‘Twas a very merry ASCCA Christmas this weekend filled with Christmas cheer! Campers and counselors arrived on Friday afternoon for a jolly time of Christmas themed activities and reuniting with some of their closest friends to celebrate the holiday season.
As the check-in process ended with Nurse Abbey and Nurse Maggie, campers and their counselors headed out for dinner already discussing who would be sitting at whose table all weekend long. It is an important part of any weekend at ASCCA because dinner is always the time when everyone catches up on what has happened since the last time they saw each other this summer.
Following dinner, everyone split into groups with their cabin mates to design a Christmas performance to the holiday song of their choice for the weekend’s talent show. For the first time ever, families were invited to come watch the talent show on Sunday morning, so campers and counselors were sure to work hard to perfect their performances. Creative juices were flowing as groups were developing skits and musical performances. Once everyone had their performances planned out, we all headed to the chapel for the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony where this year’s Camper of the Year, Matthew Davis, lit up the tree.
After a night of warm rest, Saturday morning arrived with a chill. Campers bundled up to venture out into the cold for a warm breakfast in the dining hall and many were sure to include an extra cup of coffee for one more layer of warmth. Breakfast was followed by a Christmas craft of making snow globes and watching Christmas movies. Each snow globe was given a thank you note signed by a camper and were later given to volunteers to show our appreciation for everything they do for us.
Once all the snow globes were complete and everyone enjoyed lunch, visitors began to arrive for the second annual Jingle Jump. Since November 1st, Camp ASCCA supporters have been raising money for the ASCCA Campership Fund through the 2016 Jingle Jump. Everyone who reached their set goal was expected to jump into the ice cold ASCCA pool on Saturday afternoon to celebrate their accomplishments. Campers and counselors were there to watch and cheer everyone on through each jump. More than 50 jumpers arrived in their best Christmas gear and endured a bone chilling Jingle Jump into the 42-degree swimming pool. All of the participants went above and beyond to raise money this year, and all of the money will go to help campers attend camp next summer.
Saturday night was fun-filled with activities at the annual Christmas carnival and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Each camper was given the opportunity to participate in Christmas themed games with our generous volunteers and spent a few minutes meeting Santa and updating him on this year’s Christmas lists. The carnival was followed by a dinner provided by members of the Alex City Elks Lodge and desserts provided by local volunteers and staff families.
After dinner, campers and counselors were ready to dance the night away in the pavilion and all volunteers were invited to stay and enjoy. This year’s Christmas dance featured music by a local DJ and included a snow globe photo booth for campers and counselors to enjoy between songs. It was certainly a night to remember as campers were sure to dance with their favorite camp crushes throughout the night.
After a night of restful sleep, campers and counselors woke up to a warmer Sunday morning and headed towards the dining hall for the weekend’s final flag raising and breakfast. The Christmas talent show followed breakfast and was made up of a full crowd of families and friends. The cabin performances were made up of songs like “The Little Drummer Boy,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” and more. One cabin even put together a performance of Charles Dickens’ novella, “A Christmas Carol.” Before Christmas Weekend could come to an end, we were sure to include individual performances to Prince, MercyMe, and Mariah Carey.
As the old saying goes, “All good things must come to an end,” and we could not think of a better way for ASCCA Christmas 2016 to end than a talent show with family and friends. It was a weekend jampacked full of fun and Christmas joy, and we thank everyone for their support to make this weekend possible each year!
“We are like a snowflake, all different in our own beautiful way.” – Unknown
Check out all of our Christmas memories from the weekend here!
