I had a fun trip to Westchester last week with one of our directors, Brian! We went to visit Elizabeth (also known as Lizzie to some…) who is a current 3rd grader, and will be a Junior Girl at camp for her first summer.  I got to meet her while she came up and toured camp this summer, and I’ve already gotten to see her two additional times this year…at Canteen on the Fly and now at her home visit!  It turns out that she and I have the same favorite show on HGTV – House Hunters International – and she is in the process of doing a makeover of her room, complete with purple walls!  She has a really big open space in her bedroom, it’s big enough to practice her gymnastics moves, which is one of her favorite sports.  I saw her do two perfect roundoffs, and I know she can do a lot more in the gym!  She’s a very good writer and story teller, so her parents and big brother William should expect some awesome letters home about her camp adventures!  While I was over, we looked through the camp photo album, and I told her about the “Cornman” who comes to Canadensis a few times each summer, and roasts the most delicious fresh corn – Elizabeth and I are planning to visit the cornman together at Open House on June 3rd!  Elizabeth is very sweet, and is a good friend.  She also has tons of talents (she’s even won a hula hooping contest!) and she’s planning to pick up a few more talents before camp…including learning to play Mah Jongg…my favorite game!  There will also be a seat at my Mahj table for her, and I can’t wait for her first summer at camp!

The next stop was with Zoe, a current 2nd grader who will be a Lower Junior Girl at camp this summer.  You will never believe this, but Zoe LOVES broccoli and doesn’t like Justin Bieber!  She is totally a fun and crazy girl, and Brian and I enjoyed getting to spend time with her.  She is a very talented artist – her artwork was spread throughout the house!  She can copy drawings of things she’s seen – like the Minions from Dispicable Me and she also has made many paper dolls with outfits.  She showed me some of the awesome presents she wrapped for the holiday season for her family (I won’t give away the secret hiding place!) and believe it or not, she also had purple walls in her room!   Zoe loves soccer, and she is a great big sister to 3 year old Marley – I know that she’s going to be a great camp friend too.

The Holidays are upon us! Last night my group of friends got together for a delightful Holiday dinner, which was brought to us by the brilliant Kate Mullen! She made Rosemary Chicken with potatoes, green beans, and butternut squash fries! It was delightful! I brought a red velvet cake and my friend Cayla brought amazing dessert bars, one of which was a SMORES bar – and that got me thinking about all the ways to incorporate camp into the holiday season, or what camp related gifts would be on my holiday wishlist! I’m sure most holiday shopping is already done, but I’ve included links to everything on my list just in case you read about something and love it as much as I do!

“Cara’s Top 10 Campy Holiday Favorites”

10. S’mores Desserts: While you may be overwhelmed with all sorts of baked goods this season, you can eat like a camper by choosing a dessert that reminds you of the ever so popular S’more! Last night Cayla’s s’mores bars definitely had Kate and I thinking we were back alongside lenape, but there are so many s’morey options out there! Here’s a great recipe for s’mores bars: http://www.bakedperfection.com/2008/07/smore-cookie-bars.html

9. The Spinmallow: Speaking of s’mores, a great campy gift for the holidays is a rotating mallow stick! I know, at first it may sound totally silly, but when I saw a reusable spinning roasting stick in a catalog this season I knew I had to have one at camp. This one has a built in flashlight (seriously, what will they think of next) but there are tons of options out there: http://www.markysparkytoys.com/html/toycategories/toy/spinmallow.html

8. Camp Stationery: Call me old fashioned, but I’m absolutely in love with sending and receiving hand written letters or cards. In a world full of Facebook and email the novelty of the letter has become a rarity, but I think that makes it even more special. I have a HUGE box in my closet dedicated to a stationary collection I’ve been building for quite some time – when Borders went out of business this summer, I spent a day off with my counselor friends searching through all the paperchase goodies! When I find a card that’s perfect for a friend I’ll buy it on the spot, even if their birthday is months away! So when I find stationary that I want to use at camp I get equally excited. Cute cards to send to home friends (or friends at other camps) are always on my wish list! This vintage inspired set is definitely going to be with me this season: http://phdesignshop-store.com/2147.html

7. The Crazy Creek Chair: Old school campers will tell you that the Crazy Creek is a staple in camp life. Now they carry long back options for tall campers, the power lounger for those of us who enjoy luxurious seating, and my new favorite, the roll-up option! It’s available in lime green, and we all know how I love neons…  http://www.crazycreek.com/products-page/adventure-line-chairs/hex-2-0-original-chair/#

6. Camp Themed Potlucks: I love going out to dinner with camp friends (if you read this blog, you know I do it a lot) but sometimes we want to spend more time together than the restaurant would like for us to be loitering, and sometimes you just have to get out of your seat and dance around with your camp friends. A camp themed potluck is always the answer to the “we’re-all-home-over-winter-break-and-bored” problem, and it’s a great excuse to get crazy in the kitchen. Everyone makes a camp treat, like Cheese Toasties or Black and White Cookies, and gets together at someone’s home to snack and play. Dani and I are thinking of planning a camp potluck in early January, so we’ll post photos of all our camp creations here! Here’s a great recipe for B&W Cookies, camp style: http://www.cookiemadness.net/2010/10/black-white-cookie-4/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cookiemadness%2FGYsL+%28Cookie+Madness%29

5. Camp Movies: I love to spend time over winter break snuggling with puppies and watching movies with my family. A campy movie always makes me feel like summer is just around the corner. I love Camp Nowhere and The Parent Trap (Both the original and remake) for the whole family, and older viewers may enjoy Indian Summer, Meatballs, and Wet Hot American Summer. I recommend the ORIGINAL version of the parent trap for some classic campy fun: http://video.barnesandnoble.com/DVD/The-Parent-Trap-2-Movie-Collection/Hayley-Mills/e/786936286960?itm=2&usri=the+parent+trap

4. A Camp Shirt Quilt: There’s no better blanket for your camp bed than one made of camp tees! I started making camp tee quilts when i made Becky J’s sweet 16 gift out of some camp tees. After that Eric Forti got a huge queen sized camp tee blanket for his camp bed, and camp alum Adam Scharfberg got one too! I’m currently finishing a camp Tee Quilt for Emily Zendel, and I’ve got two waiting to be delivered to Sam G and Brigitte Toledano! I don’t have a website link for my quilts, but I’ll post a photo and link my email address where I’m available to make quilts or answer any “how-to” questions: cara@canadensis.com

Becky J welcomes me and Rebecca to snuggle under her camp quilt!

3. The Friendship Bracelet Maker: This is easily one of my favorite camp accessories. I make a LOT of friendship bracelets over the summer so when my my mom got asked to present this product on QVC she asked me to take it for a test drive and teach her how to make a bracelet. I fell in love with it pretty quickly and I’m definitely bringing it to camp this summer! Here’s where to find one: http://www.myfbm.com/

2. Peanut Butter Candy Canes from Callie’s: The famous Callie’s Candy Kitchen makes the world’s most amazing candy cane, and I’m not exaggerating! Our winter office is obsessed with the Peanut Butter Candy Canes (I actually have one on my desk at this very moment) but they’re only sold around holiday time! “But Cara, that’s all the way up in Canadensis!” I know, but lucky for you, Callie’s delivers all winter long! http://www.calliescandy.com/online-store.html

1. Embroidery Floss: Yes, something as simple as a pack of string tops my list of the best campy gifts/campy activities for winter break. Nothing tells the world you’re a camper better than a forearm full of braided bracelets, just ask Becky J! In my perfect world I would have every shade and hue of every color, and their glittery counterparts, at my disposal at all times! Here’s a great website for friendship bracelet patterns, although if you’re a really advanced bracelet maker, I might be able to teach you my signature stitch at camp this summer! http://www.how-to-make-jewelry.com/friendship-bracelet-patterns.html

Kate made a holiday party feast!

My Peanut Butter Candy Cane on my desk!

I had a wonderful time visiting some of our Canadensis families in Maryland!  It turned into a somewhat progressive meal (where you eat different courses in different places) and everyone was such a gracious host!  The day started with a Counselor-In-Training (CIT) of 2012…Dani Schapiro!  She greeted me at the door wearing a Camp Canadensis Super Seniors shirt, and I got to catch up with her and her family over some appetizers.  Dani is currently in 10th grade…but she showed me an absolutely adorable photo from her first summer at camp when she was in Bunk 2!  She also showed me a vintage Canadensis sports pinnie from her younger days at camp, which is totally back in camp style!  She stays super busy during the winter, and we met right after she got home from a pom practice.  We talked about her excitement for the 5-day Disney trip our CITs take during the summer, and she had some really good suggestions about programs at camp for the upcoming year, including bringing back the Fun Run.  They were the first family who I got to tell about our exciting NEW POOL announcement…and they kept it a secret until we made the big reveal on the Canadensis Today Show a few days later.

Dani also invited over Brenna, one of her best friends from home, and someone I know from another camp I worked at.  It was awesome to catch up with her, and hopefully we’ll get to see her again this summer because our camps started doing joint programming.  I know this next picture I’m going to post might get me in a bit of trouble…but check out this old photo from 2008…she’s wearing such a creative costume!

It was a wonderful first stop on my trip, and I wish Dani a wonderful winter break trip to NY.  I hope that I’ll get to see her soon at the Camp Reunion (Sunday, January 8th) – we say that the CIT’s of the upcoming summer “officially” take the mantel of responsibility for being CIT’s at the reunion.

My next stop in Maryland was with “Jes”, also known as Jessica – a current 3rd grader who will be coming to camp for her first summer in the Junior Division.  She stays remarkably active, and it seems like she does multiple activities each night!  I joined her after basketball practice, and we had a delicious salad & pizza dinner with her family, including little brother Liam (pineapple pizza…yum!).  Although I got to meet Jessica this summer while she toured camp, I learned a whole lot more about her during my visit.  She is a serious ballerina, and is currently performing with the Washington Ballet in the Nutcracker.  What makes this even more amazing is that it takes a lot of dedication and practice, and it’s her third year doing it!  She also goes to Hebrew School, takes Piano Lessons, and the list goes on and on.  She is super excited for the activities at camp, specifically Horseback Riding, Woodshop, Rock Climbing, Glass Fusion,  Soccer and the Lake – doesn’t that sound like a well rounded camper to you?

Jessica took me on a tour of her house, and she had an awesome disco ball hanging above her bed!  Have you ever seen something so cool?  She said that when she gets to decorate her bed at camp, she plans to hang up a poster of Taylor Swift & Eli Manning from the NY Giants.  Everyone in the family is a big Giants fan (which will make our director Brian very excited!)  Her brother even had a NY Giants blanket on his bunk bed…and they definitely have fun with those bunk beds when they have sibling sleepovers.  Jessica is a super sweet girl, who is an excellent and caring friend.  She is also very funny, and will be a great Canadensis camper!

My last stop of the night was with siblings Marshall – a current 3rd grade boy and Haley – a current 4th grade girl.  Both kids will be coming to camp for their third summer!  I got to meet their little “potuchkie” (that’s what Haley calls my dog, Annie) named Truffles.  We enjoyed some hot chocolate, and I got to hear about the many adventures they’ve been up to this year.  They are both dedicated students that tackle their homework right after they get home from school, and at their school they don’t only learn English, but they are also learning Hebrew!  On top of that, both kids are in the Cub Club, which is a cheer and spirit group at school, and I can’t wait for them to teach us some new cheers during color war.  Marshall has also been working on his moves…check out this break dancing photo below…

…and Marshall also recently started an acting career.  He auditioned and landed a role in a commercial for Haribo Candies, and when it comes out we’ll definitely have it posted for the Canadensis world to see.  Haley recently joined the Girl Scouts, and she already has the uniform!  I have no doubt she’ll be filling it with tons of patches soon…she was working on her cookies “sales pitch” while I was over!

It was wonderful to see everyone in Maryland, and share either appetizers, dinner, or dessert with them!  I hope to be back again soon!

P.S…providing food is NOT a requirement for home visits!! 🙂

Well, not just yet, but my big trip is about a month away! I will be heading over to Boulder, Colorado (home of the Canadensis Groundhog!) for a few days of my own CAMP, called CampMinder Camp. All of you guys get to spend your summers at camp, so why shouldn’t I get my fun time. It’s only for 2 days, but 2 is better than nothing! CampMinder is the web-based system we use for campers, staff, alumni, photos, videos, etc. It’s an amazing database and so much more and by attending this “camp” session, I will have a chance to collaborate with the owner, support people, programmers, and a hundred other camp directors who all use the same system. We will brainstorm ways to make the system more efficient and learn some of the new features that will be unveiled in the coming months. Of course while I am in Boulder, I will have a chance to catch up with Groundhog and see the town a bit, although I will be heading out pretty quickly to AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND!

I will be interviewing staff from New Zealand and Australia for about a week before returning home to PA. Looking for the best staff for Canadensis is a big job and we find it’s important to try to meet all of our staff face-to-face. Things like Skype make it easier to do remote interviews, but in person are always the best. As is with Boulder, I will have a chance to see many of our former staff members from last summer and from years ago…many years ago!

Which brings me to the reason for my blog post today. I woke up at 6AM to an email from Groundhog with just a picture attached (no message). Usually that means spam, but I opened it and found the picture below.

So, I guess this is proof that yes I was a camper/counselor back in the day at Canadensis. The kid standing behind me is none other than Joel Wiseman, who came from Australia for one summer, along with his mom who was a nurse and his older brother who worked at our lakefront for many years! A few other observations:

• Camp still uses the same brown dining hall trays. Of course since then we have replaced them, but it’s funny that they are the same style!
• That birthday cake looks amazing!
• This picture was taken on our “old back deck” of the dining hall and you can see a tree in the background. That tree was taken down just last winter after getting damaged in a storm. Pretty cool that we built the deck around that tree so many years ago and then rebuilt a new deck around it again! Too bad it’s gone.
• I am wearing a NJ Devils shirt. Anyone who knows me, knows that I really don’t follow sports, so why aren’t I wearing my favorite shirts of all- Canadensis?!
• And the funniest, most ironic thing…is that my birthday is in SEPTEMBER, not the summertime! So, I can’t remember why there is a cake in front of me. Perhaps I just like cake and Silas remembered that back then and made one special for me? Or, maybe it was one of camper’s birthday, haha.

Anyway, just thought I would share this photo with all of you.

I also want to take a moment and wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year! I will try to pop back on here/Facebook before the holidays, but if not, please enjoy Chanukah/Christmas and New Year Celebrations and of course the best part of this time of year, is that we enter the new year, which means we are even closer to Summer 2012!

Hi Everyone,

It’s December which means it’s the holiday season, but it’s also the time we get busy doing home visits. At Canadensis, we continue a tradition which began decades ago in which we visit all new campers who are enrolled for the upcoming summer in their homes! These home visits give us a chance to get to know our future campers in their own environment and we prepare them for the upcoming new camper events, including bowling, etc.

So myself, Pam, and Brian have been visiting with campers throughout the months of November/December and will continue to do so all winter long. We have also been traveling to colleges and universities to find the best staff for Summer 2012 and of course the International “Where in the World” trips will begin in January.

Robin and I had a chance to also see campers Ryan & Jake Garfinkle with our now annual dinner over there! I also had dinner with camper David Brucker. Everyone is doing well and really excited for the summer!

Jake and Ryan Garfinkle

David Brucker at Benihana

Here in the winter office, Jcal came to visit! Of course he brought us snacks, including our favorite Crumbs cupcakes! We are busy filming a new episode of Canadensis Today, our annual holiday card, and a few other surprises for all of you.

Hope everyone has a great week and check back soon!

Checkout the photo above…I’m on a home visit with Jordyn, a current 4th grader who will be attending Canadensis for the first time this summer as a Lower Inter!  I love going to visit new campers and getting to know them better, and on my home visit with Jordyn, she gave me a gracious tour of their home…just like I gave her a tour of camp when she came to visit this summer!

She has been going to West Hills Day Camp for 7 years, and she is super excited for overnight camp.  She loves to dance during the year, and is very dedicated – on the weekends her practices last for nearly 5 hours!  She is excited for all the activities at camp, especially gymnastics, glass fusion, ceramics, archery, swimming and water-skiing.  She is already a good snow-skier, so I’m sure she’ll have no trouble skiing around Lake Lenape this summer.  She is a big sister to her brother Darren, and she plans to write him (along with her parents!) many letters this summer.  She just had a birthday, and she got to celebrate it three times with different friends and family members…how cool?

Jordyn got an extra special ride in Aunt Terri’s Pink Golf Cart when she came up this summer, and she’s hoping to get a few more this summer!  She said that her friends would describe her as “funny, caring and a good friend” – and I think her bunk mates this summer will be lucky to have her!

My next stop was at Frankie’s house.  Frankie is a current 3rd grader that recently moved from NYC to the Northshore of LI.  I got to know Frankie when she came up to Canadensis last summer for the Tour & More Weekend.  She was at camp for one night, and if she could have stayed for the full summer, she would have been ready to move in!  Frankie will be a Junior this summer, and she already knows a ton about camp because her cousins Scott, Rebecca, Rachel & Jessica are part of the Canadensis family too.

Frankie was at Hebrew School when I got to her house, and she said it was “good”, so clearly she has more fun at Hebrew School than I used to!  We looked through the camp photo album, and she is so excited about the activities at camp this summer.   She can’t wait for woodworking, and she is excited to have a chance to climb on “The Summit” this summer.  The Summit is a huge inflatable toy on our lake that has a climbing wall on one side, and a slide on the other side – Frankie got to go Banana Boating during the Tour & More lake party, but she’s looking forward to being able to do even more.  As we were saying good night, she grabbed her bag FULL of books, which is her own personal traveling “library” – she loves to read.

When Frankie lived in Manhattan, she shared a bedroom with little sister Ruby, which is great preparation for when she shares a bunk with 8-10 other girls this summer!

This is a picture of little sister Ruby, who is currently in Kindergarten – but has tons of energy and excitement for camp!

A few nights prior, I also got to spend some time with Ally, a current 4th grader who will be a new Lower Inter this summer.   She has attended the Tour & More Weekend at camp in 2010, and she is so excited for overnight camp!  I’ve never met a more active girl in my life…she will play everything and try anything!  Some of her favorites include soccer, sports and biking…when I was at her house she was even asking her mom if she could play football!  Her biggest complaint about day camp was that there wasn’t much to do when she got home, so we’ll be keeping her super busy with the fun Evening Activities at Canadensis!  Everyone at camp has a lot of people that are looking out for them, but in Ally’s case she will also have a whole bunk of “big sisters”.  These girls are friends with her big sister, and they will be helping to make sure she has the best summer ever!

It was a fun night of home visits on Long Island, and on Sunday I gave a tour of camp to new campers Lauren & Morgan from Connecticut!  Next week I’ll be heading to Maryland & West Chester NY, and many more locations in the months ahead – looking forward to it!

Don’t these pictures just make you want to be at camp right now???

I hope everyone is having a great Monday morning!  We have been so lucky to have incredible weather in the Northeast for the past few days, and I hope it holds out through the weekend because I’ll actually be making my way up to camp on Sunday!  I’ll be giving a winter tour to two families from Connecticut that are thinking about Camp Canadensis for summer 2012.  If you are also thinking about camp and would like a tour, it’s not too late to call the office and schedule something…you can even join my tour this Sunday, December 4th – just call us at 484-674-1941.  I’m looking forward to it – and I will definitely be stopping at Callies Candy Kitchen on my way back to pick up some holiday treats.

Now is also the time when we are planning out our home visits for the winter. For more than 70 years, Canadensis has had the philosophy of visiting every new camper in their home, it really helps us maintain the close family we have at camp.  With campers coming from PA, NJ, MD, NY and CT…there is a lot of ground to cover!  If you haven’t been contacted by one of our directors yet, you can expect a call in the next few months.  If you’d like to set up something sooner, just give us a call and we’ll be on our way to get to know you and your camper better!

Some of our new campers who met at Canteen on the Fly have already been getting a jump start on building friendships!  The girls, who are currently in 3rd grade and will be Juniors at camp this summer, had a blast at a sleepover this weekend on Long Island, and made an adorable pillow craft project.  I love the results, and can’t wait to see them on their camp beds this summer!  Thanks for sending us photos so we can keep up with the Canadensis fun happening all over…we look forward to seeing each of the girls at their home visits this winter!

I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving Break! Holiday breaks are always my favorite times to see camp friends, so I will now share with you a collection of photos taken at our Thanksgiving Camp Dinner:

It was a fun night full of delightful Italian food (yes, home of the Parm!), good friends, camp stories, and the usual silliness. After dinner we stopped by the Faden home for some more camp love and a brief jump in the leaves (as seen above with Becky J). I must say of all the things I’m thankful for this year, having an amazing camp family definitely ranks up there at the top of my list.

Now with Winter Break only weeks away I’m gearing up for even more nights of camp friends and fun! What do you do with your camp friends over the holiday breaks?