Shared Meals at Maine Camps

As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, families across the country prepare to gather around their Thanksgiving tables. It’s a holiday built on connection of sharing, gratitude, and the warmth of being together. For us at Maine Camp Experience, this season brings to mind a familiar and beloved tradition: the simple joy of gathering for meals at camp.

The Magic of the Camp Table

Every camper knows that some of the best camp memories are made at the dining hall. At Maine Camps, meals are more than just food; they’re moments of community. It’s where friendships deepen over stacks of pancakes, where inside jokes begin, where counselors and campers trade stories from home and adventures from the day. Much like a Thanksgiving feast, camp meals bring together people of different ages, backgrounds, and hometowns, and unite them as a family.

Traditions Passed Down, Just Like Thanksgiving

Just as every family has its cherished Thanksgiving rituals, every Maine Camp Experience Camp has its own beloved dining hall traditions. Maybe it’s the rousing songs and cheers that erupt before dessert, the birthday celebration, or that traditional first-night-of-camp meatballs and spaghetti dinner that campers look forward to all year long.

These traditions, like holiday customs, create comfort. They remind campers that they belong, that they are part of something bigger.

A Lesson in Gratitude

Thanksgiving invites us to reflect on what we appreciate in our lives — and camp teaches this same lesson every day. At camp, gratitude shows up in small, meaningful ways:

• Thankfulness for cabinmates who share meals together.
• Appreciation for counselors who turn meals into laughter, and song and cheer-filled gatherings.
• Gratitude for the kitchen teams who work tirelessly to nourish hundreds of hungry, happy kids. Kids learn that food is not only sustenance, but a way to care for one another — whether that’s passing the ketchup, sharing the last cookie, or simply listening to someone’s story.

Bringing the Camp Spirit Home for the Holidays

This Thanksgiving, families of MCE campers may find that camp traditions naturally slip into their holiday gatherings — songs, blessings, or simply the way campers pitch in to help set the table. Camp encourages kids to be more independent, more community-minded, and more appreciative of the people around them — qualities that shine brightly during the holidays.

And just as camp meals fill the dining hall with warmth and joy, Thanksgiving meals have a way of filling homes with gratitude and connection.

Looking Ahead with Full Hearts

As we enjoy this season of togetherness, we’re reminded that the spirit of camp doesn’t end in August. It lives on in shared meals, in family traditions, and in the gratitude we carry with us throughout the year.

From everyone at Maine Camp Experience, we wish you and your family a warm, joyful, and memory-filled Thanksgiving. May your table be full, and your hearts even fuller.

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 contact our Maine Camp Guide, Laurie to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.