Posted on 03/23/22
Jerusalem, Israel - Mar. 23, 2022 - Purim is over. Hope it was a healthy and happy one!
I have eaten all the hamentashen in the house. Most of the goodies we received as mishloah manos should be used up after Shabbos. Just in time to clean out the freezer and start storing away the new items for Pesach.
Time to start organizing the children's clothes for Yom Tov, the outgrown to toss or hand down, and deciding what to purchase. How about thinking and planning ahead to save time and stress in the future?
Often Melissa Goldwag the Pack for Camp expert gets asked how early you need to start packing for camp. While there’s no simple answer to the question because things like your personality, your location, and how long the camp session is are all factors, she does recommend getting started early, at least with gathering the items you need.
It's way too early to open a camp trunk on your child’s bed. But there are a few simple things you can do now as you dive into the kid's clothes drawers and closets checking for hidden bagels and cookies stashed away in the Lego boxes. A friend found a part of a bagel left by a toddler in her shoebox in the closet. One year, we had the afikoman found during our Hannukah Party dinner in a game in the basement playroom.
The first step is to read the camp packing list and mark off everything you already have. Make sure to check you have the right amount for each item before you do the spring shopping. Check the quality of the items that you own, don’t send your son to camp with socks that have lost elastic or shirts faded or stained. Also, make sure that clothes fit. (Ok, during growth spurts we have seen boys seem to grow two inches overnight.) A pair of pants from last summer may be way too short this year and a jacket your older daughter wore two summers ago may still be humungous on her younger sister.
It is recommended to make a separate list of what’s missing so you can easily keep track of what needs to be purchased. If you shop in a real store, you may need several trips to several stores, so keep the list handy at all times. That way, if you have an unexpected trip to get that Pesach item you forgot to order, you can pick up a few items on the camp list.
While it’s true that you can send your daughter to camp with an old suitcase from 20 years ago, it could be both inconvenient and a source of embarrassment for your child. A soft trunk on wheels is a much better choice. But know the sizes for air travel and for transport by car or bus are different.
Clothing and other items can easily get lost in camp - in the laundry, lying around the bunk, or left at the swimming pool. That’s why camps require that you label everything. These days, there are stickers, iron-on, and sew-on, multiple ways, not just those messy pens we used to use, and hoped the ink lasted.
As soon as you have the trunk, you can start packing. Place your items directly in the trunk, as soon as you have labeled them. Don’t use anything new if you don’t have to. You don’t want to risk ruining or losing anything before your kid even gets to camp.
Too Soon?
Too soon to think about camp and the summer with the Pesach preperations looming? Best of success in getting ready in time to rest before Shabbos and Yom Tov and the seder.
When you're ready, Melissa has shared more tips and useful information in her blog Packing for Summer Camp the Ultimate Guide. The easiest thing is to buy what you are missing by ordering online, with a few clicks, in 3-10 business days, it can be delivered directly to your door.
Meanwhile, wishes for a chag kasher v'sameach to all.