One of the first rules of summer camp, other than Sunscreen Sunscreen Sunscreen, is to label every single thing your kids take with them. Including the sunscreen. While a Sharpie can do the trick on some products, we love colorful labels that affix to all of their things in seconds, and never accidentally bleed through a label onto the other side of a t-shirt.
Related: Summer camp care package ideas so cool, the kids might even miss you. Maybe.
So, I’ve put together 6 cool summer camp label designs for kids for different needs, including bundled camp packs to help save you money.
Whether your littlest camper is going to her first week of day camp or your too-cool-for-school tween is headed off to sleepaway camp for the whole summer, hopefully you find the perfect combination to make sure that Ella’s shoes actually make it home with Ella. Wouldn’t that be nice?
For labels that are adorably personalized: Sarah and Abraham camp labels
Want your young child to easily spot his or her lunch bag in a pile of others? Sarah and Abraham’s custom Outdoor Name Labels, include an adorable personalized image of your child on the label. I love that you can match your child’s hair color and style, skin color, and eye shape and color. Along with the two 3-inch square image stickers perfect for backpacks and lunch boxes, each Outdoors Label Pack also includes loads of smaller name labels.
For picky tweens: Kidecals camp labels
Simple graphics and a cool image make Kidecals’ Value Canoe set of labels a rare option out there for picky tweens who probably don’t want something too cutesy on their stuff. I like that you can also change the second line to list a phone number or an allergy alert; the customizable font size will fit a decent chunk of info in that space.
For kids of all ages: Mabel’s Labels camp labels
Long-time label favorite of pretty much everyone at Cool Mom Picks, Mabel’s Labels’ limited edition Camp Label Pack is back for the summer, now with a cleaner website and an even easier way to customize them online. We’ve received some samples for review and we really stand by the quality of the whole pack, with options made specifically for items from clothes to shoes to backpacks, to things like flashlights, water bottles, sunscreen bottles, or journals. And they really do hold up through laundry, rainstorms, and Color War. That’s saying something.
Our tip: when you scroll down to play with the customization feature, check out the “multicolor” option for younger kids who will love the playful styles (at top). For older kids, as shown above, click on the “solid” color options plus the “Modern” font for older kids, as shown above and you’ll have something a little more sophisticated.
Related: The EWG list of the safest sunscreens for kids. Just in time for summer
For kids at overnight camps: Name Bubbles camp labels
While the other brands are fine for sleepaway camps as well, we like that Name Bubbles’ Sleepaway Camp Labels Pack not only includes a bunch of different types of labels, they provide space specifically for the cabin number or name on several of the labels. Camp instructors will be grateful to know that when there are 14 kids named Ava in a single session, that the wayward water bottle in the arts + crafts room can be returned directly to the Ava in Bunk Zuni, instead of being sent to the dark hole that is the camp Lost and Found.
For parents of multiple campers: Sticky Monkey camp labels
We love that Sticky Monkey will let you split your order among multiple names! Fantastic if you’ll have siblings at camp this summer and don’t need an entire pack for one child. With more than 75 labels in all, Sticky Monkey Label’s Combo Camping Pack has enough to cover a ton of your camper’s stuff, in different sizes to suit everything from toiletries to swim goggles. And their iron-on clothing dots aren’t as convenient as sticker, but a lot of parents prefer them for a more permanent labeling solution for items like sweatshirts and rain jackets that you really don’t want to come off.
For kids with very particular design tastes: Tiny Me labels
We could also call this one “for kids with lots and lots of stuff,” since the big kahuna, otherwise known as TinyMe’s The Works Pack of Camp Labels features a full 300 pieces. Great idea for kids with plenty to pack for 8 weeks of sleepaway camp, for kids who want to use them for school in September, of if you just want extras so you don’t have to reorder new ones each year. And the designs themselves are really spectacular, as is everything from Lorena at Tiny Me: See just a few of the options at very top.
Just be prepared to scroll through loads of nicely designed images and color combos with your kids for several hours. Which, all things being equal, still probably takes less time than labeling everything by hand with a marker.
