Last summer, my daughter went to Jewish summer camp for 12 days, which meant that finally — finally! — I could experience the ultimate dream for a ’90s kid like myself, second only to getting slimed: writing to a pen pal.
Yes, most summer camps now allow you to email your kids, but I needed my 9-year-old to feel the magic of opening an envelope, of wondering what could possibly be inside that made it so deliciously thick, as she narrowly escaped a paper cut. I sent her actual snail mail, and reader, I was extra about it.
In one letter I included perfume samples from magazines and asked her to write back with which one she liked best. But I like to think my best work was a letter I sent toward the end of camp. I wrote a short note on a 4×6 notecard and decorated it with washi tape (colorful Japanese masking tape). I included a sticker for her water bottle with another note attached to it that said “saw this and thought of you!” I put the note and the sticker in an envelope, and then found a second, smaller envelope, on which I wrote “open for a secret.” I took a selfie with an automatic Instax camera and used my label maker to write “i miss you” on the selfie, and put it in the smaller envelope — which I placed in the bigger envelope, sealed, and sent.
I’m going to be honest with you: She didn’t want to go back to summer camp this year. But I’m grateful we had at least one summer where I was able to ditch my responsibilities and play with paper for a few minutes, and hopefully make her feel very loved in the process.
If you do happen to have a kid at Jewish sleepaway camp this summer, here are some other ideas for delightful extras to include in a letter to camp, plus everything you need to make it happen.
This book — which Syme describes as an adult Klutz book for writing letters — is full of fun snail mail ideas for summer camp and beyond.
Label Maker
I love the classic, no-nonsense labels this label maker creates — use it to write something silly for some fun juxtaposition.
Washi Tape
Washi tape is my favorite for decorating paper and adding a little flair to a sealed envelope.
This classic fits in an envelope and is a fun conversation piece for your child and their cabin mates.
I would pre-tear off a handful of these pep talks, draw out a weekly calendar on a piece of paper and use washi tape to affix one pep talk per day, with the instruction to take one off and read it each day. But then again, I'm extra.
Tear off a few sheets of this and include instructions.
Sunprint Paper
Include a few sheets of sunprint paper and ask them to send back their creation.
