My husband and I have a great story (and by “great” I mean it always makes me laugh) about a time when we went camping together and he took it upon himself to set up tent all on his own and then spent the weekend complaining to me about how hard it was to set up. And I spent the weekend telling him he should’ve waited for help. This is how you build a solid foundation for a marriage, by the way—mockery.
If you’ve not had the chance to take your family into the great outdoors so that you can figure out new and exciting ways to mock each other, you might want to check out today’s Daily Deals at Target—they have a Coleman tent that sleeps 7 on sale for $120 with free shipping. (Also, going through this handy link right here will give you an additional $5 off!) Remember, of course, that “tent lingo” translates such that “sleeps 7 comfortably” means “you can stack 7 people in here like cord wood.” Nevertheless, this would be a comfortable tent for 4-5 people if you’re not a die-hard outdoors sort.
The mockery is optional, of course. I just find that it helps offset the joy of all the bugs.
Get an LL Bean tent. I can pitch a 6-sleeper in under 15 minutes — half that time if I have help. Plus, the directions are sewn into the stuff sack, so they don’t get misplaced. I’m 4’11”, so the highest points are a challenge, but I can do them.