Write better, funnier, more interesting letters to your camper
By now, you’re a seasoned letter-writer. Your letters to camp are masterful. Funny. No, hysterical. Engaging. Illuminating. Pieces of fine art. World-class prose. On par with those of John and Abigail Adams. But if your letters are too long, how can you shorten them?
Yesterday I listed kid-safe joke sites. Following is a list of general sites that have a mix of kid-friendly and not so kid-friendly jokes. But most of these sites have a great selection of appropriate jokes so you’ll want to check them out. The best sites are at the top of the list.
Broad selection of general jokes without sections dedicated to kids.
Resources:
More funny stuff from the Letters To Camp Blog.
A Letter A Day Makes A Happy Camper
Keep your camper laughing with funny letters to camp! Campers always love to get jokes from their parents. Jokes lighten your camper’s mood and help to build a shared connection between you and your child. What’s more, your camper will enjoy sharing jokes and laughs with their friends. In our family, we try to include a joke in each daily (!) email we send to our kids at camp.
Make it relevant. Remember to tailor your joke selections to the interests and sensibilities of your child. If your kid follows politics, send political jokes. Interested in computers? Send computer jokes, etc.
A web of jokes. You can draw from your own arsenal of jokes or you can find more jokes on the web. In most cases, it’s easy to cut and paste jokes, riddles and pictures from these sites directly into your typed letters and emails. You’ll also find that the ability to browse and find jokes varies greatly from site to site. The best sites include a multitude of categories with links to specific titles for each joke.
Joke of the Day? You choose. It’s tempting to just go to a joke of the day website and cut and paste the day’s joke. But the jokes tend to be uneven so you’re better off browsing for a an interesting joke.
Resources:
More funny stuff from the Letters To Camp Blog.
Next: More joke sites – tomorrow.
Once again, we’ll go beyond letters to camp…. Now that you’ve mastered the basics of care packages (see my last post), it’s time for the “remedial” class on “careless packages.” This is the part where you get lazy and decide to have someone else make your “care” package for you. Ah, the joys of parenting!
Now, I know what you’re thinking… We’re all busy, don’t have time, want to show we care but don’t know what to do… blah blah blah. If you can’t spend time building your kids’ care package, just how much care does that show anyways? Is it possible to substitute an expensive package from some giant corporation for “care”? Only you’ll know for sure. And who knows, maybe your kid won’t care. Heck, I’m not sure mine would care – they just want packages. But I just wouldn’t feel right having someone else make it for me. Yeah, right!
But I digress… Following is a list of companies that will gladly have you pay them to build “careless packages.”
NOTE: This is not a recommendation or endorsement of any of these online stores.
#1: Food Stuff
Most camps do not permit food so make sure to check your camp policies on food before sending. IMPORTANT: some of these contain peanuts, which your camp may not permit due to allergies. Make sure to check camp rules on peanuts.
#2: Foodless “Care” Packages & Individual Stuff
Stuff, stuff, stuff. A wide variety of choices.
#3: Outdoors/Camping Supplies
#4: Necessities
#5: More ideas – The Find
For additional care package ideas, check out The Find shopping site. The Find is just an aggregator site so you’ll have to assemble these items yourself from different online stores featured. Here are a few searches to get you started.
I started this blog because it’s so hard to find ideas about writing letters TO camp. But there’s no shortage of parental advice and concern about letters FROM camp. Check these out:
Do you really “care”? Is the size and volume of your care package directly proportional to the amount of love you have for your child? Of course not! But a care package can be a great gift that your child will appreciate.
Ah, care packages, always a camp favorite. I remember that as a camper, I always looked forward to them. And it’s amazing what can come in a good care package. A care package is simply a package full of goodies (not necessarily food) for your camper. The best ones are the ones you make yourself. But companies offer convenient, pre-made care packages as well.
I recently came across an old but still relevant article on care packages from the Columbus Parent Magazine. The article includes a plethora of tips on care packages. Among others, the article includes a suggestion for a “letter shower,” a package full of letters from your child’s friends. That’s a great idea, especially for their birthday when they may be missing their friends. You can also send pictures.
Also check out this excellent story from the Associated Press: Summer camp care package: What to send tweens and teens.
Camp rules. Finally, remember that some camps have different rules for different types of “packages.” Because of potential pest problems, many camps won’t allow food in bunks and thus care packages may not allow food. Other camps limit the number of care packages so that other kids don’t feel bad when they don’t get care packages. Our camp only allows one care package per session. But they’ll allow needed clothes to be sent. And they also treat most manila envelopes as regular mail, which is unlimited.
Remember: make sure that you have the correct address for packages at your camp. Our camp uses a PO box for mail but packages have to be delivered directly to the camp.
The Last Word: Care packages are great and always appreciated. But it’s the everyday, ongoing communication in letters, emails and faxes (where allowed) that helps your child to have a great experience day in and day out.
Parents’ letters to camp can get a little, well, monotonous. If your letters are getting boring, you can always resort to creative stories of fires, hurricanes, pirate ships and daring rescues… See Rosie Hawthorn’s Kitchens Are Monkey Business blog.
Tip: Especially for younger children, you won’t want to cause concern, so make sure they know the stories are fictional.
Letters to Camp 
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