SUMMER
PLEASURES

SEALED
WITH A KISS

The NMI

Banish the

homesick blues

with these care

package tips for

kids at camp.

PHOTO BY DANIE L LI PPITT

LISA BRODY
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Marmel Gifts
and Toys in
Farmington Hills
offers a wide
selection of
camp gifts.

ou've been to Brody's,
Kmart, Target, and
every drug store in a
five-mile radius shop-
ping for insect repellent. You've
stuffed the duffels with every-
thing on the camp list and every-
thing your child can't live
without. You've even mailed a
note so when your child arrives
at camp, there's a letter waiting.
Now, what are you going to send
your kid while he/she is away?
Letters, of course. But what
about some packages?
Beanie Babies are a sure
thing, if you can find any. But
what else would let your kids
know you're thinking about
them?
Judi Schram, of West Bloom-
field, sends her daughter Alli-
son, 11, magazines. Allison

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k aatiVithCar ,

attends Camp Tamakwa in Al-
gonquin Park, Ontario. Allison
also loves receiving disposable
cameras, stationery, socks,
hacky sacks and autograph
books. For sons Justin, 16, and
Zack, 18, Schram sends the
sports pages from the local
newspapers.
"The camps are getting more
and more specific about what
they will allow in packages,"
notes Shelley Littman, own-
er of Adventures In
Toys in Birming-
ham.
Mark Coden, co-
owner of Camp
Tanuga in Kalkas-
ka, Michigan, does
not like food, candy and pop.
"We send those items back," he
says. He recommends comic
books, magazines, card games,
yo-yos, and says glow-in-the-
dark is good for little kids. "We
definitely do not like water bal-
loons or water guns," he says.
He urges parents not to send
electronic games to camp.
'We're trying to give the kids an
experience that they do not have
at home and teach them how to
occupy their time with more tTa-
ditionql, low-tech stuff," he ex-
plains.
"It's nice if they're sending a
big package, if there is some-
thing to share," adds Coden. "It's
great, for example, if you're
sending paddle ball games or
wooden airplanes, to send one
for everyone."
Littman says boys enjoy re-
ceiving twisted metal puzzles,
IQ puzzles, Rubik's Cube varia-
tions, card games, and that old
mainstay, MAD LIBs.
Ed Malkin, owner of Marmel
Gifts and Toys on Orchard Lake
Road in Farmington Hills says,

The Hacky Sack and Official
Koosh Book by Klutz are

popular summer camp gifts.

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"Kids like to receive different
glow-in-the-dark or fluorescent
things for after lights out." He
sees glow-in-the-dark pens and
markers as great package
stuffers and says older kids love
glow-in-the-dark stars and
moons and other items they can
hang in their cabin.
Darryl Roth, owner of Wrap
It Up in the Orchard Mall in
West Bloomfield, says she will
be sending glow-in-the-dark
Silly Putty and glow-in-the-dark
arts and crafts kits to kids
at camp. For boys, she will
be offering Koosh pocket foot-
balls and kites. Key chains,
which have been very hot all
school year, will continue being
big.
"Boys like more sports-ori-
ented gifts, while girls are into
hair wraps and beaded accesso-
ry kits," says Roth. She has a
great postcard to send to kids
called Better Than A Letter, in
two sizes, that are 3-E) foamcore
postcards that you can mail just
like a postcard. Puzzlegrams
are also fun. You can break

them up after you write on
them.
Littman and Malkin also of-
fer a variety of stationery items
which (no surprise if you have a
son) are much more popular
with girls. Marmel has camp
stationery which kids can make
as well as use to write home on.
Adventures In Toys has a vari-
ety of autograph pillows, diaries,
remembrance albums, auto-
graph books and cutesy pens.
Klutz also has come out with
books and games sure to be a big
hit at camp, teaching juggling,
cat's cradle and Chinese jump
rope.
For kids of all ages and
both sexes, small chess sets,
backgammon, checkers and Chi-
nese checkers are ideal quiet
time gifts.
"We find that the girls are
very crafty at home, but at camp
they are already doing crafts.
They want jacks, skipping ropes,
little kites, yo-yos and marbles,"
points out Littman. Yo-yos are
enjoying a great renaissance and
are sure to pop out of quite a few
envelopes this summer.
"They really like lots of little
things, the junk, the 50-cent and
dollar stuff is what they love,"
says Littman. You don't have to
spend a lot of money to send a
bit of love. 0

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