Family camping can be a relaxing and rewarding family experience. You don't have to worry about packing fancy clothes or shoes. You can leave your curling iron and razor at home if you prefer. If you want to drink cowboy coffee you can go right ahead and do this. If the kids want to stay up and sit by the campfire and talk, by all means let them. When we are camping, we often throw out our regular family rules. After all, the whole family is on vacation. Family camping includes spending time together - in which often ends up being very close quarters. Sharing a tent doesn't allow you much privacy. Family camping in a camping trailer isn't much better - there isn't even room to form a line for the family members who are waiting to use the sink. A big key for family camping is to be flexible and practice patience.

Family Camping with Relatives

Once we mastered family camping with our immediate family, we decided to try family camping with some of our relatives. We recommend that  you  go online and look for availability of your two favorite sites and then call your relatives and tell them what you found and all they have to do is quickly call the reservation center or campground and book their site which is right next to ours. This cuts down on the stress level for the entire family when you arrive at the campground. Plan these trips far in advance so the sites are next to each other. This makes it easier for the kids to play together and share the campsites. Sites next to each other also make cooking and eating together a snap.  When our relatives can't make a decision on dates, we simply tell them the dates we decided on and if they want to join us, they need to call in and book the remaining site!

Keep a Sense of Humor

Prepare for a few problems in advance so you can cleverly avoid any disagreements. If you know your relative is probably going to insist the campfire is built in your fire ring so his site and vehicle stay neat and tidy, then unload your large caravan of wood next to his fire ring the minute you get to the campsite - make sure you arrive first. OK, just kidding. If your relative prefers to read a book all day and you prefer to walk, bike, hike - then by all means hide his book when he isn't looking. If you know that it will be a mad dash to the campground to put your name on the best of the sites you lovingly reserved for your relatives who refuse to do this for themselves, then plan to leave before sunrise. Remember to keep a sense of humor when you plan and execute a family camping trip.

All jokes aside, family camping with extended family can be loads of fun. The outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, and exploring nature always take on a new twist when you are with extended family. Our kids look forward to the indoor and outdoor games their cousins stash in their camper. Family camping is enhanced by the good food - again, camping with relatives always sparks some new cuisine. It is fun to pool our food supply which helps make our menus for the trip a bit more interesting.

If possible, family camping should include everyone who wants to go with - often the best stories we hear around the campfire are the stories Grandpa and Grandma share - if we weren't leisurely sitting around the campfire together,  we probably would not have heard some of the stories of their childhood and married life together.

Family camping trips allow you to absorb lots of fresh air and get some healthy exercise. Take advantage of the time your family spends together. To keep everyone happy, we often take a survey to see what each person wants to do. Then we set out and do it! And yes, that can even include taking an afternoon nap if that's what Dad desires. With good communication and cooperation, family camping can be stress-free and enjoyable for the whole family.