Camping is one of the best and most thrilling summer activities, even more so during the current circumstances. With glamping at home, you can have a fantastic glamping experience with all of the comforts of home….right next door. So here’s our 11 amazing garden glamping ideas.
So you want to try the glamping experience but maybe don’t want to jump in with both feet for the first time. Well, here’s your chance to pitch a tent in your back garden and enjoy this garden glamping with your loved ones. This luxury camping is also perfect for special occasions like wedding parties, birthdays, and even at live events for hire.
It’s easy enough to get started; you can borrow a friends tent and pitch in your garden or find a tarp somewhere. However, it’s called glamping for a reason. To make the most out of your glamping experience, you’ll want to have all the right equipment…and we’re not just talking about the drinks.
Glamping Equipment
If you want to splash the cash for your glamp, there are numerous high-quality types of bell tents from Cotswold, Omeara or Amazon. You will also need some of the following items for your glamp
- Cushions
- Bedding such as duvets & pillows for a good nights sleep
- A rug or similar to sit on
- Blankets
- Bunting & Fairy ….just because
- A table or something to put the wine, cookies and other hot or cold snacks
You can find out more about what you need for glamping here
Hire A Bell Tent
Bell tents are the best glamping tent because they epitomise luxury camping. They offer loads of space; they are warm and sturdy in windy weather. Bell tents are an excellent midpoint between a tent and safari tents, yurts and pods.
Spacious though they are, they can be a bit heavy and bulky.
You can either buy or hire a bell tent. We would do the latter as you don’t need to worry about where to put it afterwards.
If you don’t fancy organising this all by yourself, then we recommend you get someone else to set it all up for you, so you have to turn and welcome your friends and/or family for a night of fun. Several companies are offering to come and set you up with a Bell tent and all that you’ll need.
Glamping Hire Northern Ireland
Glamping Hire Dublin
Glamping Hire Cork
Glamping At Events & Festivals
If you want to take an extra step with lockdowns easing and events starting back up, then you could combine glamping at your next gig or festival. Explore 54 offer glamping options at several events and festivals…..they even do weddings to from what we’ve heard. Check them out
Glamping At Home Tips
Whether you are looking to brave it and get everything set up for yourself or you are getting someone in to help you with the equipment and set up, here are our 11 best tips to make your first flapping experience amazing
Find the best spot for Garden glampingWhether you are pitching a traditional type tent in your garden, a bell tent, or any luxury bell tent, and it is essential to choose an excellent site for the night.
Ideally, you want to set up your tent in a flat, dry part of the garden, not under any trees. Your tent should be away from anything that is going to annoy you or wake you in the middle of the night, aka the central heating boiler outlet or the neighbour’s dog kennel
Create A Place to Relax
Garden glamping should be comfortable and have space for relaxing. So, you could gather and bring your bedding like cushions or softest pillows, including your blankets and bed linen, to your bell tent.
Arrange your comfy pillows, cushions and bedding properly to create a cosier appearance from the inside of your tent. You could also create a comfortable seating area by placing deck loungers or even a hammock inside (Yes, we own a hammock).
Prepare a Feast
Just because it’s out in the back garden doesn’t mean it has to be tinned food or ration packs. Prepare a feast that you and your friends will enjoy. If, like us, when you glamp at home, you don’t fancy cooking, you can always order takeaway, or you may opt to prepare the perfect platter of foods yourself from a BBQ. Whichever you choose, you will love eating outside in the warmth of a summer evening.
Once your feast has cooked, or arrived, prepare them on your tables and let everyone dig in.
Dress Your Dining Table
It wouldn’t be glamping without a glamorous setting; dress up your dining table to be a bit more special. You use a white cloth to cover the tables, put some tea lights and other decorations on it, and some flowers. We saved our old jars and used them for drinks, weigh down the napkins with stones from the beach and put the tea lights in some old tins.
As its outside it may not be worth bringing out the best china and silver cutlery, so we found these disposable bamboo dining set that not only looks pretty good but is eco friendly
Bring the Drinks
You will surely enjoy backyard camping and make your garden glamping memorable by creating a mini bar in your bell tent.
You may add some sassy outdoor-themed cocktails in jugs or just some mocktails in bottles. You could also try DIY wine tasting. Get a minimum of four bottles of wine, notepaper and pens, water and delicious snacks like cheese, charcuterie and grapes.
Whatever you choose, we highly recommend you get everything out that you need, so you don’t have to get up again. We have a Bar Tending kit and ice bucket that we got last Christmas, a godsend for parties and BBQs.
Garden Games Night
Several games are excellent outdoors. And these games will make your night livelier and more enjoyable.
Some games you may consider during your garden clamping are:
Glow-in-the-Dark Bowling
Kids can play this bowling game day or night, so the fun never has to stop. All you need are water bottles, glow sticks, and your ball of choice.
Creepy Crawly Finder
The benefits of kids spending time outdoors, exploring their surroundings are endless. See what you can find in the comfort of your garden. You could include a:
- Stick
- Flowers (unpicked!)
- Feathers
- Birds nest
- Leaf
- Berries
- Butterfly
Build A Ninja Warrior Trial
Build an obstacle course in the garden to help kids burn off excess energy. You can make it as difficult as you please and because you’re using household/garden items. Plant pots, footballs, hula hoops, tables and skipping ropes are just a few things you could use.
Do A Tik-Tok Dance
TikTok has taken off, especially with kids. Download the app and choose some family-friendly dances or songs to learn with your troop. Upload them onto TikTok and share them with your family and friends.
Decorate Your Surroundings
For an authentic Garden glamping experience, you’ll want to decorate your bell tent. Some of our favourite accessories include:
- Bunting – Don’t Just got for plain old bunting push the boat out
- Fairy lights – go for solar-powered
- LED lamps – For when the sun goes down, but you don’t want to.
- Bluetooth speaker (be mindful of your neighbours, of course)
Glamp Up Your Sleeping Area
This is meant to be an enjoyable experience, so sleeping in a cold, wet, or just uncomfortable area will ruin your night and most likely put you off doing it again. So make sure you make where you and your friends are going to sleep as comfy as possible, also throw up some fairy lights. We highly recommend using air beds in your bell tents. We have a couple of air beds with built-in pumps. Forget about sleeping bags; add luxury some bedding to decorate the whole bell tent.
This is Garden glamping! Instead, bring along your duvet from home. Be sure to have a bright and fresh duvet cover to fit with the rest of your decor; splash out on a cosy camping quilt its a more practical and hardy option that you can take outside, too.
Are You Not Entertained
While playing some games and having a few drinks is great, why not up the ante, bring out a projector, and put up a screen for an easy way to binge your favourite Netflix series while enjoying your garden glamping? Hang an old bedsheet, or even an outdoor projector screen, from a fence or washing line. You can even use the side of your house for your projector wall.
String Up Some Bunting
Mainly because we love bunting (maybe something to do with living in NI). By adding different types of stylish bunting and fairy lights around your tents, you can enhance the overall view and appearance of your beds or home comforts. Thus, you can instantly bring garden glamping to the next level.
Create a perfect chill-out area during garden glamping
Having extra time to chill out is the best part of glamping in your garden. Garden glamping at home should be a relaxing activity; so, you can spend the time relaxing. Put all your gadgets inside for a digital detox, read and pamper yourself with a face mask.
Glamping allows you to switch off and be entirely in the present. By being mindful, there’s no reason why you can’t turn your at-home glamping experience into a soothing wellness retreat. Enjoy the bunting fluttering in the wind or the fairy lights.
