We’re starting July with our favorite family tradition: camping.
It’s actually a series of trips, first a fourth of July weekend trip to Dodge Park with four other families (call us crazy to take 5 two year olds, a 4 yo, and two 5 yo to the woods!). Then the kids and my Twin Sis and I are headed to the Oregon Country Fair, including a memorial service for our father. Meanwhile, Hubby will be taking another solo vacation to mentor teens on a backpacking trip in the Olympics.
I’ve already written plenty about the logistics of family camping in previous posts:
Group camping is far more affordable and feasible than planning a group vacation. With our five family gathering over two nights no one has to cook more than once! Plus, there are more eyes and hands to go around, and we were truly smart this time and invited aunts/uncles without kids of their own…built-in kid entertainers 🙂 Each family will easily spend less than $100 for a full weekend including camp fees, food and gas…although gas seems to get higher and higher, good thing our destination is less than an hour from town.
Our kids truly love camping, and camping is really the best way to get out in nature. I also think its the best way to really share family time and to get together with other families. The truth is that if you have friends over for dinner/playdate, the max you’ll hang out is about three hours, which is just enough to catch up. Camping together really allows families to reconnect and bond. Growing up, we had several families who we only ever saw for annual camping trips and they are the family friends I am the closest with now. Family camping is a tradition that virtually every family can afford and the memories are priceless.
Hence, I won’t be posting until the week after next…enjoy your holiday!
Does your family save money by camping?
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Sustainable Family Finances
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You make excellent points about camping – I’m going to redouble my efforts to make sure my kids get to go more often. So good to get them connected to nature.
Also, must mention another husband-related thing I noticed in the post: do you also get to take solo vacations, or does he just reserve this privilege for himself? Seems a bit odd to go mentor other children while leaving you alone with the kids. I hope that you also get a break without the kids. This would also be good for the children in terms of avoiding teaching them traditional gender roles and ensuring that their father is just as comfortable spending full-time with them as their mother is.
@ Martha…I haven’t done any guest posts, not sure if I’m into them, although I hear they are a good way to network with other bloggers. Email me at Sustainablefamilyfinances@gmail.com and let me know the specifics of the kind of post you’d like to write.
@ Anon…For now I’ve chosen to go the Fair with the kids, but once get a little bit older (last year Girly was still nursing) I plan to take a few solo vacations of my own, probably with my sis…want to learn to scuba dive…for now I’m glad he’s able to mentor teens on backpacking trips and we all enjoy reconnecting afterward.
Nice to have a family camping,sounds fun & exciting!