1200 Miles Away: Tweendom Kingdom: Camp Care Packs

This week, my daughter is at Girl Scout camp, up in the mountains. What I love is its a chance for her to meet new friends and push herself out of her comfort zone. She is an extrovert, so it isn't too hard for her to make friends, but she can get stuck in a rut, especially in the middle of summer.

What I love even more, is her camp provides parents with the opportunity to send "mail" to the campers. Since it is only a 6-day camp, we can't actually send snail mail, but when we drop off our happy campers, we can also drop off care packages, that are distributed throughout the week. I label mine per day so each one has a special purpose. Here, I will share what I provided my little "Tween" that was cool, fun and not too big for her days away from home.

Day 1:

I sent Avery with this "mini" Camp Bunk Box of Questions. What I love is that it is only 3 inches round, so it fits perfectly inside a small package, but is packed with tons of questions to get to know bunkmates. I opened up the package (so there was no waste at the camp - right?) and found questions like: "What is your favorite sport to play at camp?" "What are you most scared of?" - 42 questions to get to know your campmates on the first night.

I also think this would be fun to pull out for a sleepover with her friends.

Day 2:

Who doesn't like these mustaches for your fingers? Plenty of fancy and funny Fingerstaches to share! I see lots of photos with giggly tweens in her future.

Day 3:

Cold nights in the cabin with flashlights call for one thing: funky giraffe socks and hand puppets. I think any "cool" tween would rock these funny socks around the bunks (and maybe around the ropes course). I split up this two pack so the other socks appeared another day. The Fun with Hand Shadows book was a steal and highly rated, plus reviewers said it really works! We'll see if little one makes it happen. I know my husband wanted to try it out before it was packaged up.

Day 4:

This "grown-up" coloring book looked so neat, like something I could spend hours working on. I know the girls have quiet time, and what better way to spend it then doodling inside these flowers? This author, Jenean Morrison has lots of really cool books and I was tempted to buy one just for myself. I paired it with twistable colored pencils so no sharpener was necessary.

Day 5:

This was the last day of camp, and I wanted Avery to have a great takeaway. Last year, the camp handed out t-shirts for the campers to sign, but no one had a permanent marker, so the signatures faded (and would've dissolved in the wash if I hadn't known they weren't with a Sharpie). So this year, I packed the last care package with a white pillowcase and bright Sharpie Neon markers so the kids could sign it. I instructed kiddo with a note so she would know what to do with it. I anticipate packing this with her each year from now on so she can add to it. A nice memento to remind her of all of the friends she made.

A few other items we sent her to camp with that were must haves include:

Doodle Diary - I think this is a great journal for a kid who likes to write, draw and just spew their thoughts onto a page. And it has lots of prompts.

Bobble Bottle - Last year, we heard about the "icky" water they had to drink at camp, yet the counselors pushed water so much because of the altitude. What I love is the filter is built into the bottle. Plus its teal and my kid loves the color so she'll use it. (It's the little victories) This is the 4 cup (ish) version so she won't have to fill up so much and can just store it in her mandatory backpack.

Waterproof Disposable Camera - We sent Avery with a disposable camera last year like we were told. And it landed in a stream the last day. Problem solved.