The packing list the camp sends you is a starting point. It’s also written by people who have never had to find a clean pair of socks at 6:45am for a week.

Here is what we actually pack. Day camp version first, overnight version second.

Day camp, the bag

Two water bottles, both filled the night before. One stays in the bag, one goes on the field. The math is that one will get lost or set down somewhere wet. Two means your kid drinks water all week.

A sun hat. Not a baseball cap. A hat with a brim that covers ears. Most camps run on fields without shade. The week-three sunburn most kids get is from camps that didn’t enforce hats.

Sunscreen, kid-applied size. The bottle in the bag, not the family-size in the car. They will not put it on. Spray is the only kind they’ll actually use.

Two snack bars. Camps feed lunch. They don’t feed the 2pm collapse.

A small towel. For the inevitable wet thing. Sweat, water bottle leak, sprinkler, lake.

A ziplock bag. For the inevitable wet thing they have to bring home.

Backup socks and underwear. In the bag, not in the bottom. Day three, your kid will be glad these exist.

A laminated card with your phone number. In the front zip pocket. Most camps have this on a wristband but the wristband comes off by Wednesday.

Overnight, the trunk

Six pairs of socks for a five-day camp. They will lose two and ruin one. Six gets you through.

Five t-shirts and three pairs of shorts. Don’t pack their good clothes. The good clothes will come home stained.

A single pair of jeans or sweatpants for the chilly night. Most parents skip this. Most kids freeze on a Wednesday night.

Two swimsuits if there’s water. One is wet.

Real shoes plus a backup. The backup is not flip-flops. The backup is a pair of cheap sneakers that can get wrecked.

A flashlight. Not a phone. Camps that allow phones still say no phone after lights out.

A book. Even kids who don’t read at home read at camp because there is nothing to scroll.

A small framed photo or a folded piece of paper from home. For the night two homesickness wave that hits almost every kid.

Stamps and pre-addressed postcards if the camp does mail. Three of them. You will be amazed at the postcards that come back.

Ziplock bags. Lots. Wet, dirty, broken, sandy. All the things ziplocks solve.

A pillowcase from home. Not the pillow itself. The pillowcase carries the smell of home and lasts a week.

What to skip

Brand-new gear. New cleats break in painfully and the kid won’t say anything until Wednesday.

Their favorite stuffed animal. It will get lost or wrecked. Send the second-favorite if they need one.

Cash. Most camps have a store account system. If they don’t, $20 is plenty.

Five board games and a deck of cards. Two of those things, total. Camps run their own evenings.

Aerosol bug spray for under-12. Lotion or wipes only. The aerosol cans get sprayed in eyes, mouths, and into other kids’ faces by Tuesday.

What every parent forgets

Hair ties for any kid with hair past the shoulders. Ten of them. They will lose six. Four is enough for the week.

A small refillable shampoo bottle. The full-size one will not survive the trunk and you’ll find it leaking on Friday.

Foot powder for any kid in cleats five days running. Saves the week.

A pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelope to home. For the kid who really needs to send something.

A $5 bill folded in their pocket. Not for spending. For the moment they need to feel like they have it.

The after-camp ritual

Empty the trunk on the porch, not in the laundry room. Pre-sort wet, dirty, salvageable. The trunk will smell like camp for two weeks. That smell is the proof of a good week.

Heading to camp soon? Browse our directory for camps near you with packing list and what-to-bring details.

Run a camp? Add your listing. Camps that publish a clear packing list earn parent trust faster.