go camping with our LifeGroup from church. I have learned all sorts of things from them about camping since we started this tradition a few years ago. As a kid, I never had a legit camping experience that did not include cabins so I was coming into our first camping trip a little lot intimidated.

This will be our fourth year camping together and we added a family to the group since we first started so there will be 19 of us this year! (11 kids, 8 adults) Two years ago I decided to write a post about our experience with camping that included some foods we cooked and some things we brought with us. I thought sharing that post might help others who feel intimidated by the idea of pitching a tent and surviving the great outdoors for several days. If that sounds like you the Camping for Newbies post will be a great place to start.

Camping printables to make packing easy.

Today I am sharing a new set of resources that I thought might be helpful for those of you who will be camping this summer…  Checklists and shopping lists! It never fails, each year we go camping we forget at least one thing, so this year I decided to get more organized in our packing and planning.

As we prepared for our special weekend, the other moms and I went back and forth communicating what we were bringing and how we were going to prepare our foods. Out of those conversations came the idea for a quick list of the things we all agreed we needed for the weekend. Today I will share that list with you, using a few PDF checklists that you can print off. These lists will help you get organized, and feel on top of you game, as you prepare for your camping trip.

15 yummy (and fun) camp foods you and your kids will love.

Before I get to the printables I wanted to bring attention to one more post that might be helpful to you. Sarah and I shared foods we thought were great for camping a couple of years ago. If you are looking for some food ideas that are fun, check out our list of 15 Yummy and Fun Camp Foods that are perfect for any camping trip. Your kid will love these!

Camping Checklist/Shopping List Printables

This checklist can be used as you pack, or it can be used as a way of taking inventory of what you have and what you still need. I am giving you a list that includes all the things we packed and a blank list that you can fill in yourself.

I printed off both the filled list and the blank one. As I went down the list I check marked the things we had.  I wrote the things we still needed on the blank list and that is what I took to the store. I also highlighted the things on the list I would need to remember to grab in the morning before we head out the door. (like our toothbrushes and my make-up) Before we went out the door we double checked the lists one more time.

Alisha’s Ultimate Printable Camping Checklist

I’d like to introduce you to the mother of all camping checklists. Check each item off as you pack it, or as a way of assessing what things you will need.

Here is the blank list. You can write in your own list or you can use it to remember what things you still need to get/pack from the list above.

Camping Grocery List Printables

The next two printables are all about the food. It wouldn’t be camping without yummy food, right? This meal plan/grocery list page will help you not to forget any key ingredients. Start by using the bottom numbered spaces to write in what your planned meals and snacks are. Having those listed first will help to jog your memory when you are in the store trying to remember why you were buying each food.

To get an idea of what ours looked like you can view, or print, our meal planning page below. It’s nothing fancy. We were only going for one weekend and we decided to keep it really simple this year, with tacos, hamburgers, hotdogs, and sandwiches.

What do you think? Is there something that you always pack when you go camping that isn’t on this list? Let us know about it in a comment below!