5 Things Every Camper Can’t Live Without

By Tess Adelstein, CTC Secretary

As the days keep passing, faster and faster, camp just keeps getting closer and closer. Look at the calendar- it’s almost May! With camp coming up so soon, that means that it’s almost time for us to all start packing up our duffels for the summer! Every year, I always find myself forgetting things or wishing that I had remembered to bring something that wasn’t on the either the camp or my own personal packing list. In anticipation, and secretly hoping that I’m not the only one that finds themselves in this position every year, here’s a list of 5 things every camper should bring to camp this upcoming summer.

1. Disposable Cameras: Since we don’t have our phones at camp, it can be really hard to get pictures at Shabbat with your friends or to snap a photo of your favorite part of camp that you can bring home and show your family, and keep with you during the year until you can go back the next summer and see it again. Having your own disposable camera that you can take around camp with you or bring to schmooze and song session makes getting the photos you want with the people you want to much easier and so much more personal. You can also capture all of the personal moments you experience with your cabin that the camp photographers don’t get to see. They’re just an amazing way to make all of your amazing camp memories into something physical that you can keep for years to come and even show campers of your own one day!
2. Costumes: Dressing up in a costume is such a fun and simple way to put a fun spin on a Friday night song session theme or spice up a Tutu Tuesday with your cabin. The key is to bring a variety of different options. Every Friday brings a new song session theme for your village and if you bring a range of different options, you and your friends can walk into that dining hall or walk onto that deck and leave everyone else speechless with your amazing looks. Also, by bringing a variety, you can mix and match each week and come up with new pairings and combinations. Who knows, maybe you and your cabin could even make it onto the Camp Chi Instagram with your killer looks 😉
3. Aloe: This may seem like an obvious thing to bring, and it is, but I swear, every year someone gets a horrible sunburn in my cabin (usually it’s me) and no one has any aloe! Lake Delton Wisconsin can get super hot and sunny during the beautiful summer months. By packing a bottle, you’re going to end up saving someone a lot of pain, or even saving yourself after an unexpectedly sunny Cove specialty. But packing aloe doesn’t mean you can forget to pack and apply your sunscreen too!
4. Febreze/Air freshener: While not something glamorous to talk about, at times our cabins get get stinky and it doesn’t seem to matter what we do to prevent it. Having something that smells great you can spray around the cabin will be a lifesaver. Just make sure you get a scent that you really like because that’s the smell you’re stuck living in for the rest of the session, or possiblythe rest of the summer!
5. Socks: Ok, I know this one is on the packing list and is extremely obvious, but when it comes to socks, you can never have too many. They’re so small and get lost so easily that by the end of the week, you’ve only got two pairs because the rest are either being washed with your laundry or nowhere to be found. I promise that by packing a few extra pairs and keeping them in your duffle, you’ll end up thanking me and yourself when you find yourself searching every corner of your cabin looking for socks and then remember that you have four pairs left in your duffle to get you through until your laundry comes back.

I hope that when you start packing for camp in the upcoming months, you remember at least one of these things and end up saving yourself or your cabin because you did. Everyone wants to be the person that remembered to pack air freshener for the cabin to use, not the one begging people to borrow a pair of socks. Even if you don’t take any of my suggestions, I hope that reading this got you excited for camp and encourages you to follow CTC on Instagram and participate in our current program where you can send postcards to your camp friends by simply filling out a couple questions in our Google Form, which you can also find in our Instagram bio.