Happy New Year!

Ready to embark upon 2019, Everybody? A fresh new year for accomplishments, new discoveries, and new prospects! From everyone here at Everything Summer Camp, we hope your New Year’s Eve celebration gave a warm welcome to 2019 and that you’re off to a wonderful start!

While there are no real set traditions for the “common” festivities that we typically partake in on New Year’s Day, aside from a football game and snacks throughout the day, one thing we all seem to try for is setting resolutions for ways we’d like to see ourselves grow. We all do at Everything Summer Camp—well, all of us except Bob, of course, who resolves each year not to change one bit (I guess it’s a resolution…technically).  

Here’s what folks around our office have in mind for themselves:

Amy is going to whip her diet into shape and start eating better.

Anita first said something similar to Amy about eating better, but then changed hers to being healthier all around with more exercise and saying goodbye to lousy habits.

Diane would like to do more to make the world better—whether it means being more reliable to family and friends, making donations to those who need more than she does, or any other way she can.

Mark, our Vice President, would like to grant himself better sleep. He knows he doesn’t get enough and feels that he can improve in other departments of his life by tackling this particular part. Sleep’s pretty important—sounds smart to me!

Matt was reluctant to give a resolution this year, but admitted that he would like to shed some pounds and lose weight in the coming year.

Morgan wants straight A’s in her last semester of college! She almost did it previously but ended up scoring two B’s. She was close. We’re all rooting for her this year!

Nate would like to set more time aside for his family and more ‘playtime’ in with his kids.

Me—as for myself, I’m sort of recycling my resolution from 2018 since I feel like I still have room for improvement. I’m trying to be less judgmental toward people and having more patience. To give a couple examples, this means keeping my cool behind the wheel and not letting a long check-out line at the store ruin my mood.

Now, I warned everybody that I’d be checking in on them on a monthly basis to see how well they’re all keeping up with their resolutions. There’s a reason we don’t call them Old Year Resolutions—it’s because a lot of people lose sight of the plan they’d set when the year felt fresh. Let’s see how long we make it into 2019! Good luck with any resolutions you’re planning for your new year and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Kids!

We love our annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything Summer Camp and with the turnout we saw, this has been the best year yet! Your stories were great and it was such a fun time reading through them. Get a look at each submission as I post them one-by-one right here on the Blog!

Today’s post is from Livi T. who wrote in to tell us about another year at Camp Wise. Set your eyes on her summer camp submission right now:

“My summer camp experience at Camp Wise was fabulous! Each year I look forward to attending Camp Wise during the 1st session. I absolutely love Camp Wise because I made so many real and true friends, have loads of fun during every moment of the day and evening and there are so many fabulous activities to do. I especially love to horseback ride and take part in aquatic activities down by the lake. This year, I was sad to miss tubing which was my cabin activity because it is such a ‘wild ride’ and loads of fun! One thing that is especially awesome is the caliber of camp staff; my counselors were so supportive, fun, and engaging. They helped us not only have fun, but also developed mentor-type relationships with us and offered excellent advice, as well as enjoying the activities at camp with our cabin and village. One of the best parts of camp this year was that my team, ‘red’, won the camp competition called the Maccabiah Games. Everyone is so excited for the fun and competition – all campers and staff have amazing team spirit! I participated each year at camp, save one, and this was the first year that my team won! Last, I love to celebrate Shabbat at camp. It is a magical time that the entire camp comes together, as a family and a community to welcome Shabbat. It starts with a walk where all the campers are picked up, each camper is clean and dressed up in their special clothes. Then, everyone gathers together and sings songs and celebrates the peace of Shabbat, the day of rest.” 

Glad you had yet another fantastic summer stay at Camp Wise, Livi! It’s great that you get to have so much fun at camp! Whether you’re making a splash in the lake or speeding along on horseback, I’m glad you’ve found a camp that can provide what you find most fun! Thanks for sharing, Livi. And for anybody else interested in Camp Wise, give it a closer look for yourself some time and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Happy New Year, Everybody!

It’s great to talk to you from the new year—2019! How exciting! This holiday focuses on new beginnings and fresh starts. You’ll see lots of folks setting New Year’s Resolutions for themselves so they can start their new habits along with the new year. We’re no different here at Everything Summer Camp! We set resolutions for our company as a whole on how we intend to continue into the future to provide our customers with the best of the best in summer camp assistance!

Here’s how we plan to do it:

We Got it All

No one place has every single item on your camp’s packing list. We come the closest, though with virtually everything you need at camp. We have an extensive selection of gear which includes hard-to-find camp accessories as well as camp clothing in kids sizes!

Not Just Gear

We offer a lot more than just summer camp gear; we ARE summer camp. We’re here to help you choose the right camp, pack the essential gear you’ll need, and even emotionally prepare your child for being away from home! We’re able to provide such helpful assistance through tips and advice on our Blog, information from Webinars, the handy summer camp guidebook, your camp’s packing list, donations, and more.

Juried Products

As a camp retailer, we’re regularly approached by distributors who offer all sorts of camp gear. Only a certain, select few make the cut, though. It’s because our selection process accepts only durable, undemanding products that children will be able to operate with ease. Juried Products are simply products that meet the criteria of being perfectly suited for summer campers!

Good ol’-Fashioned Customer Service

Customer Service is not dead! These two words have developed a dreadful connotation synonymous with automated voices and on-hold easy-listening muzak. But not here at Everything Summer Camp. Our customers have a different idea of Customer Service! When you dial Everything Summer Camp, within a literal minute or two, you’ll be speaking to real humans who are helpful and ready to solve whatever issues you need.

We promise to stick to these 2019 resolutions for the year ahead of us and hope you put us to the test for your camp endeavors this coming summer season! Enjoy shopping our camping gear shop and jump right over to the homepage by clicking here. As always, Camp Fans, thanks for reading!

- John

Hello, Winter Lovers!

This really is a magical time of year when we gape in the beauty of the natural world as it has transformed into an absolute wonderland. Take advantage of your kid’s time off from school this winter vacation and get the family out to do something fun! Winter days don’t always call you outside the way that sunny summer days do, but once you’re out in this puffy precipitation, you’re sure to have a wonderful time!

In case you’re stalling with choices, here are just a few examples of awesome, seasonal activities you could experience with your family:

Sledding

Sledding is a great thrill in winter. Feel the cold air rush past your face as you race down a hill of crunching snow. You can head out to a hill on your own or with a group of friends—so long as you bring a sled along, it’s sure to be a blast! And, of course, hauling your sled all the way back up a hill creates a taxing exercise with irresistible incentive! 

Ice Skating

Sure, you could do an indoor rink, but, for maximum enjoyment, I would recommend taking your skating trip outside. This is a great way to spend a winter afternoon and can deliver some great exercise!

Sleigh Ride

Treat your family to the splendor of a ride in a one-horse open sleigh! The memory made is sure to last a million winters. A fantastic treat like this is sure to leave a lasting thrill for winters to come and such a cool memory to share!

So don’t let the doldrums of cabin fever settle into your household this winter. Get your family out there in the great, white outdoors and get your body movin’! And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Folks!

- John

Hey, Boxers!

One thing that always rings true when you see it in these post-Christmas days reminds us all of our wild imaginations and playful mindset in our earliest of years. The Christmas holiday brings gifts and with the gifts come boxes. And no matter the size of our imaginations, the bigger the box, the better. It’s a familiar sight to any adult—children every year, despite all the new gifts they recently unwrapped, can never resist the temptation of crawling into those walls of corrugation and using the box itself as their newest favorite toy.

Today is the day after Christmas which we call Boxing Day. Recognized in many commonwealth nations like Canada, England, South Africa, and others, Boxing Day in today’s world is essentially an extended Christmas Day—a day to check out the presents that you unwrapped yesterday.

There’s not actually much to it. It’s kind of a day for being lazy, keeping cozy, and wondering, “What now?” Though it seems right up our alley, the U.S. does not celebrate this holiday—but you can go ahead and stick to traditions anyway if you don’t have anything else to do!

Take today to watch some movies, play a board game with your family, or curl up comfortably and escape into a good book! It’s good to be mindful of it and enjoy staying in on these winter days before the time comes when we need to return to that normal daily grind!  

I’ve always felt that the day after Christmas Day delivers a giant letdown on a scale immeasurable. It feels so empty compared to the bursting anticipation we feel on Christmas Eve. So, in my opinion, that feeling is the epitome of Boxing Day. It’s a day to really relish in our regret of a celebration past. Only, rather than wishing to return to those fun celebrations, let’s just think of the fun memories and look forward to the time this season rolls around again!

Till next time, Readers! Happy Boxing Day and, as always thanks for reading!

- John