June 24th

It’s Christmas!! Here’s how the day began, in the words of staff and campers:

Kristie G. (Dreams Begin): “We slept in our Christmas PJs and woke up to run to the old blue farm truck that comes around. We wait in line, and everybody gets hot chocolate with 2 marshmallows and 2 gooey Krispy Kreme donuts.”

Sadie R. (Sunnyside counselor): “They wake up and bring us hot chocolate and donuts. For Sunnyside, today is the day that they got their clipboards, but they had to complete a scavenger hunt first. They had to do things like give ten Tweedles piggy-back rides and hug Patti-O. The final thing was they had to walk up the hill backwards to get their clipboards. We sat in a circle around the hearth in the Lodge and wrote down all our inside jokes on our clipboards.”

Natalie B. (Sunnyside counselor): “Right after donut breakfast, we sent girls on a scavenger hunt for their clipboards. I’m not sure why clipboards are such a big deal, except that they are and they really matter because it’s a tradition that we’ve done forever. It’s something made specifically for each Sunnysider.”

Liza K. (Stardust): “As soon as I heard the Christmas songs [playing from the breakfast truck] I woke up and ran pretty fast to the truck to get donuts. We also get a stocking full of candy!”

Janie C. (Stardust): “My favorite part of Christmas is Christmas Eve because at night, counselors come sing carols in your cabin when you’re laying in your bed. It’s fun to think about what they sing and wear and to think about the next day.”

Clara S. (Milky Way): “We got stockings with candy and the whole cabin does a candy trade. We pour out our candy and it is everywhere, so you can get all different kinds. There is also a healthy apple.”

Sophie T. (Tweedledee): “I liked getting donuts and sleeping in.”

Sandra T. (Comet): “My favorite part is sleeping in and giving my Secret Santa gift, a picture frame that I decorated on Christmas Eve. Mine was Alice Monk and she is one of my good friends at camp.”

Marit S. (Big Dipper counselor): “Kids that don’t get to celebrate Christmas and Jesus’ birth at home get to celebrate it here.”

Annabel M. (Sunnyside): “I woke up, walked two steps, and fell into a canoe. It’s a tradition, a little Merry Christmas surprise from all the counselors. But I like that today is also the sunniest day so far. Camp is wonderful.”

Madeline C. (Stardust counselor): “I like seeing the girls so excited and knowing that it is Christmas here and nowhere else.”

Madi S. (CIT): “My favorite thing about Christmas is caroling because it sets such a celebratory mood. I also liked hearing the Sunnysiders sing ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,’ to Patti-O. Patti-O is pretty much the grandma of camp. It seems like she does everything and could do anything. But it was funny because she doesn’t like being put on the spot.”

Haley F. (Tweedle cabin director): “It is possibly better than real Christmas. And there is blazing hot chocolate.”

After donut breakfast, we all went to chapel to sing Christmas carols, the camp hymn, and to hear a message from Tweedledum counselor Jenna Ecarma about how God is always present and wanting to know us. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th periods followed per usual, just plus Christmas attire.

Many classes had campers working on bars, since it was the last day for two-week campers to finish any bars they had been working on. Tennis was using both courts to help girls get their returns in for bronze and silver, and gymnastics was working on bars and trampoline. About gymnastics, Milky Way camper Elizabeth Intemann said, “I like gymnastics because there are so many different things to do. Bars are my favorite because it is kind of cool to do flips over something and there are so many different combinations to try.”

At the waterfront, kayaking had girls in the water working on T-rescues, when one boat pulls up perpendicularly to a flipped boat so that the flipped kayakers can pull themself right side up. Canoeing played tag, swamped the canoes and played on them, practiced strokes, and then had a dance party on the dock.

Walking down from the waterfront, I ran into the guitar class walking out of pottery. As Stardust camper Elena S. explained, “We’ve been going to almost every activity and playing Silent Night for them. We even played it over the intercom!” Pottery had their bowls out of the kiln and was describing what they liked about their pieces before playing with clay or practicing on the wheel- listening to Christmas music all the while.

My final stop was at cooking, where they were making blackberry, blueberry, and peach pies. A special thanks to Kristie of Black Mountain who came to camp today to teach the girls how to make pies! After activities was dinner, which included a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sing-along led by Patti-O, and then the girls were off to Christmas Party, which includes a few cabin competitions, and of course, an appearance from Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Merry Christmas from Camp Merri-Mac!