Hey, Camp Fans!

Are you ready? Yes, being ready for camp is important, but more so I mean ready for war!—the Color Wars, that is. Everything Summer Camp is here to make sure that you arrive at camp ready to show everyone just whose side you’re on—so make sure that you’re dressed in the right colors when you arrive on the battlefield.

All NFL players know that they need to don their team’s uniform when they step out onto the field. If you plan on doing battle in the Color War, you’re going to need your team tee, specific to your team’s color in order for everyone to know just where your loyalties lie.

Keep it in mind while you’re out there this summer, kids—you’re nothing without you’re team. And your team is nothing without its color. When you get your own Color War Tee, you’re getting more than just a 100% cotton tee shirt in a specific color, you’re getting the camp spirit and lifeblood of your team! When you get a Color War Tee, you’re getting the armor that you’ll be fighting in.

All of our Color War Tee Shirts and Team Tees are printed right here in Everything Summer Camp’s own print shop, as well as all of our Name Labels, LidSkinz, and camp clothing.

When summer arrives and you arrive at summer camp, be sure that you know which side you’re on. There are a multitude of options with only one team to choose. What color’s your blood?

Till next time, Camp Fans!

Hey, Camp Fans!

For today’s blog post I want to tell you about the manager of our shipping department, and longtime employee of ten years—Ryan. As you might imagine, our shipping department is a very busy place—this time of year especially. But thanks to Ryan and his orchestration with the crew in shipping, you’re sure to get your quality camp gear from Everything Summer Camp on time!

The mark of a good manager, Ryan knows that he’s got to work as hard as or even harder than what he expects out of his crew in shipping. When an order is placed at Everything Summer Camp, it goes through our system and, after any personalized items on the order are made, the order goes to shipping.

There, Ryan prints out each and every order that needs to go out the door for the day. He and his crew will then do what they call “picking an order”. Orders containing camp gear that doesn’t require our own production, gets “picked” from our stocked products. The order is then looked over to make sure that the order is complete and ready to be shipped out to you.

Ryan and his crew then pack the order, box them up, print the shipping labels, and see them off into the back of a UPS truck. Ryan’s been doing this for the last ten years, so he’s sort of a master of his art at this point.

What he loves most about his job is hearing back from “customers who are thrilled

with our product.” He’s also very proud of the work environment that he’s created with his crew and the camaraderie that they’ve established. A giant sports fan, and a local resident of Boyd (the home of Everything Summer Camp), Ryan lives nearby with his lovely family of three. His wife, himself, and their beautiful little girl, Kaylee.

Hey, Camp Preppers!

Today I want to tell you about our simple and great return policy here at Everything Summer Camp. We want to make sure that you’re confident in purchasing everything from our sturdy camp trunks to a simple flashlight.

We want to make sure that you’re happy with your purchase. That’s why we have a simple and easy, no-hassle return policy. If you need to return something just give us a call at 1-800-535-2057.

If you’re returning something within 60 days of making the purchase, then you’ll get full credit for the cost of those products. This credit can be a credit issued to your credit card or in-store credit. Also, so long as you are within 60 days of the purchase date, you hold the right to return any product for any reason at all.

If you want to return a product or multiple products between 61 to 120 days of having made the purchase, then you’ll still get full credit for the cost of those products that you’re returning. However, at this point we will only provide you with an in-store credit that you can redeem on any future purchases.

Also, after the 61 to 120 day window, all products that you want to return must be returned in new, sellable condition. If you need to return a product that is not in new condition please call us and we will try to resolve the problem. These instances are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Finally, after 120 days we do not allow returns anymore. This does not mean that you are out of luck. We sell quite a few items that have lifetime or 1-3 year warranties and we will work with you to help you take full advantage of those warranties. At all times, Everything Summer Camp is willing to put your satisfaction in front of everything else.

Care Package Care

Receiving a package is a fun tradition at summer camp. When it comes to camp care packages here are a few things to keep in mind. Care packages themselves grab children’s attention; what’s inside matters less than the fact that they are receiving a package. The package itself says, “I’ve been thinking about you and I love you.” They are part of a summertime ritual in which millions of families participate.

I said “matters less” not “doesn’t matter.” Remember that camps have rules against contraband. Most camps don’t allow food care packages because they attract ants and critters, some of which are large, like sweets, and rhyme with share. Cookies, cakes, and candies also spoil children’s appetites for healthy camp food, so save it all for the first day home. Most camps also don’t allow dangerous items or electronics. (Yes, parents have tried to ship fillet knives for tackle boxes, fireworks for the Fourth of July, and even cell phones for late-night check-ins.) Camps are ethical environments where following community rules is highly valued. Parents would be wise to set a good example by following care package guidelines.

So, what’s fun to include in a safe, legal, and healthy care package? Keep in mind that camp is about connection. Your son or daughter will be making lifelong friends, so send gear that facilitates connection. Solitary electronic games are about the worst thing to send, but non-electronic games that help young people play together include:

• Frisbees® and other flying disks
  
• Camp Talk Cards (for terrific conversation starters)
• Checkers, Chess, Go, Mastermind, and other portable board games
• Mad-Libs® and other group word games
• Wildlife identification books (great for nature walks)
• Paper airplane and origami how-to books
• Uno® and other card games (as long as there is no betting involved)

You can find many of these items or something similar in our Travel Games for summer camp when you click here.

Send age-appropriate sports and hobby magazines, literary and science publications, and newspaper clippings. Interesting printed media get shared and traded at camp, but steer clear of magazines and comics with sketchy, sexualized, or violent content.

You also might include an item or two that your child doesn’t have to share, such as:

• A Novel
• A T-shirt
• A Puzzle
• A Baseball Cap
• Photos of the Family
• A Small Stuffed Animal
• Visual Art Accessories
• A Blank Scrapbook or Journal to Start at Camp

Just remember: Providing the camp experience for your son or daughter already shows how much you care. You care about their growth and development. You care about their happiness. And you care about their out-of-classroom learning. Seen in this light, care packages are completely unnecessary. In fact, most overnight campers don’t receive care packages. Feel free not to send one. Instead, tell your children how much you love them in a newsy, upbeat, handwritten letter. A couple letters a week is plenty enough to sustain a meaningful connection with home. And if you can’t resist the temptation to send something more, keep it modest.

Enjoy the summer!

Dr. Christopher Thurber

Hey, Camp Fans!

Today I’m going to talk about one excellent company with whom Everything Summer Camp is proud to be working alongside, Mint. Go ahead and shop online at Everything Summer Camp where you can find great quality, Mint products like laundry bags and hanging toiletry bags for great, affordable prices!

Mint is a company, like many companies (and like Everything Summer Camp), that has evolved from another company. That original company was called the Flying Circle Bag Company.

This company started on a family ranch about twenty years ago by, Joy and Jim Chittim. They sold military bags as well as a line of bags for kids—the latter being the department that Christi Chittum eventually came to run.

After taking a break to have her baby, Christi began another full-time job as a mother for the next three years. At that point, Christi got back to business with the kid’s line side of the Flying Circle Bag Company only this time she called it Mint. Ready to put her creativity to good use along with a bunch of great ideas, Mint was well on its way to the next level of business.

Today, Mint sends out their very own Mint boxes to over six thousand retail storefronts and Web-based businesses throughout the United States as well as international locations like Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, the United Kingdom, and Toronto. All along the way, Mint has continued to see a loyal following, growth, and success.

It takes the dedicated, hard work of about a dozen people to keep Mint running smoothly and every one of them appreciates the work they do with us at Everything Summer Camp.

That’s all for today, Summer Camp Fans! Until next time.