Why Halloween Makes Us Miss Our Maine Summer Camps

This weekend, kids all over the country will be donning their costumes. Vaders, Elsas, Spidermen, Hulks, Minions, cowboys, ghosts and goblins will be parading around schools and neighborhoods, bags and pumpkins ready for candy. Halloween makes us miss camp. There are so many chances at camp to dress up. Between spirit days and special evening programs, color war celebrations and themed events, I think it’s fair to say that one of the skills learned at camp is how to improvise a killer costume from the clothes you brought from home, what you can borrow from friends, and what you find at arts and crafts. It’s part of what makes Halloween extra fun for summer campers – the spirit of silliness, creativity, and fun that comes with Halloween conjures up those care-free summer days when the weather was warmer and our camp friends were all around us … wearing gigantic colored wigs. The beautiful thing about all this silliness is that is that it is a seriously beneficial part of camp. Seriously. The opportunity to dress up at various times throughout the summer does a few things for campers: Sparks Creativity You only have one outrageous skirt, some pieces of sparkly fabric and some duct tape – go! Being tasked with coming up with a creative costume lets kids’ minds wander, be free, and get outrageous with that creativity. Promotes Unity What better way to bond with your fellow campers than by looking ridiculous together? Getting ready for a costume day brings friends together both in hatching a plan for the best costume, and in wearing them all together. Laughter, hilarity, and bonding ensue. Builds Confidence Last year, our resident Maine Camp alumna wrote about how she had no costume just a few days before Halloween, but she wasn’t worried. Her time at summer camp had taught her how to be resourceful and creative with a time crunch. To her, a camper never buys a cookie cutter costume – they have all the tools they need to make their own, and they learned them at (you guessed it) camp. So as you’re putting together your look on Halloween night – whether it be Princess Leia, Kylo Ren, Joy from Inside Out, or your very best impression of The Walking Dead – think of camp. In addition to all the fun and silly stuff you’ll see that night, it’s sure to put a smile on your face. Happy Halloween!! Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools

Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child?  Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks).  It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates.  Then you can research these camps in more depth.

Next, be sure to  to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.

You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.