This will be the first year in our camp's history we have done theme weeks and I am in charge of planning them...yikes! I was hoping for some ideas of activities we could use to incorporate the theme....games, evening programs, decorations, crafts, etc. We are a non-profit camp on an extremely low program budget so any ideas on how to cut costs would be awesome too! Thanks guys!!

These are the theme weeks we will have:
Tropical Paradise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Weird Science (another name??)
Around the World (celebrating a different country each day)
Color Wars (is this possible to string out an entire week?!?)
Blast from the Past (different decade each day)
Wild Wild West

On my blog SummerCampProgramDirector.com I have a list of 100 summer camp theme ideas. I just started a series of postings called Theme of the Day. I give five ideas for the theme and then rely on others to leave comments with more ideas. The first day was Wild West. There are some neat ideas on that post. Take a look at the blog each day for new ideas.

As for keeping the costs low, some of my favorite things to do with themes are:

1. Changing names of camp games we already play. For example Capture the Flag becomes Capture the Crystal Skull for a Radiers of the Lost Artifact theme.
2. Having the staff create new skits using the theme.
3. Planning crafts that go with the theme. You're going to be buying craft supplies anyways, right?
4. Look for decorations that can be used every year. Buy them used on Craigslist or Ebay. I found an old steamer trunk for $20 on Craigslist. It makes a great treasure chest for our Pirates week.

When you go to my blog make sure that you leave some ideas or ask questions in the comments section. I always respond to the comments, even though it might take me a day or two.

Themes are wonderful! Kids get very excited about themes if done well.

My blog has programming ideas, including my plans from "Mud Pie" week, "Mystery" themed day, and "Club Hollywood" week. More will be added in the future. Hope this helps!

http://corduroysbutton.wordpress.com/