Campers

Sure, many of you flew out of town to celebrate the Christmas. We didn't.

Last night, we slept in a waterproof tent at a country park campsite. That's our holiday idea. Oh, and I should mention that our idea of wild camping started with two families, and ended up with the third family joining us impromptu. With that, the fun more than triples.

Call me a fox who doesn't need sour grapes, or just plain jealous, but I do think that the magic of wild camping can bring new angles of holiday option.

If you haven't camped as a family before, let me tell you our tricks.

Before you go, it makes sense to buy or borrow essential camping equipment. Sleeping bag is a must, and I learned this lesson twenty years ago when I was camping without sleeping bags with my classmates (one of whom being my wife now). We did not faint as the temperature dropped after nightfall, because we didn't have time to. We were busy shivering.

Next, prepare for the bedtime rituals, as what your kids would have brought - although we'll never know for sure - when they sleep over at the best friend's place. Our examples included milk bottle, story books, stuffed panda and elephant.

What about food? Never think about haute cuisine. Your best bet in the outdoors (and, remember, in case of torrential rains) is easy-cook food. You won't have much problem with an outdoor gas stove, as a rule of thumb. On that note, here is one of our recipes last night. We cooked some rice, and brought with us seaweed. Kids could then create their own version of sushi.

The lesson? We don't have to bring an oven to roast a turkey, but we need ideas to burn off the kids' excessive energy.