10 Summer Camp Products for Kids

If your kids are like mine they have been counting down the sleeps not only for end of school but for the start of camp. At Stuck on You, we thought it was a great time to share with you our Top 10 Summer Camp Products for Kids. Whether it’s Labels or Beach Towels, Toiletry Bags or Clothing Labels, packing the kids off the camp with everything labelled or personalized is a great way to make sure that everything you pack for summer camp this year comes home again.

1. Name Labels

Choose from a huge variety of name labels, shapes, colours and designs to find a label for virtually everything you send off to camp. Swimming goggles, sports gears, electronic devices and phones (if your kids camp allows them), games, books, toys and lunchbox containers for day camp.

2. Clothing Labels 

This is where Stuck on You comes into it’s own, we have been providing moms with clothing labels for over 16 years. That’s a lot of quality testing at camp! These clothing labels are designed to stick and stay stuck to all of your kids clothing that you are likely to send off to camp including sweaters, t-shirts, wetsuits, jackets, socks, vests and more.

3. Personalized Sports Bag

Your kids will easily recognize their own belongings when it’s all neatly packed into their own Personalized Sports Bag from Stuck on You. Fully lined with lots of room and plenty of pockets including a huge side pocket that goes deep inside the Sports Bag – perfect for dirty laundry or muddy shoes!

4. Personalized Beach Towels 

I’ll never forget  seeing the HUGE pile of Beach Towels left behind at my son’s Summer Camp – it was a terry towelling mountain! Before you bundle them off, get the kids a Personalized Beach Towel so that it comes home with you. Top tip: I even add an Iron On Clothing Label just in case there’s more than one child with the same name.

5. Personalized Backpack

There are a bunch of Personalized Kids Bags to choose from in the Stuck on You collection, but the Personalized Backpacks are perfect for day camp or the bus trip there. They are fully lined, made from durable poly canvas and have plenty of little pockets for all of those little treasures that they like to bring home from camp – such as feathers, rocks and bark.

6. Personalized Drink Bottles 

We can never get enough of Drink Bottles in our house, one for the car, one for school, one for camp, and they fit perfectly in the pocket of the Personalized Backpack. BPA free and made from food grade steel so they are able to handle the rough and tumble of kids camp life. Top tip: just to be on the safe side, pop a Name Label on the bottom of the Personalized Drink Bottle too.

7. Personalized Travel Kits 

This is actually a favourite product of me and my daughter. Part of the joy of camp for her is packing all of her little bits and pieces into her Personalized Toiletry Bag. This kit comes with the fully lined bag with plenty of pockets, a toothbrush and travel bottles that you can personalize online with little labels. Super cute and very practical.

8. Safety Bands

The Personalized Safety Bands or Slap Bands are great for day camp, especially for younger kids. Mine just love wearing theirs for fashion’s sake but with room for a phone number or a few words about allergies or dietary restrictions they make great Safety Bands too.

9. Personalized Bag Tags

A great way for your kids to easily recognize their bag as they are all lined up in rows at day camp or their suitcase for sleep-away camp. Jump online with your kids and let them choose their favourite design and add their name to create their own Personalized Bag Tags or Luggage Tags that they can easily spot in a crowd.

10. Shoe Labels

I don’t think I need to explain to any mom the value of shoe labels, especially when it comes to getting ready for camp. With over 16 years of quality testing by moms and kids, we know that our Shoe Labels will stick and stay stuck. From flip flops to river shoes, sandals to sneakers – it’s nice to know that all of the shoes you send to camp will come home again.

Which Stuck on You product is your favorite to help get organized for Summer Camp? 

Ultimate Camp Labels Checklist

Wether your kids are heading off to Summer Camp or Day Camp, being prepared means one thing is always at the top of the list – labels. As most camps require that all of your kids’ clothing and belongings are labelled, Stuck on You have put together the Ultimate Camp Labels Checklist to make sure that you have all of the labels that you need. I know it might seem odd to get excited about Labels, but working at Stuck on You, you really can’t help it.

I get a LOT of satisfaction sending my kids off to camp knowing that when they leave their stuff from one end of the camp to the other (as they do at home) it will all still make its way safely back home. The clothing maybe dirtier, the shoes worn, the towels a bit smelly and the kids exhausted, but they all come home.

Not just name labels and clothing labels, a few Personalized items means they return home too. Check out our Kids Backpacks, Personalized Toiletry Bags, Sports Bags, Beach Towels and Journals too!

If you are nervous about sending the kids off to Summer Camp read our 8 Tips for Summer Camp to get some tips from our guest blogger, Stephanie Wilson from Stuck on You Canada. She went to camp many times as a girl and now has two girls of her own preparing for Summer Camp this year.

Click on the image below to get a printable version of The Ultimate Camp Checklist, get an idea of how many labels you need for all of your kids’ items and place your order online at Stuck on You.

Personalised Canvas Winners

Congratulations to the 5 winners of our What’s the Word Competition, you each win a Personalised Canvas or Personalized Canvas (for our friends in the USA and Canada). Our winners are:

Julie Ellis
Katrina Whittaker
Happy Homebird
Jolyn Andy
Vettechic

Email jenna@stuckonyou.biz to claim your prize.

We accepted both PERSONALISED and PERSONALIZED as correct entries. You are all very clever and we have decided that we need to come up with trickier puzzles in the future. Thank you so much to all of you who entered, we were so pleased with the response that we have decided to make these a regular thing so, stay tuned for future What’s the Word challenges!

Did you miss out on a Personalised Wall Canvas this time? Take a look at them online at Stuck on You, they are now available in medium and small with over 35 super cute new designs.

Win 1 of 5 Personalised Canvases

We’re giving away 5 new Medium Personalised Canvas valued at $44.95 AU in the design of your choice.

How to Play What’s the Word

The 4 pics have 1 word in common
The blank squares show the number of letters in the word
Select from the available letters

Can you guess what it is? Post your answer in the comments section of this blog.

Share with your friends if you need some help or so they can enter too.

Entries close 4pm AEST Monday, 29 April 2013.

5 correct entries will be chosen at random to WIN.

Read our Terms and Conditions

Creative Review Competition

We recently teamed up with Bloggers Connecting in New Zealand and invited all of the Bloggers attending their Around The Table event on the weekend (12-14 April 2013) to choose their favourite Stuck on You product and write their most creative review. For the winner, we offered $250 cash and a $250 Stuck on You Prize Pack to share with their readers.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with these fabulously talented and creative women and we loved seeing our products presented in so many fun and creative ways. Here at Stuck on you HQ we thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one and shared them with the Stuck on You team all over the world.

But there can only be one winner and on this our judges were unanimous. The ever so clever Stella Rutherford, the creator of The Golden Adventures of a Very Dark Horse created the most amazing review that we have ever seen. You take a look and be the judge.

How cute are those kids?! You can read the entire blog post entitled Our Intrepid Lives here. Want to know how she did it? Well, Stella has posted a how-to along with many other craft tutorials, you can read it here.

Congratulations to Stella for doing such an awesome job and showing the Stuck on You Lunch Pack in such an awe-inspiring way. Just as Einstein said (and a quote that adorns a wall here at Stuck on You HQ), “Creativity is contagious, pass it on.”

Stay tuned, later this week we will have an interview with Stella Rutherford.

8 Tips for Summer Camp

As many Moms and Dads in the USA and Canada begin to think about Summer Camp we thought it was a good time to start thinking about how to help the kids (and parents) prepare. Stephanie Wilson from Stuck on You Canada has teenage children and is a seasoned Summer Camp mom. She is this month’s Guest Blogger and here she shares her 8 Tips for Summer Camp.

Summer Camp is where so many wonderful childhood memories and friends are made. To help your child have a fun and successful experience, preparation is important. Whether your child is going to day camp or sleep away camp there are a few things to keep in mind.

  1. Take a moment to read the list supplied by the camp on what to bring and get it organized early to ease last minute stress.
  2. Camps will also request that everything come labelled with your child’s name so start a list of clothing labels and name labels requirements and check your stocks.
  3. Resist the urge to buy new clothes – life at camp can be a little rough and dirty.
  4. Resist the temptation to pack any electronics, most camps will ask that they not be sent.
  5. Once you’ve worked out what to bring then let your child help pack so they know exactly what is in their bags and where.
  6. Talk to your kids about what they think their camp experience will be like and ease any worries they may bring up. Discuss the different activities they will enjoy while at camp.
  7. If your child is going to sleep away camp, organize letters or care packages for them to receive while they are there.
  8. Lastly, send self-addressed envelopes and paper with them so they can write home.

Then let them go and don’t worry, they will come home with some great memories, albeit a little dirty and tired.

 

 

4 Recipes with Easter Eggs

Now that is Easter is over it means there’s chocolate, and lots of it! I know in my house we never have the problem of uneaten chocolate but many people I know seem to be finding leftover Easter eggs and bunnies months later. At Stuck on You HQ we have been talking about ways to use up those leftover bunnies and here are our favourites:

1. Choc chip cookies

I do love a good choc chip cookie, especially with a nice cold glass of milk. An easy way to use up some leftover chocolate is to break it up into small pieces and substitute it for chocolate chips in your favourite cookie recipe.

2. Chocolate fondue

This idea is great because it uses lots of fresh fruit – perfect if you overindulged over Easter but still includes something for all of the chocoholics out there (and in here!). Basically all you need to do is combine cream and chocolate pieces in a saucepan on the stove over a gentle heat  until you have a rich, chocolate sauce. Whilst still warm serve with pieces of fresh fruit on sticks. I love bananas and strawberries but you can use any kinds of fruit.

3. Chocolate mousse

Chocolate mousse disappears even faster that Easter eggs in our home. Instead of using regular chocolate when making homemade mousse, try substituting some flavoured Easter eggs, such as peppermint for a minty chocolate mousse or honeycomb eggs for a mousse with extra crunch. The possibilities are endless!

 

4. Hot chocolate

It is Autumn here now and with the cooler weather approaching, nothing beats a mug of hot chocolate. Melt some chocolate and add milk, heating until milk is warm and chocolate is melted through. The final touch is a sprinkle of shaved chocolate and a delicious marshmallow on top.

How do you use up leftover Easter chocolates or is this a problem you never encounter? Would any of these ideas inspire you to stash away some chocolate to use later on?

5 Tips for Success With Reward Charts

Last week at Stuck on You we released our Personalised Reward Charts with 8 new designs. Each pack includes 3 Personalised Reward Charts and 70 stickers with a mix of pictures, encouraging words and personalised messages. We asked our Facebook fans about their experiences with reward charts and got lots of great responses with four areas where parents have had success.

  • Toilet training
  • Good behaviour
  • Jobs and chores
  • Working towards a goal e.g. saving for a bike or holiday.
Here are our top 5 tips to success with Reward Charts:
1. Keep It Simple

The point is that your child can see how their behaviour can quickly and easily earn them rewards. If your reward system is too complicated or each sticker is too hard to achieve they will lose interest. I know there is a tendency to want to reward your child for every sticker achieved but you will be surprised at how much gratification a child will get out of just getting a sticker on their chart and a bit of fuss made. For me, a reward when the chart is complete works best. That way, the reward for each sticker comes from the achievement itself.
2. Rewards for Toilet Training

Many parents find reward charts to be good for younger children when toilet training. In my work as a nanny, and now as a Mum, I have used a reward chart for toilet training for kids as young as two with great results. Pop a sticker on the chart with a huge applause and  a ‘yahoo’ and watch their little chest fill with pride. Even young children can understand the concept of receiving a sticker for a ‘job well done’ and mums love that they are getting close to saying goodbye to nappies!
3. Rewards for Good Behaviour

As children get older, reward charts are a great way to encourage good behaviour. I have actually had better results with a reward chart when there has been a persistant negative behaviour than with the naughty corner (or yelling). It is also great for us parents to begin to focus on when they get it right, catch them out in it and make a fuss with a sticker on the chart. It just helps move the focus from what isn’t working to what is.

4. Rewards for Jobs and Chores

This is a great way of encouraging your child to take on chores and other responsibilities.Depending on their age you can use the Reward Chart for when their jobs are completed – if they are two there could be a reward for bringing their plate to the sink, making their bed or putting their toys away. For my older kids they have a chore each day and if they do it without being asked they get a sticker.

5. Choose the Right Rewards

It’s all about coming up with a system that resonates with and motivates your child. Giving them achievable goals and allowing them to see that their behaviour helps them make steps towards achieving it will bring the best results.

As the Stuck on You Reward Charts only have 10 steps until they achieve their goal it keeps them engaged. I have found that if there are too many steps or if the rewards are too far apart they can become disengaged. As we have three charts in each pack you can make a small reward for the completion of each chart and then a large reward for the completion of all three.

  • Cash incentives – for some kids (as with grown-ups), money talks. A small payment per sticker or a larger amount at the completion of the chart for them to save or spend on treats when next at the shops.  (Behaving when going shopping is sure to earn a sticker as well!)
  • Fun experiences – these work best for my daughter and it’s wonderful to see how much enjoyment they get out of choosing their own experience. At the completion of one chart we might go to a movie, her choice of restaurant or a picnic. For the completion of all three we might go to Luna Park or the Zoo.
  • Screen time – many kids just love a bit of screen time and you can use the Reward Chart as a way of rewarding good behaviour. Some mums suggested each sticker equals 30 minutes of screen time or let them watch their favourite DVD. Others suggested each sticker equals 5 minutes and they can cash them in when the Chart is complete.
  • Gifts – if your kids are collecting cars, toy animals or books adding a sticker to the chart and working towards the next part of their collection can work a treat.

The most important thing is to choose the reward that works best for your child and each child will be different. If you are finding that you aren’t getting results or that your child is not engaged, it is usually just a matter of choosing a more suitable goal for them.

We’d love to hear about your experiences with Reward Charts. What tips have you found to be the most effective? What areas have we missed where you have had success?

New Personalised Height Charts

Have you been marking the kids height on the back of the kitchen door? At our house, in the past we have marked the kids height with a permanent marker on the loft bed in my son’s bedroom. The idea behind it was that, because we rent, we may one day have to move house and I would want to take all that wonderful information with us.

With Stuck on You Height Charts you can mark all of the special events, the gorgeous designs look fabulous in the kids’ bedroom and when your child outgrows it you can roll it up and keep it forever. I can just imagine getting my kids’ height charts out on their 18th and 21st birthdays. Personalised Height Charts have been a favourite with our customers for many years and we are so excited about the new designs available in our Personalised Height Charts that we had to share them with you.

These make the most gorgeous personalised gifts for kids or a fabulous present to celebrate the birth of a new baby. There are over 25 new designs to choose from and each Height Chart can be personalised with the child’s name and birthdate.

  • Each Personalised Height Chart comes ready to hang
  • They are made from quality artists canvas
  • Each Height Chart comes with stickers to mark special dates
  • They measure 400 x 1270 mm – perfect piece of art for your kids bedroom.

No more scribbling dates on the back of the kitchen door, you can now mark off significant dates with the stickers that come in the pack. Each Height Chart has a matching set of stickers of stickers with significan milestones such as My 1st Birthday up to My 9th Birthday, 18 months old up to 4 ½ years old and MY 1st Christmas up to My 5th Christmas.

 

Personalised Travel Packs

Are you heading somewhere fabulous with the kids this Easter? We have an exclusive offer for Stuck on You customers in Australia and New Zealand. Order one of our Personalised Travel Packs by midnight tonight for a bargain price. Each pack includes a Personalised Toiletry Bag, 4 Travel Bottles and 4 Labels that you can personalise online.

Personalised Travel Kits Australia
Personalised Travel Kits New Zealand

Our Personalised Toiletry Bags would have to be one of my top 10 favourite of the Stuck on You personalised products. Not only are they available in red, pink or navy, you have over 25 new designs to choose from to create the perfect Personalised Toiletry Bag for your child.

They have some awesome little features that will make them your kids’ favourite too:

  • Fully lined – makes them easy to wipe clean
  • Easy to carry handle – very cute and proudly carried in little fingers
  • Hook on the inside to hang on the bathroom door – or on the cupboard door for little people
  • Elasticated hooks on inside – 1 for a toothbrush, 2 for a spare
  • 4 inside pockets – perfect for travel bottles, toothpaste and creams
  • Extra room inside – plenty of room for a face washer, any medications, a hairbrush, a little mirror and more.

Hurry up and take advantage of our special price on Personalised Travel Kits for today only!