Gramma’s Christmas Camp 2022

I planned another mini-Christmas camp for our two in-town grandchildren this past Christmas. Gramma, Grampa, and our 9-year-old granddaughter and 11-year-old grandson played, crafted, sang, talked, and laughed for two and a half days.

Day one started around noon and first on the agenda was a trip to the movie theater to see Avatar in 3D. The kids thought it was awesome and three hours later we emerged stuffed from popcorn, candy, and Icee Slushes. Oh, the joys of grandparent’s spoiling! The evening ended with a living room campout and Christmas movies putting the kids to sleep.

Day two was a full day of crafts, games, and treats. Our first morning craft was a Christmas wreath using a floral foam ring, tissue paper, and mini ornaments. With Christmas music and other favorite tunes playing in the background, we sang and talked as the kids worked away on their masterpieces.

Our granddaughter cheerfully assembled her masterpiece, and our grandson dutifully worked on his, but I could certainly sense that he would have much rather been playing his video games, watching YouTube videos, or shooting hoops outside. He never complained and obliged me as he has every previous year, but I realized my firstborn grandson isn’t a little boy anymore, as much as I wished he was. It was obvious for my future Gramma camps I would need to create more “age appropriate” activities for my tween grandson to keep his interest.

Next, we took a little break so the kids could watch a few YouTube videos or play a video game before our next craft. As a side note, I always prepare and create the craft we will be making in advance which I highly recommend. If I can do it, they can do it, lol!

The next craft was a Christmas tree threading endeavor. I traced a basic triangle shaped tree on to the middle of a paper plate and using an X-acto knife, I cut the shape out. I then punched holes around the perimeter of the triangle shape for threading purposes. I gave the kids a long piece of green yarn to thread through the holes in any direction to create their tree. Now, this wasn’t as easy as it looks because the yarn would get tangled here and there or they would thread in the wrong direction through a hole. I informed the kids that my craft instructions said the craft was “easy enough for kindergarteners” to make, and they rolled their eyes and chuckled.

Our next activities included two games using candy canes. The first was Candy Cane Fishing. Each was given a candy cane tied to a string with the curved side representing a fishing hook. I placed several candy canes in 2 buckets, hanging each on the lip of the bucket. The kids stood on a chair with their bucket below them and their dangling fishing hook candy cane ready to go. After a couple of practice attempts, the kids had one minute to “fish out” as many candy canes as possible and place them in their empty buckets. We played three rounds, and it was so much fun. The best two out of three won the prize.

The next candy cane game consisted of dropping the candy cane onto a string of garland tied between the two chairs. Standing on the chairs again, with the bunch of candy canes in hand, the kids dropped each candy cane in hopes it would hook onto the garland. Once I said “GO”, they had one minute to drop their canes. Any candy canes that dropped on the carpet could be picked up and tried again within the one-minute timeframe. We played another best two out of three and they had a great time.

The weather was extremely chilly outside, so I decided to heat up the hot tub, and we got in and enjoyed those hot bubbling jets with hot chocolate drinks in our hands and music playing. I asked the kids if they had ever heard of the “polar plunge” and explained how people in super cold climates would participate in the polar plunge challenge, jumping into a freezing cold lake. I was just having a conversation about it but before I knew it, our grandson was standing at the side of the pool trying to get the courage to jump in. It was hilarious as he jumped in, screamed, and swam across to the other side, jumping out and plopping back into the hot tub. We cracked up laughing but he was so proud of himself. Not to be over shadowed, our granddaughter followed suit and we laughed uncontrollably.

Before dinner, we did one last craft which consisted of a clear glass ornament and the kids’ fingerprints. I painted their fingers with white acrylic paint, and they held the glass ornament in their palms, pressing their painted fingers onto the ornament. We then painted some eyes, carrot nose, hat, and scarf to each of the white imprints to create a little snowman family on their ornament.

Next, we did our photo shoot, which I think they dread, lol! I have many Christmas hats, scarves, and goofy accessories, and we chose our costumes and Grampa took pictures of our shenanigans in front of the Christmas tree.

After dinner we stoked up the fire pit and made smores as we sat on the back patio. They were delectable! The night ended with another living room campout and more Christmas movies.

Our last day was only a half day so after breakfast we finished our time together with two games: The Candy Cane Hunt and the Christmas Card Blow. The candy cane hunt is simply a scavenger hunt for candy canes that I have hidden in the back yard, and a prize for who finds the most. Our granddaughter is the reigning champion of every scavenger hunt that I have ever conducted. She just has the knack for finding anything, especially candy, lol! To be fair, I give her older brother, or any kid for that matter, a head start, and even with their head start, she still consistently beats any challengers.

The last game, the Christmas Card Blow was a first-time event for me. I set up a small table and each kid chose a Christmas card which they placed in front of them in a tent formation. The kids, sitting side by side, start to blow the card to the other side of the table without blowing it completely off, leaving it hanging on the edge. This was easier said than done and different cards and sizes worked better than others. The kids tried different strategies and this game was full of laughs and a little frustration.

That was a wrap on the 2022 GrammaWarrior Christmas Camp! Making memories is my mantra!

God bless you Warriors!

Love, GrammaWarrior