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Raquel Cohen checks out mom's care package.

only still around, but have become
more imaginative and elaborate
than ever. Now, in the age of camp
letters and well wishes sent via e-
mail and fax, moms and dads are
still sending kids homemade cookies
and candy, when allowed.
But they're also using newfangled
methods for sending their love — in
a tangible fashion — to the overnight
camp set. They're calling companies
who specialize in the art of creating
gender — and age-specific care pack-
ages around the country and Canada
to do the shopping and mailing.

,

ANNABEL COHEN
Special to the Jewish News

C

amp care packages, those
bundles of games, toys and
food goodies sent to kids
from home, are a tradition.
When I was a kid, my mother sent
dried fruits and nuts and the occa-
sional stuffed animal. Though not a
bad care package, I envied the other
kids in my cabin that received boxes
full of Jolly Ranchers and Bazooka.
Well, camp care packages are not

There are several reasons why
camp care packages have evolved
from toll-house in a shoe-box to
high-tech. Among the simplest rea-
sons is that more and more "stuff"
is available. Parents can not only go
to "everything's a dollar" type stores
and send all kinds of good junk for
a pittance, they can send these
packages overnight in most cases.
Often, these discount or close-out
stores offer fun and colorful hair
accessories, games, toys, puzzles,
books, even buckets to hold the tid-
bits in.

Other great sources for care-
package loot include book stores,
arts-and-crafts shops and, believe it
or not, office supply stores with
their wide range of stationery and
computer accessories and toys.
Another reason care packages are
more popular than ever is that get-
ting them from the kitchen table to
the camper's cabin is faster and
more efficient than ever before.
With UPS overnight, express mail
and packing stores like Mailboxes,
Etc., mom can bake cookies in the
morning and Junior can get them
while they're practically still warm.
Other companies will send food
specialties simply by picking up the
phone. The nation's oldest pretzel
factory, Sturgis House Pretzels, in
Lititz, Pa., will send pounds of their
famous oat-bran pretzels around the
world — and to your favorite camper
(phone number: 717-626-4354).
Not all camps let you send what
you want, however. In fact, some
camps have criteria that's quite strin-
gent and limited. So while one may
allow everything from cookies to
computer games, others restrict pack-
ages to specific items that may not
include food at all. It's best to check
what your particular camp allows.
Northern lower Michigan's
Interlochen fine arts camp is very

7/16

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Detroit Jewish News

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