Hey Sale Seekers!

Last month I announced 60 new items to our Closeouts Department at Everything Summer Camp. These items may have been discontinued or they may be overstocked product, but in any case, it means major savings for great camping gear and camp supplies, along with awesome accessories that are excellent for back-to-school or around the home!
From backpacks to raingear to water bottles and Color War apparel, our Closeouts Department is chock full of products that are sure to aid you in your child’s return to the school year. Get awesome back-to-school supplies or get a jump on next year’s camp purchases with these amazing discounts of 25% to 70% off.

These items have landed in our Closeouts Department because we either overestimated the popularity of certain products or we simply bought too much. Neither the quality nor the style of these products plays a role concerning its placement in Closeouts.

I gave a detailed list of our Closeout Products in my original Closeouts post last month, but—keep in mind—it may not be accurate anymore by the time you read this. I’ll just link to it here instead of repeating the list on today’s post. Containing brand names like Columbia, Melissa & Doug, and Speedo, you can’t go wrong!

This isn’t really a sale so much as it is a simple reminder of our cheap, cheap Closeouts Section with new products and awesome discounts. Because it isn’t really a sale, there isn’t any start or end date to the absurd discounts on these products. But don’t dally! Supply is limited on these items and they’re expected to go quick!

You can check out the detailed list of products from last month’s post, but even that didn’t mention them ALL! Better to just go check out the Department for yourself! Enjoy shopping our Closeouts Department and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Did you hear us ask how your camp stay went? Here at Everything Summer Camp, we’re begging to know. That’s why we’re asking for summer camp submissions from you to tell us about how you liked camp. We want to know about your accomplishments, friends, fears that were overcome, favorite parts of camp, or just a diary/journal-style submission recounting the jam-packed days of your camp experience.

Now that August is coming to a close, there’s no more time to dally! Get your submissions into us now—there are only six days remaining! The deadline for these summer camp submissions is next week Monday!

Don’t forget: Everyone who submits gets a $15 gift certificate to Everything Summer Camp!

We will be selecting seven random winners. Our randomized first-place winner will receive a $100 gift card for our website. Then, we’ll pick two more winners randomly who will receive $50 gift cards to our site. And then, after that, four random winners will get our $25 gift cards. Everyone else who submits will be getting a $15 gift card just for your participation!

To remind you of some suggestions that I posted when I first announced children’s camp story submissions for the 2016 season in case it’s hard for you to single in on just one part of camp among all the fun times—here are some ideas:

You could submit something about what you thought was the most fun. Or you can share some things you learned whether they’re athletic skills, artistic skills, thinking skills, etc. You can give us stories about all the great people and all the camp friends you made. You can describe how it felt to be away from home and away from your parents. Or you can exercise your creative muscle and describe the beauty in the nature that surrounded you saw at camp.

In your submissions, talk about your summer camp and why you think it’s the best. Include your first name and your last name’s initial, what camp you visited, and how long you’ve been going to camp, please.

We loved hearing about your summer last year. We can’t wait to receive a fresh new collection of your summer stories from this year! Share your stories right here. As always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Kiddies!

Today is Tooth Fairy Day. Has there been some awkward wiggling and dangling going on inside your mouth lately? Sounds like you’ve got a visit from the Tooth Fairy coming up. Get ready for a little extra coin in exchange for your tooth once it finally comes loose. That’s how it works: you take your tooth and place it under your pillow; that night, the Tooth Fairy comes and pockets the tooth while leaving you a little something for your troubles.

It hasn’t always been this way, though. The tale of the Tooth Fairy and the traditions associated with children losing their teeth have gone through some changes throughout the years and the cultures that celebrated them. Here are a few different things people would do:

Bury Teeth
Europeans in the 1400s were in the habit of burying children’s baby teeth when they fell out. It’s quite possible that this is what led to placing teeth under the pillow. And when a kid’s sixth tooth came out, it was customary for parents to slip a small gift in place of the tooth where it had been buried as a sort of ‘tooth fee’.

Burn Teeth
While the customs of burying teeth bear a similar resemblance to today’s customs, this one is completely unlike anything we do today. Kids, however, in England during the middle ages were instructed to burn their teeth to avoid hardship and suffering in the afterlife. I, however, on behalf of the Everything Summer Camp Blog do not recommend this.

Wear Teeth
Possibly where the concept for a ‘tooth fee’ came from, the Vikings of Norse culture thought children’s teeth to have good luck tied to them and would pay children for their loose teeth. Some warriors would wear the teeth they purchased for protection in battle.

Who knows where all these traditions and notions came from, but in any case, the tradition lives on as losing baby teeth is a rite of passage worth celebration. If baby teeth are so lucky, though, maybe you should hold onto those little gems! What does the Tooth Fairy need them for anyway? As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Summer camp is a hook for pretty much everybody. It was for the guy who played him anyway—CAPTAIN Hook, that is. I’m talking about the one and only Dustin Hoffman, here. Sure enough a Hollywood star from back in the day, Dustin’s also a former summer camper just like all of you will be one day. Celebrated for his career in film since he was 23, let’s learn a bit about this character and his time at camp!

He spent some of his best summer days at the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp, located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado—150 miles northwest of Denver. With the surrounding Rocky Mountain community of just 9000, Steamboat Springs boasts a natural beauty and charm. The hills of Strawberry Park offered Dustin 76 acres of rustic facilities and gorgeous campgrounds.

The gifted actor he was, you may expect me to say that he was passionate about acting since his days at camp, but the truth is that throughout his camp days, he aspired to be a classical piano player. He attended Los Angeles High School and took classes all the while only to continue his musical studies into college at Santa Monica.

But it was there that he happened to take an acting class. He took it looking for an easy A. Instead, he found a new career path. Dustin observed that, though he had developed his piano playing skills to a point of pride, he was not a gifted piano player. None of it came easy to him. He didn’t have an ear for music. Meanwhile, he had discovered a knack for acting.

When he informed his family of his new interest in an acting career, his Aunt Pearl noted, “You can’t be an actor. You are not good-looking enough.” But Dustin ended up changing all that. Crediting all his success to Mike Nichols, director of ‘The Graduate’, who took a chance casting Dustin before he was known for anything. Presenting a new kind of movie star brought Dustin immediate fame overnight.

From there he only went on to become a national treasure in the eyes of moviegoers across the country (as well as the world). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1980 for ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’, and then again in 1989 for his excellent portrayal in ‘Rain Man’. And he pulled off a magnificent villain in Steven Spielberg’s 1991 retelling of the classic Peter Pan in the box office hit, ‘Hook’!

A legend of the silver screen, Dustin’s life led him down a road of spiraling success once he discovered the right road. It may take some time before you find what’s right for you, but once you find it, there’s no stopping you! As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

Of course we love singing our own praises here at Everything Summer Camp—and we sing those praises a lot! But we also like to share the spotlight with other organizations too whether they’re brand names whose fun products are available on our site or the fun factories themselves—summer camps. Today we’re shining our spotlight on Camp Greystone for girls.    

Sister camp to Falling Creek Camp, Camp Greystone is a Christian summer camp for girls, located on the shores of Lake Summit, among the mountains in Tuxedo, North Carolina. Encouraging young girls to discover an unvarnished version of their personality, Greystone girls get an excellent experience.

Founded in 1920, girls have been getting the most from Greystone for nearly a century! Here’s what an alum named Savannah had to say about her Greystone experience: “At home, I don’t know anyone my age who is completely confident in who they are. At camp, I haven’t met a single girl who WASN’T having a blast being herself!”

How does Camp Greystone work their summer magic? Simple! They provide their campers with awesome, engaging, and utterly fun activities all throughout their summer sessions! Your daughter will enjoy all kinds of water activities in their spacious pool or out on the lake. Move to the land for fun sports like Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer, Softball, Flag Football, and lots more.

If you love adventure, they offer overnight camping trips, rafting, and a challenging ropes course. And you can flex your creative bone, learning cool trades like ceramics, painting, photography, and writing. Maybe you want to give entertaining a shot. Wow your camp friends with dance routines, musical abilities, juggling acts, and drama skills.

Greystone gives girls a clearer image of themselves—one that’s untouched by their established reputation of who they are from back home. Greystone delivers a transformative experience that takes a young child and sets them on a subtle road to maturity and self-actualization. An excellent all girls summer camp for your daughter to attend, check out Camp Greystone yourself and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John