Maintaining Summer Camp Friendships Throughout the Year

One big part of what makes campers and counsellors enjoy camp is meeting new friends. Riding horses, creating colourful tie-dye shirts, joining wakeboarding adventures and conquering the wall climbing challenge is so much fun with a camp mate.

Making Lasting Friends at Summer Camp

Summer camp is a perfect place to meet your future best friend. Some confess a 30-year connection from a cabin mate. Others even spend holidays together.

What makes a relationship from camp different? It’s the fact that kids chose who they want to connect with while being away from their parents for an extended time.

They get to face fun and exciting challenges in a new environment with a new friend with whom they feel connected. A kid trying wakeboarding for the first time may feel the adventure is nerve-wracking. But finding someone who feels the same way during the activity can make them feel more at ease.

At camp there are no labels. There are no judgments. Each child can show who they really are and find someone who will accept them as they are. Children are free to let go of the troubles they may be facing and be who they want to be. This makes summer camp friendships meaningful and long-lasting – because there is no pretention.

Keeping the Connection After Camp

Sadly, the summer season ends, and school year comes. You can keep friendships alive with these ideas:

Stay in Contact Maintaining friendship is not as difficult as it might seem. Keeping in touch regularly can keep your relationship alive even with distance. Before leaving camp, get the contact details of your cabin mates. Intentionally text them every now and then. Ask them how they are doing in school and at home. Never ignore their text messages and respond when you can. Such actions will show how much you care for them.
Connecting Through Social Media Nowadays, the simplest and most direct way to reconnect with someone is via social media. If you forgot to get your cabin mate’s social profile, you can simple search them by name.
Attend Camp Reunions Most summer camps host reunions. Don’t miss attending these occasions. It is the perfect time to reconnect with your camp friends. Invite them to attend too - you can even to go together if you live nearby.
Write Letters and Send Gifts Writing letters or sending postcards can be a lot more special than sending a simple text message. It’s heartwarming to receive a letter from your camp BFF from camp. Sending gifts for your friend’s birthday or special occasions shows you care. Presents are personal. You can send it together with an old funny camp photo to personalize your gift.

Conclusion

Summer camp will always be a childhood highlight in your scrapbook of life. Friends at camp leave a mark in anyone’s heart. Keep the friendship alive and look forward to meeting again next year at summer camp.

Canadian Adventure Camp is a North Ontario coed sleepover summer camp for kids located on a beautiful private island in the wilderness lakes region of Temagami. Founded in 1975, it provides acclaimed programs to children from around the world!