My oldest kiddo will soon be embarking on his first ever OVERNIGHT summer camp experience and this momma has to make sure he has all of the gear and summer camp necessities he needs. I have questioned moms whose kids have been to camp before, and reviewed the required items checklist provided by the camp to see what I should be sending him off with. I compiled the data I collected and came up with this list. He WILL survive a week at summer camp with out his mom, and the American made summer camp necessities on this list will make sure that he does.
American Made Summer Camp Necessities
1. A PLASTIC FOOTLOCKER My son will be staying in a tent for a week. Tents are wet, dirty, and buggy. A plastic footlocker, like the made in the USA Storage Locker with Wheels by Sterilite is perfect for summer camp. I can pack everything he needs in the footlocker and it will stay in good condition and in one organized location. Shhh…I keep telling myself this so it will be true!
2. A STASH OF TREATS Candy is like gold at summer camp. A little stash of some of his favorite American made candy will be stowed away with his camping gear. Cow Tales and Caramel Creams, both manufactured in Baltimore, Maryland by Goetze's Candy Company, don't melt and are nut-free so they are the perfect sweet treats to be stashed away in a footlocker in the summer. For more made in the USA candy options, check out our Candy Made in the USA: The Ultimate Source Guide
3. PLASTIC BAGS FOR EVERYTHING! I hardly ever use plastic bags, but they are a HUGE help when trying to keep things clean and organized at summer camp. The 2.5 gallon size Ziploc bags are perfect to stuff outfits in- one outfit (shirt, shorts, socks, undies) in each bag. Did you know Ziploc bags are made in the USA?? Yes! Now this strategy might sound a bit over the top in organizing, but it keeps clothing dry, clean, and easy to find. The gallon size Ziploc bags are great for keeping shower and daily toiletries together. We all know how well kiddos close the tops on things like shampoo and toothpaste, so the leaks and messes will be contained!
4. TRAVEL SIZE TOILETRY STORAGE CONTAINERS The American made brands of toothpaste and shampoo that we use don't come in travel sizes. Ah, but no worries! My kiddo can still bring the products he is used to using in re-usable storage containers. The Container Store sells made in the USA Nalgene travel bottles in various sizes to hold shampoo, conditioner, and lotion.
5. A HEAD LAMP Head lamps are WAY cooler than hand held flashlights! Ha, at least in the eyes of an 8 year old boy. My kiddo will have a hand held flash light in his footlocker as well, but he LOVES to read before bed. A headlamp, like the American made Princeton Tec Bot Headlamp, is perfect for reading at camp. I am sure he will be doing a lot of reading, right? Don't forget to pack the batteries!
6. MOM REMEDIES I won't be there to make sure he covers every bit of exposed skin with the American made sunblock I pack, so he will have Badger After Sun Balm on hand to sooth the burn. For the bug bites he will get from not using enough of the bug spray I pack, there will be Topricin Junior to relieve the itching. If he is having a hard time falling asleep, I will make sure he has the Badger Night Night Balm to rub under his nose like, just like at home. For more of my favorite American made mom remedies products, check out my Nine Natural Remedies for Summer Ailments article.
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These are good tips, and as a kid, going to our church’s camp was something I did not want to do, but then cried when it was time to go home! I don’t recall anything I brought or needed that I didn’t have, but that is why we have moms and dads to look after those things! And I love made in USA!
I always looked forward to camp when I was a kid, and I can’t wait for my son to experience it too!
You did your research and produced a great list. But, as a veteran of attending several summer camps with my Boy Scout troop, I have a few points to offer for consideration about a few of your recommendations.
1) The foot locker is a good suggestion. However, the majority of camps do not have smooth, paved walkways of cement or asphalt, for which the plastic locker with “wheelies” was designed. Most trails in camp will most likely be hard packed dirt… if it hasn’t rained, with numerous rocks and roots, and many gouges, grooves and holes. This is not the terrain that the plastic locker with plastic wheels was designed for. The wheelies are not large enough to raise the bottom of the locker off the ground when being towed by your son, and the bottom will be scraped, scratched and gouged by rocks and roots as he drags it to his tent. If he is lucky, he may not have to drag it that far from the vehicle that transported his gear.
2) The stash of treats is a nice idea, but is only an invitation to critters that live in wooded areas where summer camps are often located. Mice and skunks have been known to raid a camper’s tent for his stash of goodies. And I know from personal experience that a mouse will chew through a plastic bin to get to what is inside it if it smells something that it thinks might be food. Several years ago, I had some spices in a plastic bag inside a closed, plastic bin that I kept in my tent. A mouse chewed through the bottom of the bin. Never again did I keep food in my tent. This past summer at scout camp, a skunk raided a scout’s tent because the scout ignored numerous warnings about not keeping food in tents. He had a few bags of chips stashed in his tent. The skunk found them at 2:30 A.M. and the screaming began.
I hope your son enjoyed his first summer camp experience.
I think the Badger after Sun balm, would be great because I burn easy.
The Locker with Wheels by Sterilite seems like a handy item to have. I can use it for storage as well as for camping.
Oh, I really like Goetze’s caramels & Cow Tales! I was never a fan of Summer camp, lol, but I might go if they gave me caramels!
I wont buy anything Ziploc because they are all NOT MADE IN USA….at least not the sandwich size bags. They say right on the box “Bags made in Thailand”. Just FYI
I would like the A stash of treats best. Cow Tales and Caramel Creams are definitely candies that I would enjoy.
LOL. No camping for me. I consider the Holiday Inn “camping!”
These are great!! And American made too! Heck yes!