Camp Betty: Friendship Week

Amish Friendship Bread is a gift that keeps on giving! Betty blogger Brooke McLay and her daughter show us how easy it is to make this unique bread and new friends at the same time. It’s the perfect project campers can tend to by themselves all week long—just squish, squish, squish. The end result (with a little help from an adult) is a delicious loaf of cinnamon bread for your kiddo and loaves for two pals.

Don’t let bad weather rain on your friendship parade. Take things indoors with a game of edible checkers (or two, if you can resist eating the cookie game pieces!). We used Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix, squeeze-tube frosting and tiny chocolate candies to make these adorable DIY checkers; just follow the directions on the package and decorate. And for those who appreciate exactness, the regulation size of a checker is 1.5 inches in diameter!

Our perfect picnic for two starts out with clever PB&J sandwiches. To create, use a cookie cutter (any shape will do!) and make a cutout in the middle of two contrasting colors of bread (we used white and whole wheat), then swap the pieces so the light cutout goes in the dark bread and vice versa. 

Next up: fruit and veggies. Put a giant dollop of peanut butter in the bottom of a plastic cup then stick in carrot and celery sticks for easy outdoor dipping—and load your favorite kind of grapes into paper baskets. For something salty, fill up small bags with chips—we love Green Giant Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips with Barbecue—and for something sweet, Golden Grahams S’mores are a must! 

Finish everything off by pouring old-fashioned lemonade into small bottles (mason jars work great!), then pack each lunch inside a colorful box with patterned napkins and straws and you’re set. The only thing left to grab is a blanket!

Friendship bracelets are the quintessential summer camp activity. They’re as much fun to make as they are to wear and swap with friends. We’re smitten with this recycled t-shirt bracelet tutorial from bloggers Casey and Savannah at Oh So Pretty. After all, who doesn’t have a few extra shirts taking up precious drawer space that can be put to better use?

Friends come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Make new pals by spending a day volunteering at your local pet shelter or by visiting a nursing home. Bringing a well-behaved pet to a nursing home is an easy way to break the ice and start a conversation—just be sure to call ahead and make sure it’s okay!