(Things I wished I had known on my 1st
festival!)
Festival season is well and truly upon us…and now the weather has
finally caught up too! YAY! The Urban Meadow are very excited to be going to
that old family favourite Camp Bestival, curated by Radio 1 DJ, Rob Da Bank.
Voted best family festival for 4 years running you are guaranteed to find
everything you need for any age, child or adult, big or
small!
Throughout the Summer, hundreds of festivals of every shape and
form will be held up and down the country including kid friendly ones such as
Solfest in Cumbria, Croissant Neuf Summer Party in Monmothshire and Towersey,
Thame, Oxfordshire. Being seasoned festival goers we thought we would put
together a top ten festival tip of things we wished we knew on our first festi
experience with the kids, so here goes:
1. Boring but practical: baby wipes (lots of!), compact mirror, hand
sanitizer (more than one), suncream, travel potty (useful to avoid the early morning queues!),
wellies/waterproofs.
2. Don’t overpack. I used to do this all the time and found my kids
will try and wear the same outfit for the whole of the festival so just a couple
of changes of clothes will do with an extra spare pair in case it
rains!
3.Trolley/wagon. The best I’ve found is a garden trolley. They are just so
useful on so many levels such as carrying your tent/luggage from the car to the
site, lugging food, drinks and children around in the day. And at night time
just throw in a blanket and sleeping bag for an instant bed for tired and sleepy
children. Allowing you to watch headliner bands late into the night, then just
wheel sleeping children back to the tent.
4. Ear defenders. Essential to protect those little ears while
boogying along at the main stage.5. Snacks, drinks and light meals. It’s really handy to have something for the kids to eat/drink, even when you arrive while setting up your tent/finding your way around. We have found most food at festivals to be of a very high standard but the cost can soon add up. If you can stave off the hunger for a bit with supplies you have brought then a fair bit of money could be saved. If you are able to bring a small stove, you then have the option of making cups of tea/coffee or boiling some water for a quick pasta pesto.
6. Bring enough cash. Machines are usually available on larger
festival sites, however queues can be pretty long by the Sunday, just as the whole
site starts to run out of money. Then there is the chance that the machines will
run out money!
7. Glow sticks. Stack up on a load of these and hand out to the kids
when the sun goes down to guarantee the fun continues long into the night. Great
for entertaining the little ones to the main stage music when it is difficult
for them to see the stage, or too big to go on
shoulders!
8. At tent entertainment. On the odd occasion you find yourself back
at the tent for whatever reason, be it for some chill time, grabbing extra
layers for the evening or in the morning before heading out. Its worth having a small stash of colouring
stuff, games etc for the kids to entertain themselves for a few
hours.
9. Take the time to look around. As many festivals are 2 or 3 days
this gives you plenty of time to see everything so don’t feel you have to rush
around on the first day - you WILL get tired! Plan any bands you want to see then
maybe work around these times to see/explore kids areas and other venues such as
workshops or displays.
10.
Buy a programme. These sometimes seem expensive but in the end are well
worth the money. If you don’t want to miss out on your favourite bands or the
kids favourite show then these are a must to put a bit of order into your
weekend timetable.
I hope you find some use in the tips provided. Most are simple but
might just help to make the whole experience even better. The main thing is to
just enjoy!
Claire x
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