Are you ready for sleep away camp yet? Are your kids counting the days until the end of school and the start of a week of freedom? I will admit our summer planning is a bit less orderly than previous years. My oldest daughter has taken a job at the end of August and she’s asked to do a sleep away camp that is two weeks long at the start of August. That is a bigger commitment for us, and for her, and I imagine we’ll be packing a fair bit more this year as a result of the two week stay, which also means more stuff that can potentially be lost.
My kids have been doing camp for several years and they both generally enjoy both day camp and sleep away camp. Over the years we have learned a few things about packing. The first year I sent Payton to sleep away camp, for instance, I had no clue that children received mail from home several times a week. So my camper got no letters while everyone else got letters. (You write them in advance and leave them in the office then they deliver them each day. Why did nobody tell me that?) I never made that mistake again. There are a few things that are crucial to sleep away camp. These have made my top five.
Five Things You NEED for Sleep Away Camp:
- A good warm sleeping bag. It gets cold at night sometimes in the cabins or tents. These are important.
- A pillow from home. This is a comfort object and a necessity and it serves so many purposes really. It’s nice to have that small reminder of home when you are sleeping away from home.
- Sun screen, bug spray and a hat. Your camper needs to remember to apply sunscreen. It’s a skill for life actually and it’s important to staying healthy. So is bug spray right now especially. I am hearing that ticks are heavier than usual in many areas and precautions should be taken.
- Water bottle – a Refillable water bottle so they can easily carry it with them when they take hikes or do outdoor activities. My gals go to a camp where they have great cabins BUT they also do a tenting overnighter kind of activity and they need to stay hydrated too. I hope they actually remember to take them with them during this overnight occasions.
- Mabel’s Labels Camp Combo. Go ahead and slap these labels on everything. They easily go on clothes and hats and water bottles and backpacks and anything you don’t want to lose.
Mabel’s Labels Camp Combo consists of:
This value-packed collection of UV resistant, waterproof labels and tags was designed especially for everything that goes to sleep away camp! Identify everything from clothes and footwear to toiletries, swim gear, life jackets and more with this summer essential.
- 10 Personalized Name Stickers: 70mm x 16mm (2-3/4″ x 5/8″)
- 24 Mini Custom Name Stickers: 38mm x 8mm (1-1/2″ x 5/16″)
- 50 Tag Mates™ Stick On Clothing Labels: 21mm x 10mm (13/16″ x 3/8″)
- 8 Custom Shoe Stickers: 33mm (1.3″)
- 2 Personalized Bag Tags: 57mm x 32mm (2-1/4″ x 1-1/4″)
Mabel’s Labels camp combo is $39.95 Canadian and I also have one camp combo to giveaway. Good Luck! Follow the directions below to win. Canada only for this particular giveaway.
What will you do with your free time when kids are at camp?