Friends of ASCCA: Windsor’s Packing List For Camp

I have already started to pack! Have you? Summer camp is just around the corner! Let’s get started with a useful updated packing list.

You can see a list of necessities suggested by Camp ASCCA as well as the things you should not take to camp on the website. Click here for their summer packing list or go to campascca.org, click on Camper Resources, and then choose the Packing List for summer.

Aside from those basics, it’s important to know the little things that only a veteran camper can suggest for you take with you so you can enjoy your summer camp experience even more. This list should help you be prepared, whether it’s your first time at Camp ASCCA or your 20th.

I attended three summer camps, one Fall Camp, and one Christmas Camp, so I have learned a thing or two about what I would recommend for campers to bring to camp with them. I bring all of the following with me, and I bet they will be useful for you too. Be sure to include:

• Your favorite pillow with pillowcase, so you will feel more at home
• Eye mask, to help you sleep in case your bed faces toward any lights from the bathroom or the desk
• Earplugs for showering or sleeping
• Hair dryer, in case you prefer drying your hair a bit before going bed as I do
• Towel to put over your pillow, in case you have to go to bed with damp hair
• Book to read for rest period
• Flashlight or reading light, in case you decide to color or read during rest period
• Shoe box (or other small container with a lid) for snacks, in case they have something that you can’t have or don’t like
• Small alarm clock (the shelf of your bed is skinny and tiny)
• Pool coverup
• Extra T-shirt and pants or shorts in case you don’t own a pool coverup
• More than the 6 suggested pairs of socks, because if you take off your shoes for rest period, you will likely want clean socks to put on afterward
• Jacket, if you are as cold-natured as I am
• Umbrella, for extra protection in addition to your raincoat or poncho
• Note pad and pencil, to get all your new friends’ names and contact information

That list of extras should help you feel comfortable during the day at Camp ASCCA. Now for suggestions for your comfort at night.

Camp ASCCA has great air conditioning for our hot Alabama summers, so you may also want to pack a few items to stay warm and cozy overnight in the cold cabins, especially if you get cold easily like me. Here are a few of those suggestions:

• Your warmest winter pajamas
• A quilt or blanket
• Footies, if your feet get cold
• Robe to wear after you shower at night so you’ll warm up faster

This “extras” list is short because, as I mentioned, Camp ASCCA provides most of what you need, and they thought out and prepared a good packing list on their website. However, if you are as cold-natured as I am, you will find these little extras very convenient. They may help you feel comfortable and keep you from feeling freezing cold, so you can enjoy all the activities.

Be sure to label everything you bring, so your counselor can get all your things packed up on the last day more easily and quickly. Also, having your name on your items will help out if you leave something somewhere by mistake. One time I accidentally left my favorite denim jacket at the swing; fortunately, when it was found, someone was able to bring it straight to me because it had my name in it.

Camp ASCCA has a very devoted and hard-working staff whose primary concern is our safety and comfort, but these few items will make their jobs easier too. As long as you have all these things you should have a great experience at Camp ASCCA this summer. I cannot wait! And who knows, I may see you or even meet you there.