Parent Blog: Packing Tips and Tricks - New Camper Blog Series

Hi! I’m Katie Nicholson Wynn. I’m a former Greystone camper and counselor, and last summer officially graduated to my new affiliation with Greystone - Mom of a Greystone Girl! So exciting!

I love everything about camp, but I do get a little overwhelmed with PACKING! I wanted to share a few tips that might be helpful for any of you who are packing for the first time.

GapKids opened in our local mall just before my first summer as a camper at Greystone. My mom and I spent a few hours there one night and had the best time picking out matching outfits for camp. She brought it all home, washed each item (maybe even twice), labeled EVERYTHING with iron-on labels, and packed my trunk with precision.

I arrived at camp feeling fully prepared and so excited to unpack and set up my bunk. The highlight of that day, and something my mom and I still laugh about, was meeting my penpal and her telling me that she had no idea what was in her trunk because her teenage brother had packed her. I think my jaw visibly dropped! My first letter to my mom said “You’ll never believe this…my penpal’s brother packed her trunk!”

What’s your packing style?

• Are you like my mom…super organized, you’ve already started packing and labeling?
• Are you like my penpal’s mom…it will get done one way or another?
• Or are you like me? I’d say I’m somewhere in the middle. I sort of wait until the last minute, but I’m all about the labeling.

As a mom of a first time camper last year, I was a bit overwhelmed by the thought of packing for Junior Camp, but it was actually pretty seamless once I ripped the bandaid off and started making my way through the list.

A few tips I’d love to share:

• Label everything. It helps your camper, it helps the counselors, it will help you keep up with everything throughout the year. Name Bubbles is great. I like the iron-on and stick-on combo pack.
• Don’t skip the shoes that can get wet (but have a back). I used to get so frustrated with the way my tennis shoes got wet in the dew as I walked across the lawn each morning.
• For the young ones, pack an outfit for each day, put it in a bag all together, and label that bag according to the day. I wasn’t going to do this, but my camper requested it, and she said she loved knowing what to wear each day.
• Try to send old clothes! She doesn’t need matching outfits :) Target usually has cute white shirts if you need more whites.
• Send colored towels so that your daughter can keep track of them. The microfiber ones are great for beach towels.
• Send books for Rest Hour! If your daughter isn’t a napper, she’ll want something to do!
• Oh, and last one…I got really indecisive about which trunk to order and ended up sending a big duffel from LL Bean. It’s been a great piece of luggage for our family. So don’t worry if you don’t want to decide on a trunk right now! Duffels work too.

Happy packing! I’m so excited for your daughter. There is no place on earth quite like Camp Greystone. Find me on Instagram. I’d love to connect with you there!