Our Big Little Tent Festival 2016 highlights
Last weekend we enjoyed a lot of time outdoors. This isn’t anything unusual for the Tin Box family, but what was different was that we spent the time in our own garden. This happy event was thanks to Big Little Tent Festival.
The festival is an idea from The Caravan Club to encourage families to get outside and enjoy time together away from television screens and computer games. Garden festivals are happening all over the country right up until Sunday 18 September 2016. As well as providing free festival packs for families to stage their own tent event The Caravan Club is also offering some great prizes, including a camping holiday in France.
We are Big Little Tent Festival blogger ambassadors, so the pressure was on to stage a really fun event. Here’s how we did – I hope you’re inspired to have your own garden festival.
Pitching up for Big Little Tent Festival
With the luxury of setting up camp in our own back garden we decided to pitch our tent the weekend before our festival. When I say ‘we’, I mean Mr Tin Box as this Youtube video demonstrates. What a trooper!
Our weekend outdoors
Rather than have a day festival we spread ours out across the weekend, starting on Friday afternoon.
This was when the girls and I decorated our festival site. Tin Box Tot made some of her own bunting and we jazzed up the garden with the flags supplied by The Caravan Club.
The girls were already enjoying dashing in and out of the tent as well as performing some of their favourite songs on the ‘main stage’. Take a look at the short video I tweeted on the day.
First up on the #BigLittleTentFest16 main stage, it’s Tin Box Tot…and a stage invasion! #camping #familytime pic.twitter.com/nVDwJXtwOL
— Tin Box Traveller (@TinBoxTraveller) July 29, 2016
On the Saturday of our festival we continued to decorate, adding what some might consider to be an obscene number of fairy lights to our tent. However as they were all solar powered we let ourselves off. Besides, Tin Box Dog was a big fan.
Fun and games during the day included playing with garden toys, taking turns on our tree swing and splashing in the paddling pool.
That evening, after the girls had gone to bed we got the full impact of the fairy lights. Doesn’t the tent look pretty? Oh, and Mr Tin Box and I might have had a cheeky vino to toast the weekend.
On Sunday morning the girls were up bright and early, eager to play outdoors again. This is when we got out the mega bubbles. We’d seen street buskers using bubble wands when we visited Barcelona a couple of months earlier. After a tiny bit of Googling I found some in time for our Big Little Tent Festival. This entertained Tin Box Tot and Baby for ages, either making bubbles for themselves or chasing them around the garden.
I have to confess, we didn’t sleep in our tent. The call of our beds inside was too much at the end of each day, especially during a weekend when Tin Box Baby was cutting a molar. Ouch! However, without the Big Little Tent Festival I doubt we would have spent half the time we did in the garden last weekend. It was a fantastic way to encourage the girls to play outdoors and for us all to enjoy a bit of family time without rushing about and spending a lot of money.
Inspired to pitch up and party?
Holding your own Big Little Tent Festival is really easy. You don’t need a fancy tent – last year we did it with a beach shelter – and you can apply to The Caravan Club for a free festival pack. This in itself gets you entered into a prize draw, so there’s really nothing to lose.
If you need some more inspiration check out my tips for throwing a garden festival.
I’d love to hear about your Big Little Tent Festival plans or have you already held one? Let me know!
Disclosure: I’ve written this post as part of my role as a Big Little Tent Festival ambassador. All views are my own and those of my family.
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Love this!! Love those fairy lights too! We’re not a very outdoorsy family tbh but this definately appeals to me…I’d love to get us outdoor more but like the idea of being (very) close to home!x
This is a good way to dip your toe in the outdoor lifestyle 🙂
Wow! Mr Tinbox put the tent up very speedily! Looks like you a great festival in your back idea and I love how you decorated the tent with the lights. Like you say a great idea for encouraging you to get outside in the garden 🙂 #thelist
Emma recently posted…Early evening on Gorey beach with fish and chips
I did speed him up a bit 🙂 but he did do a great job. I’m so glad it was’t down to me!
This is such a cute idea – I don’t think you can ever have too many fairy lights either!
Cathy (MummyTravels) recently posted…A love letter to the Great British seaside
Phew! I’m glad about that 🙂
Love, love, love your glowing tent picture. Sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate the big little tent festival. I admit that I have also pitched a tent in the backyard and then sneaked back inside to enjoy my cozy bed. #countrykids
It’s just too tempting 🙂
Now this is my style of camping, all the fun of the tent and garden games in the day and a nice cozy bed and en suite at night! A great initiative by the caravan club though and totally Country Kids style. I love the big bubbles and the look of the tent all dressed up in the evening with lights and bunting.
Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids
Fiona Cambouropoulos recently posted…Goat Carrying Like Babes In Arms
The big bubbles were a highlight for me too 🙂
What a pretty tent! Even I quite fancy a camp in this! #countrykids
Fairy lights make all the difference 😉
What a great idea and lots of fun. You can never have too many fairy lights! #countrykids
Rachel @ Coffee, Cake, Kids recently posted…Blowing Dandelions #MySundayPhoto
I’m glad you agree 🙂
Really love this and the tent with all the fairy lights. Gorgeous pictures and everyone, including the dog look so happy.
We had a lot of fun, particularly Tin Box Dog who loved having the ball thrown for her a lot 🙂
I love your tent and all the colors & lights by the door!
I dont have a garden so I am so jealous of yours and how it can accomodate that tent! Who needs to go far when you have a spacious garden and a lovely family to camp with . I also have those buntings and I am just looking around from friends when I can find a real small tent so that we can camp on our terrace =)
#countrykids
Merlinda Little (Glimmer of Hope) recently posted…Jump
We used a beach shelter last year. It doesn’t have to be too complicated if you’re just doing it for fun. An old sheet would do the job of a tent nicely 🙂
I absolutely love this post!! Such gorgeous photos and great videos, looks like so much fun! The tent looks amazing too with all the pretty fairy lights 🙂 #countrykids
Thanks Steph 🙂