Thursday, June 2, 2022

Packing for Camp

In years past I've shared about packing my kids for camp after they're off for the week but since my kids typically go so late in the summer that post isn't super timely for those of y'all sending kiddos to camp earlier in the summer.



My kids each have a trunk that they use every year for camp - trunks are great because hold a ton, they slide right under the bunks and they're super easy for the kids to find their things in.

Griffin has this trunk , Luke has  this trunk and Mason has this one.




My friend Amanda made the stickers - I'm not sure if she does this on the regular but I'd for sure send her a message if you're interested!


Inside her lid she wanted cork board like the boys but the price of the cork boards went WAY UP this year so I found  these hexagons that just stuck on and looked so cute.  We painted the lid purple (because of course!) and added  a fun little letter board and stickers and she was done!



And here's the inside...


She packed  this light-up hedgehog in case she got nervous at night but came home talking about how she wouldn't need it next year :)


I bought the same  car trunk organizer that the boys have and we used the same ziplock bag system that has worked well the past couple of years.  I label bags for each day and the various night events and then the kids fill them with the items they want for teach day/night.



If I have little "extras" I'll add those to the bags after they've packed.


The big compartment held all the ziplocks and then the side compartments had extras like a fan, her Bible, shoes (she packed 3 pairs and only wore Natives), water bottle, pjs, swimsuits, towels, snacks, etc.





One thing that's not on the packing list but that all three of my kids take is a small backpack.  We pack their sunscreen, sanitizer, etc. in there and then when they get to camp and their counselor tells them to get their things for the lake or pool or other activity they can throw their things in their along with their water bottle and it makes it so much easier for them to keep up with their stuff.  


I also label EVERYTHING with  these labels.


Griffin took a little bath caddy from the dollar store...


... and this  baby bum detangler helped keep her hair from getting too tangly.


The boys use the same system - I let them pack however they wanted and they both asked for the ziplocks.



The boys still love sticking photos up inside their trunks.  They like showing them to their friends and counselors and looking at the other kids photos as well.


Mason was a lot more minimal - he only brought Natives and the extent of his toiletries were everyone soap and toothpaste/brush.


These are the kind of backpacks that my boys take - easy to pack and lightweight to carry around camp.  They mentioned this year that they liked that they could throw their snacks and/or things that they bought at the camp store in there as well.



Same stuff for Luke!



We put their bedding in these giant ziplock bags and squeeze the air out and we're done!


The last part of packing are car packages :)  This year we could drop off packages for Tuesday and Thursday and notes for Monday/Wednesday.   I try to pick things that they can play with as they wait for activities, use at night events and share with friends.  These are the boxes that I used.





The big hit for Griffin this year was  the package of scrunchies that she passed out and shared with her counselors and girls in her cabin.


I steered clear of stickers for Luke but Mason specifically requested I "make his packages look awesome" so I tried :) 


The boys boxes looked like this and I got everything for all of their boxes at the dollar store (except for the scrunchies).






If you're sending a kid to camp this summer I'm hoping you found this post helpful!  If you have any questions about packing for camp or camp in general leave them in the comments ;)

HAPPY Thursday, friends!!!

PS - this post contained affiliate links.... thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!

3 comments :

  1. Oh my gosh, Andrea. I cannot even imagine the number of people bookmarking this post!

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  2. My grandkids started going to camp a few years ago and I know that my daughter has used several of your packing tips and she always passes them on to other parents because they are so good. After reading your post several years ago I always send notes and little goodies for them to share and they are always a big hit. Thank you!!

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  3. Such a smart system! We fly to camp, so everything needs to fit into a (very) large duffel. This year, he packed himself up - fingers crossed that everything makes it :)

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