Camping with a toddler is hilarious and tiring or at least it is with our busy guy. So on the last day I took stock of what we brought that was so valuable on a week long road trip living in a van.

1) Kiddie Laptop (source here) - This is our secret weapon.  We save it for meals out or long drives so it is a prized toy in our home.  This lap top plays music, the alphabet and animal games.  It kept him entertained for at least 3 hours of our 7+ hour drive. I owe it my sanity.

2) Lollacup - our favourite cup (here) made sure Theo was always hydrated

3) Ball - entertainment at the campsite and the beach, we couldn’t have survived without this ball. 

4) Run Bike - the family friendly campground we stayed at had lots of safe roads for run biking and the more rustic campsite made for great off-roading adventures (bike here).

5) Bubbles - enough said

6) Small Toys - We brought a couple of cars that kept him occupied and bought a rubbery dinosaur on the road that was a big hit mostly because it was new.  I would definitely recommend buying a small new toy on the road or saving one for half way through that they haven’t seen before.

7) Stickers  - Lifesavers! Seriously, we brought some stickers and ran out on the first trip down so we picked up this Melissa and Doug (here) pack of reusable stickers that got us through the rest of our trip.