Camp Grandma 2022 New Ideas

Camp Grandma 2022 has officially come and gone! It involved a lot of moving dates because of various family schedules. Thus it became an autumn camp instead of a summer camp.

Note to self: Remember Rule #1 - be flexible! 

Instead of two nights, the camp was only one night, but that time frame gave us two full days to have a lot of fun!

We've been hosting our Camp Grandma for 10 years, and several grandchildren have become adults. They're now busy with work and college.

Two of our young grandsons, who live in Finland, obviously couldn't make it. (Though last year, we planned our Camp Grandma around those two boys who came over at Christmas for our oldest granddaughter's wedding. Stay tuned for more on that 2021 Camp Grandma in another post.)

This year our current teenage grandchildren, who serve as counselors, arrived early in the morning on Day 1 to help with preparations.

We sat down after breakfast and discussed the camp schedule and the various activities.

Then we prepared a few T-shirts for the human piñata game for the next day.

In the later morning, the teens took off with Grandpa for thrift store shopping. Each teen was given $5 to spend on whatever "treasure" they could find. Lunch out provided more teen-cousin time before heading back to the ranch.

Camp Grandma 2022 Campers Arrive

The 3 younger grandchildren arrived in the late afternoon and immediately headed for the tree swing and the trampoline. 

Then it was time to make their own Mummy Hot Dogs for dinner. (Craft projects were all eatable for Camp Grandma 2022.)

After dinner, the kids played traditional outdoor games like "Who can tackle Grandpa" and Hide and Seek in the dark. 

Since campfires and fire pits aren't currently allowed in our area because of the extreme fire danger due to the drought, we opted to gather in the dark in the living room around candles for light. Here we could sit and tell our stories, sing our favorite camp song, and listen to one of Grandpa's God stories.

Sorry, kids, no s'mores this year. :-( 

Nature Hike and Hidden Treasure

Sunday morning held more indoor and outdoor play and some exercises after our traditional "skinny bacon pancakes" breakfast.

Once the dishes were done, we took time for an affirmation circle, where each person had a turn listening to the rest of us tell them what we loved about them. It was an excellent way to start the morning.

Nature Hike and Hidden Treasure

Of course, Camp Grandma always has a nature hike! This year we spiced it up with hidden clues to a treasure. (I had put the paper clues in sandwich baggies in case of rain, and Tom had hidden them along with the treasure a few days before.)

Once all the clues had been found, the kids set them out and tried to find the treasure, which took some time because the clues were all riddles. 

Games, Snacks, and an Eatable Craft

In a nod to Halloween, the counselors had created Harvest Hash Snack Mix in hand gloves to eat while enjoying the treasure, which was an Uno game. 

If you ever need an activity to keep kids entertained, try a few Minute-to-Win games or Ice Cream Cone Teepees. These activities provided a lot of laughter for us. 

The human piñata game was a huge success. The two counselors who were the piñatas couldn't outrun three active little boys, and the goodies were soon stripped from the T-shirts. 

Laser Tag!

Camp Grandma 2022 ended with a family dinner and software-enhanced laser tag. My nephew set up his advanced Tactical Mobile Ops Laser Tag, with equipment, sound effects, and scoring for the kids and parents. I'm pretty sure the kids won, but it was close. 

For more ideas on hosting your own Camp Grandma or Cousin's Camp, check out my Resources page. (Scroll down the page to access past Camp Grandma blog posts and a free download.)

You can also check out my Camp Grandma Pinterest Board for crafts and meal ideas for your own camp. 

If you've hosted a Camp Grandma, I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.