As always, our Grandparents Gift theme this year is all about camps and activities – and we are planning summer 2022 to be wide open! When grandparents ask what the kids really want for Christmas, our number one reco is camp or a session of their favorite activity. Grandparents will feel good about the experiences they are giving to their grandkids as well as feel good about helping you out. Because let’s face it, camps and after school activities can get pretty expensive.
Keep in mind, many of the camps don’t have their summer curriculum ready just yet, but they still make a great gift! So our suggestion is to get creative. Either contact them to see if you can purchase a gift card or just write an IOU. Buy a sweatshirt or tee-shirt, wrap in a big bow and put under the tree. This will be the perfect gift that will keep on giving! Grandparents who give this gift will be rockstars for sure!
Following are Smarty ideas for Grandparents Gifting – some of these fall into the camp category and some are lessons/activities:
Our Education Partners (all offer summer camp to ANYONE, not just currently-enrolled students!):
– Charlotte Christian Summer Camps
– Charlotte Country Day School Summer Programs
– Charlotte Preparatory School’s Camp Prep
– CPCC Summer Experience
– Palisades Episcopal School
– Queens University of Charlotte Athletic Camps
– Children’s Theatre’s 2022 Summer Program
– Matthews Playhouse Summer Program
– Discovery Place Science | Discovery Place Nature | Discovery Place Kids Summer 2022
Dance
– Charlotte Ballet’s 2022 Summer Program
– Charlotte School of Ballet
– Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center Summer Camps
– Jami Masters School of Dance
Gymnastics
– Perfect Balance
– Charlotte Gymnastics Academy
– Southeastern Gymnastics
– Little Gym Charlotte
– My Gym
– Zenith Gym
Sports
Ask your special grand-friends for your child’s sporting of choice: soccer, swim, field hockey and more. Most of our education partners and year-round sports leagues offer summer clinics and camps too. All have summer programs way beyond sports, so take your time researching the options!
– Queens Athletic Summer Camps
– Charlotte Soccer Academy’s CSA Camps
– Charlotte Eagles
– Let Me Run Summer Camp
– Camp GOTR
– Carolina Diving Academy
Overnight Camps
Here are some of our favorite overnight camps! All are PERFECT for grandparent gifting.
– Camp Harrison is part of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte. Located between Lenoir and North Wilkesboro in North Carolina, YMCA Camp Harrison at Herring Ridge gives kids ages 6-16 the chance to make life-long memories on over 2,000 acres of land, streams, and trails just 90 miles from Charlotte in the mountains of North Carolina.
This property is absolutely heavenly and your child will be hooked for life!
– Located on beautiful Lake Wylie, S.C., Camp Thunderbird is a 100-acre camp just 20 minutes south of Charlotte. Camp Thunderbird has nationally-recognized water programs, including wakeboarding, water skiing, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, water slides and “the Blob”.
We’ve just skimmed the surface here, but you get the idea. Whatever your child’s interests are, you can pretty much guarantee that there is a program in town (or nearby)! We are lucky that we have so many options for camps and activities in Charlotte and the surrounding areas. Grandparents who give this gift will be rockstars for sure!
