Sleep Away Camp That Started It All

For as long as I can remember, when people asked me what my Dad did I would say “My Dad’s an inventor.”

The truth is that my dad made voice chips. But most people would hear “voice chips” and think it was something they could eat.

That started to change the summer after fifth grade when I went to summer camp. I brought a teddy bear with me that my dad had given me. The bear came dressed in a T-shirt that had a photo of me and my parents printed on it with the words, “We Love You Abby.”

But the best part? When you squeezed it, it played audio of my parents singing a song. (Check out our first post linked here for a photo of this bear that still lives in my parents’ house!)

Fortunately for me, this was my comfort when I got homesick. But unfortunately for my bunkmates — the bear sang very loudly each night as it would fall to the floor from my top bunk. For years, my friends would go around singing it incessantly. The “We Love You Abby” song still lives on — and it has far surpassed my days at camp.

Proof: this voice note/text from my camp friend, Avery

Through my own experience with my dad’s products, I could see that having the added touch of “voice” could create the kind of magic that not only holds and savors memories — but that also contributes to making new memories.

As you can see with my childhood teddy bear, my dad’s philosophy of valuing and crafting memories was present in my life long before we started working together on VoiceGift.

All the products he created have been a part of my upbringing and my family life. And now, turning my dad’s B2B into a B2C is a part of my daily work life.

But the most meaningful part of it all is that I get to do the same for my 3.5-year-old daughter. I send her to camp with the same product he sent me with — VoiceGift’s Mini-Me.

Today’s iteration comes with many optimizations, including but not limited to my top three:

1. The previous version of the product was able to record 20-second messages, but now the Mini-Me is capable of 60-second recordings. Perfect for teaching my daughter holiday songs or even telling short stories to include inside her bedtime stuffie.

2. My favorite update is the ability to record multiple messages within the 60 seconds. This means that my daughter never gets bored of the rotation of songs that me and her grandparents have pre-recorded onto it. It kind of transforms an ordinary stuffy into a living and long-lasting playlist.

3. Now you can press/squeeze to stop the Mini-Me from playing midway through the full recording. This probably would have been very useful to the bunkmate below me...

This kids’ DIY felt sewing kit (I love all of them by this brand) is perfect for turning Mini-Me into a full-on crafts day.

For a very amateur knitter like myself, these Woobles are very fun and doable. They are the perfect size for hiding a Mini-Me in. Add a velcro closure in case you decide to record something new later!

For someone more comfortable with sewing, I love slicing a seam in one of these small Jellycats (one of our personal favorite plush brands) and slipping a Mini-Me in. Their keychains or bigger stuffies work well for this too.

The Purritos are the easiest hack for Mini-Me-in-stuffy execution! You just slip it in the cat’s blanket and you’re done.

Let us know in the comments on this post if you have a funny sleep-away camp story that you never lived down… and how you are using or plan to use a Mini-Me this holiday season!

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