Before our trip to Helm Creek we were scrambling to get everything we thought we might need in case of emergency. This put our "packing for comfort" needs at a low priority. I knew that the cabins had plywood bunks, and that you needed to bring your own pads if you didn't want to sleep on the hard bunk...but I didn't really have time to figure something out for the kids. (we had an air mattress for ours...hells yes we packed an air mattress)
As I was doing my last minute Wal-mart run for the trip I realized that a twin sized mattress pad cut in half lengthwise would be a perfect sized mat for my kids. So I picked up the least expensive, which here in Alaska was $11 (usually everything is pricier up here...so it might even be cheaper elswehere). I brought it home, cut it in half and grabbed some old cheap cotton fabrics I picked up at walmart for 25 cents a yard. I just placed the mat on the fabric and eyeballed it, then cut it out and sewed up 3 sides. I put the mat in (like you would insert a comforter into a duvet) and sewed up the top side.
At this point I did something that you don't have to do, but I did it because as a kid I always remember my pillow sliding away from me when I was camping. I folded the pad over and sewed the edge back to the pad, making a pocket for a pillow. I made it the same size as some extra throw pillows I had, then I just slid the pillow in, rolled up the pad and packed it up.
They worked like a charm, the kids were comfy, the pillow stayed put and it only cost me $6.50. Nice. (Plus, as you can see it works well for movie night too!)
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