Cousin Camp | Family-Style

Cousin Camp (affectionately known in our family as Camp Cece) was in jeopardy!

Every summer my husband and I host a camp for the potty-trained members of our tribe of eight grandchildren.  This year that meant seven out of eight were eligible. But because of Covid-19-induced quarantines, we weren’t sure we could find a place open for business and suitable for safe-distancing.

When our grandchildren were small, we hosted a preschool Bug Camp, and then a Secret Agent Camp. When they got older, we camped at Jellystone Park, and took a trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

For months our grandchildren have begged us to tell them where our seventh annual cousin camp would be, so cancelling the camp wasn’t an option for us.

Instead, we got creative.

First we rented a five-bedroom house at Crystal Beach in Destin, Florida.

 

Then, since we knew we couldn’t manage all eight grandchildren in the sand and waves by ourselves, my husband and I asked our three daughters and their husbands to join us for four days of family games and competitions!

Finally, we asked my 86-year-old mother to return as a camp counselor and, for the seventh time, she said yes!

To help with planning, our daughters agreed to take turns hosting supper each night.

 

Cousin Camp Teams

Since my daughters and my mom all live in different towns, we all spent the first day of camp driving to the beach.

When we met up at the beach house, we immediately hit the beach for group photos.

 

 

Back at the house, it was time for Team Discovery. Days ahead of time, my husband and I had arranged our family members into three teams, mixing families up and making sure each team was equally matched. Then, we assigned each team a color.

As I announced the teams, everyone hooped and hollered and proudly sported their team colors with bright bandanas.

 

 

Next I explained that all the teams would compete in activities each day for points. At the end of camp, the highest-scoring team would earn the honor of being named Camp CeCe Champ.

With excitement in high gear, I reminded my grandchildren that, even though everyone wanted to be Camp CeCe Champs, we would strive to be family first and champions second. In other words, being critical of each other wouldn’t be tolerated and poor sportsmanship would cost their teams points.

(As unbelievable as it sounds, not one grandchild ever had to be corrected for poor sportsmanship or an unkind comment. Hard to believe, I know. But they took my instructions to heart.)

To end the evening, we threw a beach ball around the room and each person had to answer the question that landed under his or her right pointer finger.

 

 

Sandcastles and belly flops

A sandcastle contest was our first day’s cousin camp activity. Teams were given baggies and food coloring so they could dye sand and add a little color to their creations.

Later, at the pool, we enjoyed some entertaining belly flop and canon ball competitions!

A charcuterie board was a huge hit for supper!

 

After dark, we returned to the beach for a hermit crab hunting contest. We awarded points for the largest number of crabs caught and the biggest crab.

 

 

Old-fashioned cousin camp fun

Competitiveness reached a new level on the second day with relay games on the beach!

From an old-fashioned three-legged race to dropping clothespins in a milk jug, the battle raged! Team members used frisbees to fill buckets with beach water, raced with beach balls between their legs, and played Head Hip Cup. We ended the competition with a fierce round of Tug-of-War.

 

Supper that night was a Mexican Fiesta in honor of our grandson’s ninth birthday. After tacos and salsa, we played Pass the Hot Pinata and then took turns swatting a large piñata filled with candy.

 

 

On our last beach day, teams scrambled to photograph items for a beach scavenger hunt. They found everything from a red beach chair to a piece of seaweed.

 

 

Then each team created a sand volcano and made it erupt with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar.

 

 

To conclude our beach activities, we played a round of Limbo.

 

 

After a delicious hot dog bar for supper, we played a game of beach charades. At that point the scores of all three teams were neck-and-neck, so the game determined the final winners.

 

Family-style cousin camp for the win!

By the time we posed for one last group photo on the morning of our departure, the verdict was in. Camp CeCe Cousin Camp on the Beach had been a roaring success. For four solid days not one argument, bad attitude, or tear had made its way into camp. And all the adults had laughed, competed, and spent time catching up with one other.

 

 

A quick poll among the grandchildren left next year’s Camp CeCe Cousin Camp hanging in the balance. Would they prefer a kids-only camp or a family-style cousin camp with parents included? The grandchildren were torn between the two options!

So, the verdict is still out about what kind of cousin camp we’ll plan for next year.

But the verdict is in about this year’s family-style Camp CeCe cousin camp.

It was a roaring success!

 

 

You can download a copy of my Beach Scavenger Hunt along with some faith-inspiring printables in my free resource library!