Tiffani Thiessen Opens Up About Her First Summer as a Sleepaway 'Camp Mom' of 2: 'Trying New Things' (Exclusive)

Thiessen is sending both her kids to sleepaway camp and partnering with Welly to make sure other sleepaway camp kids have everything they need

• Tiffani Thiessen is getting her kids ready for sleepaway camp

• The actress, 50, is partnering with Welly's to provide "Happy Camper Kits" with camp essentials and fun comfort items to reassure kids and parents they're heading to a summer of fun

• Thiessen tells PEOPLE this summer is special for her family, who will be sending both Holt, 8½, and Harper, 13, off to sleepaway camp for the first time

Tiffani Thiessen's kids will share a special moment together this summer.

For the first time, the Alexa and Katie actress, 50, is sending both of her kids off to summer camp. Speaking with PEOPLE about her partnership with Welly's, the mom of two opens up about the exciting summer ahead.

"It's funny, I think most parents will say if you have multiple kids, they're all very different from each other. And gosh, I can say that's very much so with my children," she tells PEOPLE.

"My daughter's been doing sleep away camp since just before her 10th birthday. She was, I think, a little nervous at first. I was probably more nervous than her even though I tried not to show it too much. I do believe in showing our excitement more than anything, so your kids can really feel that."

The Saved By The Bell alum says daughter Harper, now 13, has always been "a kid that likes new adventures, loves meeting new people, loves to try things. She always has been since she was very young — never had issues with sleepovers, always early to try new things."

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Related: Tiffani Thiessen Poses with Her Lookalike Daughter Harper, 13, at the Hunger Games Premiere

While her summer camp journey has been smooth sailing, son Holt, 8½, has had some reservations about trying out sleepaway camp.

"My son is a very different child. He definitely is a lot more sensitive," she says. Despite "some anxiety," Holt will be trying out sleepaway camp for the first time this year.

"He's going to be doing it with his sister at the same camp, at the same time but in different places because they're split, both boys and girls and by ages. So he'll really be on his own but has a little bit of the security knowing that his sister is there," Thiessen says.

The timing of the milestone summer made it perfect for her to partner with Welly's on their Happy Campers Kit, a limited-time trunk full of summer camp goodies approved by the seasoned camp mom herself.

"My kids love and are obsessed with Welly bandages. They think they're the best, which I agree with, so it's been really fun working with them and creating this really fun Happy Campers kit. It really helped my son get even more excited and calm the nerves a little bit," she shares.

The new kit includes a special collection of essentials and extras to give parents peace of mind and help campers thrive during overnight camp. The limited-edition camp trunk includes $400+ worth of goodies for campers and parents, from customized stationery and Camp Parent swag, to first aid essentials, the comforts of home, fun for the whole bunk and much more. 

For Thiessen, the first aid kit is the star of the show, but she also loves the fun items added that helped win over her kids.

"As a parent, I do love the first aid kit. I keep them in my car. I think it's amazing to send your kid with that as well," she says.

"For my kids, my daughter loved the twinkle lights that she can use to decorate her little area of her cabin over her bed, so she was very excited about that. I think it will be a lot of his books for my son. I'm going to add a graphic novel for him because he's a big visual guy and I think that will be super fun to have as well as pictures of us, to ease the distance that we'll be having for the week."

The Happy Campers Kit is available starting June 1, 2024, for $74 — in celebration of the 74% of camp kids who were brave enough to try something new during their stay at the American Camp Association (ACA)'s program. For every kit sold, Welly will donate $150 (up to $25,000) to the ACA’s “Send a Child to Camp Fund,” providing camp scholarships for ACA-accredited camps to support children whose families may not otherwise be able to afford camp.

The kit hopes to help both new campers and kids who are prone to homesickness. Thiessen says she's "definitely" dealt with homesickness with her daughter, but she's always stuck it out.

"Hopefully, we're not going to have that situation with our son. With the kit, I think he'll be great. We've had very open conversations with him. We're a very open family when it comes to talking through emotions and feelings and things like that. The Happy Campers Kit has been fun and exciting thing. He's been decorating the trunk. He's a skateboarder, so putting stickers on anything is really cool for him."

Camp helps continue a tradition of getting outdoors that Thiessen grew up with and felt was important to continue with her own family.

"We all live in a fast-paced, modern world with lots of electronics. My husband and I wrote a book about unplugging and trying to put the electronics down and connecting with people around you, as well as nature outside," Thiessen shares.

"What's so important for us and why we've always wanted to push our kids to do sleepaway camp, because it gives kids a chance to learn independence. It gives them a chance to meet new friends, do new adventures, try new things that sometimes they don't always do in the comfort of their home or around their parents," she explains.

As the kids get their time to explore, Thiessen and husband Brady Smith will enjoy an almost empty nest.

"I'm not going to say I'm not looking forward to that a little bit," the mom of two admits. "It's gonna be very different this year because Holt has never been away. To have a totally empty house for a week, — besides our dogs and our chickens — will definitely be new for us."

Thiessen's kids keep her busy in addition to her professional life, with each into a plethora of sports.

"Our kids are full-blown into sports. Our daughter plays volleyball for school and for club. She's been pretty excited about that new passion for the last couple of years. That's her passion right now," she says.

"My son, he's been a big skateboarder for many years. He's been doing baseball for the last few season, and then he tried basketball over the winter and really loved it, so he plans to try that again. We've had our share of injuries, which is why partnering with Welly has been so fun."

Once camp is through, the family of four will enjoy traveling together.

"We tend to take a couple of trips. Some there are that we do every year as a family, that are a little more local. Then we're going to be meeting our Texas family back east for some lakeside fun for a couple of weeks, which will be really nice."

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