Packing

camp casual, please!

Clothing

Campers and staff dress informally at Kingswood. Many of the styles campers are used to won’t make sense at camp, so please work with your child to help them choose appropriate clothing. Send only clothes that are comfortable and will hold up in the laundry, rather than clothing that, if lost or ruined, would cause you or your child to be upset. Please do not send clothing that may be seen as provocative or disrespectful. This would include, but would not be limited to clothing that allows underwear to show, or clothing with curse words or drug references. Camp is not responsible for any lost, damaged, misplaced, or stolen items. We do our best to return any labeled items to campers, so please label every item you send with your child to camp, including towels, water bottles, and hats. We recommend using a permanent marker or pre-made labels or stickers, designed for camp. Some of our families recommend Mabel’s Labels, affordable and high quality stick-on, iron-on, and stamp-on customizable labels in several sizes and fun customizations.

Shabbat Clothing

Shabbat is a very special time at camp, and on Friday nights campers wear clean, nicer clothes, such as collared shirts, skirts, dresses, and non-athletic shorts. At the end First and Second session campers also will wear Shabbat-attire for our all-camp closing Banquet. Some campers also like to pack a few extra items in anticipation of other special events, such as costume parties, themed programs, or Talent Show acts. An outfit that works for each possible Color War Team (red, blue, green, or yellow) is also recommended, although we also sell Kingswood t-shirts in each Color War team color in Canteen.

Music

Music is an important part of camp, and we appreciate the desire for campers to bring their own music to camp. If only cassettes were still a thing! 😉 To prevent the urge to play games or watch shows, we only allow campers to bring small mp3 players, iPods or personal radios without Wi-Fi, cellular, games, or watching capabilities. SanDisk makes high quality, inexpensive mp3 players that meet all our requirements for camp; or iPod shuffles and iPod nanos (without touchscreens) also meet our requirements. Any device that can connect to a Wi-Fi or cellular network, such as iPhones, iPod touches, later generation iPod nanos, smart watches, and any kind of smartphone, will be stored in a secure safe in the camp office until the camper’s departure from camp. We do not allow these devices, even if they are deactivated or without SIM cards.

Books

We strongly recommend sticking to regular old-school books, and we encourage campers to expand their bunk library by sharing! We do allow e-readers at Kingswood, but only without Wi-Fi access or games.

Cameras

Campers may bring disposable cameras, Polaroids, and/or digital cameras without internet capabilities. Phone cameras are not permitted.

Please Leave at Home:

• Technology, including cell phones, smart watches that connect to wifi or cellular service, gaming devices, TVs/DVD players/screens, video games, walkie talkies, devices with touch screens, or any other handheld device with games, internet, or movies.
• Weapons, knives, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, e cigarettes, vape pens, pornography, lighters/matches, and fireworks.
• Food, snacks, or drinks.

Luggage

Please pack in a maximum of two duffel bags, making sure all luggage is securely closed and labeled with your camper’s name and city. Prior to camp, all campers will be mailed a set of color-coded luggage tags. Please write your camper’s full name on the tag and attach it securely to their luggage in a visible location. These luggage tags ensure that nothing gets lost on the first day, and helps our luggage team deliver your camper’s luggage right to their bunk.

A luggage truck accompanies the buses departing from our primary Boston camper drop-off/ pick-up at JCDS, in Watertown, MA, and campers arriving on all other buses are invited to put their luggage under the buses. For an added convenience, all families are invited to use ShipCamps, a door-to-door camp luggage service.

Most commonly used by our campers who fly to camp, ShipCamps arranges for duffel bags to be picked up and delivered after camp to your home, and the bags will be in your child’s cabin when they arrive. You sign up with ShipCamps and specify dates, and they arrange the rest with us. Please schedule bag arrival for 3 days prior to the start of your camper’s session, and pick-up for their last day of camp.