SWAPS:
Building Friendships One Gift at a Time
SWAPS, the tradition of Girl Scouts exchanging keepsakes, started long ago when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides first gathered for fun, song, and making new friends.
SWAPS were first widely exchanged at national Girl Scout Senior Roundups in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, SWAPS are still the perfect way for Girl Scouts to meet one another and promote friendship. Each one reflects a memory of a special event or Girl Scout sister.
SWAPS Basics
SWAPS should:
Girls should:
Girls can:
Girls should:
SWAPS, the tradition of Girl Scouts exchanging keepsakes, started long ago when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides first gathered for fun, song, and making new friends.
SWAPS were first widely exchanged at national Girl Scout Senior Roundups in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, SWAPS are still the perfect way for Girl Scouts to meet one another and promote friendship. Each one reflects a memory of a special event or Girl Scout sister.
SWAPS Basics
SWAPS should:
- Tell something about the givers or their group.
Girls should:
- Think about the kind of SWAPS they would like to receive from someone else.
- Be creative, and take time to make hand-crafted SWAPS.
- Try to have one for each event participant and staff member.
- At Bay Breeze each camper is asked to make 5 SWAPS but are encouraged to make more. Aides and AITs need to make 20 SWAPS.
- Plan ahead so there's time to make them.
- At Bay Breeze each unit works on their SWAPS during the week. Aides and AITs need to have theirs completed by Tuesday of camp week.
- Make SWAPS that can be worn, used, or displayed.
Girls can:
- Put pins and patches on a hat or jacket.
- At Bay Breeze our girls like to use bucket hats to show off their SWAP collection. Several of our campers have used the same hat since they were Daisy Scouts to collect all of their SWAPS.
- Start a council best-of-SWAPS collection.
Girls should:
- Avoid using glass or sharp objects in SWAPS.
- Follow all Safety Activity Checkpoints guidelines.
- Avoid using food products, unless they are individually wrapped.