Camp supplies | Imamother

amother

Periwinkle

Thu, Jul 20 2017, 9:10 am

How much do you spend on supplies/clothing/toiletries/etc for your teen girl to go to camp? I think it cost me almost as much to buy all the "stuff" she "needs" as it cost for camp itself!

I know I'm from a different generation, but when I went to camp I took a weeks worth of clothing, a Shabbos dress, linens and basic toiletries. Today they need 2 weeks worth of clothes, several Shabbos outfits, robes, 4 sets of shoes, plastic drawers, a "nosh box" with more nosh than they eat all year, a sandwich maker....and I could go on from there!

I don't have the money for all of this but am skimping elsewhere to get what she "needs" bec I don't want her to be the odd one out.

I'm curious, though, what others send with their girls to camp and how much they usually spend so I can determine what is necessary and what is not.

Chayalle

Thu, Jul 20 2017, 10:25 am

Sounds pretty normal....but yes, these days they do seem to need alot of camp supplies. The laundry doesn't get done as often, or they change their clothes more often, etc....

My girls went to Camp BY and one big bonus is that they have some washing machines under the bunks that the campers can use (with quarters). It helps that they can do their own laundry more frequently and reliably than the camp laundry.

When my girls were going to camp, I stocked up on tee shirts, etc...in February, when the mall stuff goes on sale. They usually had 3-4 Shabbos outfits, some cheaper than others....sneakers, crocs, Shabbos shoes, and their school shoes that they basically killed in camp, but that was fine because it had already been thru the school year and was dead already.

Nosh - we made a trip to the dollar store before camp.

Plastic drawers - I bought one set that they re-used from year to year. Ditto for the linen. So it was an initial investment that was subsequently used by both of my daughters (they went to camp different halves).

I hear you on the expense though.....I'm definitely breathing more freely this summer now that my big girls are done with camp, and my little one is not there yet....