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College care package


Night Elf
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So even though school only started a couple of weeks ago, I sent dd a care package already. I baked her favorite muffins and added a few more snacks. The best thing I put in was a fidget spinner. She has other fidget toys that she loves. 

 

What else can I give to her besides food and socks? What would be some fun little things I could send through the mail? I'm compiling a list to use throughout the year. I'd like to send a box at least every 3 weeks. Last year I only sent occasional cards. I want to do more this year.

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DH's grandma used to send the best care packages. I'm sure she included treats, but what really made him (and later, us) happy were the essentials--shaving cream, razors, soap, towels, etc. We lived for years not needing to purchase those things; it really made a difference. They sound boring, but when you're young and poor essentials are really meaningful. :)

 

Eta: That's really thoughtful and awesome of you! :)

Edited by MEmama
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I send my DD packages that are themed to the holidays or whatever special thing is going on (like Finals). Mostly I send foods; sometimes a Bath & Body special lotion or shower gel. I try to send something different as a surprise now and then, like a little pillow, a bookmark, a kitty towel, fuzzy socks, etc. I look around the stores and just try to find something cute that she would like.

 

The food things I send are specific dorm type things she likes: Annies Mac & Cheese, Kudos bars, Quaker Oatmeal cups, and some kind of candy.

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I mostly send my ds food. Essentials when he says he needs something. Sometimes I would have a package ready for him to bring back with him when he was home on break. I would always bake a batch of cookies for his friend with the car that drove him back and forth on breaks.

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A pretty mug and a "tea kit" with a few tea flavors and sugar cubes

A nice skin-care or hair-care product that she might not splurge on for herself

A scarf or wrap (my school kept the classrooms at slightly above freezing temps and it was hot and humid outside.  I'd come sweating and end up chilled by the end of my first class)

Her favorite type of pen, notebook, pencils...  Or some new things if she doesn't have favorites

Am I correct that your dd has a pet, or is that another poster?  If yes, a treat for the pet

A good novel or some light magazines on a hobby she enjoys

 

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DH's grandma used to send the best care packages. I'm sure she included treats, but what really made him (and later, us) happy were the essentials--shaving cream, razors, soap, towels, etc. We lived for years not needing to purchase those things; it really made a difference. They sound boring, but when you're young and poor essentials are really meaningful. :)

 

Eta: That's really thoughtful and awesome of you! :)

 

I agree with this.

 

When I was young and broke, my sister happened to be an Avon lady (remember them?) and one year for Christmas she gave me a box of all the things I used - deodorant, hand cream, moisturizer, etc., etc.  It was so great.  I didn't have to spend my own money on those things for months.

 

Now, if  you buy these things for your daughter already, it might not be that great of a care package.  But if she is buying on her own, it frees up more of her money for fun stuff.  

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Our first child's first care package was full of cough drops and Vicks vapor rub and similar stuff b/c she was sick. :)

 

After that, I made a first aid kit. Sure, it had adhesive bandages, but buying cold stuff can get pricey and who feels like shopping for that when you're sick? Now a bag that's chocked full of cold and flu meds is standard for kids going off on their own. And care packages can just be fun stuff. 

 

Dd liked leggings in the winter, gift cards for gasoline and restaurants, even iTunes. K-Cups, packets of hot cocoa, microwave popcorn (I hate it, but, hey, it's a treat), 

 

I like filling 2 L soda bottles w/ goodies too. 

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These are some good ideas. It just reminds me of stuffing stockings at Christmas. I gave up trying to find fun things and now I only put favorite candy and snacks in their stockings.

 

I did include a few new protein bars to see if she likes them. They're too expensive for her to buy a box but I told her if she found one she really liked, I could send her a box in her next package.

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So even though school only started a couple of weeks ago, I sent dd a care package already. I baked her favorite muffins and added a few more snacks. The best thing I put in was a fidget spinner. She has other fidget toys that she loves. 

 

What else can I give to her besides food and socks? What would be some fun little things I could send through the mail? I'm compiling a list to use throughout the year. I'd like to send a box at least every 3 weeks. Last year I only sent occasional cards. I want to do more this year.

 

Can you adopt me as one of your college students?? Seriously, every three weeks? years ago, when I was in a B&M college, my dad sent me wonderful care packages but they definitely weren't every 3 weeks! All I remember him sending were snack foods but I'm food motivated so I was okay with that! :drool:  :D However, he would always include a 'joke' snack - a can of sardines. I realize some of you like sardines but I do NOT. Ugh. I'm pretty sure I gave those to my Japanese roommate! 

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Can you adopt me as one of your college students?? Seriously, every three weeks? years ago, when I was in a B&M college, my dad sent me wonderful care packages but they definitely weren't every 3 weeks! All I remember him sending were snack foods but I'm food motivated so I was okay with that! :drool:  :D However, he would always include a 'joke' snack - a can of sardines. I realize some of you like sardines but I do NOT. Ugh. I'm pretty sure I gave those to my Japanese roommate! 

 

Every 3 weeks is just an idea at the moment. Mostly it's so I can send her favorite muffins. I make a healthy version of banana chocolate chip muffins and I bake them in a mini-muffin pan so they're bite sized. I just want to put some other stuff in with them if I can think of other stuff. I'm really trying to stay away from too much junk food. I included some protein bars and a package of microwave popcorn. She has a kitchenette in her dorm apartment that has a full sized refrigerator and microwave. Her roommate has a toaster oven she allows dd to use. She buys groceries every week that we pay for in addition to paying for her meal plan. So she's used to buying what she needs although she tries to stay under $20/week so there are things I'm sure she'd like that she feels she can't afford. I like the idea of including some feminine products next time. She too waits until the day she needs them and realizes she's nearly out. I can call it her emergency stash. 

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Seasonal fancy napkins and paper plates so she can have other people over and be festive.

Nice soaps.

 

Oh I like that idea. I can send her some Fall items and then again in October there's Halloween. We couldn't find her a microwavable plate so she just uses paper plates. Seasonal ones would be more fun than plain white ones.

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I sent some Halloween wall decorations one year, followed by a mini-tree with some mini-ornaments for his desk. I sent it before Thanksgiving so he had a chance to set it up, and it was ready when he got home from the T.D. break. His roommate loved it as much as he did.

 

I also sent a poster size enlargement of a picture of our cocker spaniel after a conversation in which he admitted he really missed his puppy.

 

But, for the most part with limited storage, generally care packages tend to be consumable. 

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I do think sending her baked goods is very sweet, and I hate to sound negative, but I had a roommate in college whose family sent her regular care packages, and it just never made sense to me. Her family was on a very limited income, and money was tight for her. They would send her things like boxes of her favorite cereal, tampons, shampoo and other toiletries, etc. As a broke college student, that money spent on shipping a box every few weeks would have gone much farther if they had sent it to her in the form of gift cards or money, and she could have used it to buy necessities as needed. When you're spending $10 to mail a box of items whose value is about the same, wouldn't it have made more sense to slip a $20 into a card and write her a nice note? While the idea of little decorative things for her dorm room, fancy napkins, and seasonal items is lovely, in reality dorm rooms are small, don't have much storage, and get cluttered very quickly. 

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I do think sending her baked goods is very sweet, and I hate to sound negative, but I had a roommate in college whose family sent her regular care packages, and it just never made sense to me. Her family was on a very limited income, and money was tight for her. They would send her things like boxes of her favorite cereal, tampons, shampoo and other toiletries, etc. As a broke college student, that money spent on shipping a box every few weeks would have gone much farther if they had sent it to her in the form of gift cards or money, and she could have used it to buy necessities as needed. When you're spending $10 to mail a box of items whose value is about the same, wouldn't it have made more sense to slip a $20 into a card and write her a nice note? While the idea of little decorative things for her dorm room, fancy napkins, and seasonal items is lovely, in reality dorm rooms are small, don't have much storage, and get cluttered very quickly. 

 

Well, I pay for all of her stuff there including groceries. Her banking is attached to our accounts so it's a simple matter of going into my account and paying off her Visa or adding money to her checking account. She also gets an allowance twice a month with DH gets paid. And I do send 10 $1 bills in a 'thinking of you' card to use in the vending machine. And her dorm this year is an apartment style with tons of storage so she's in good shape. But I was asking here because I want to find small cute things to add to the boxes. It's fun to open a box and see stuff your mom thought you needed or wanted. She was so excited at the first box. She suffers from depression and anxiety and is on medication but is still having a hard time. Boxes are fun pick-me-ups.

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things to do with holidays.

fun pens/pencils

things to make dealing with the weather easier. - gloves, scarf, hat, warm socks, etc.

2dd had access to a kitchen, so I'd send her boxed brownie mix

games

novelty items -

and the favorite snacks and candy.

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Oh, if she's community minded, perhaps the school or town newspaper. I think my kid would probably like cds of our pastors sermons and the church bulletins to help her feel more connected. If your dd had a similar club or organization perhaps keeping her up to date on those things might be nice?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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My dd, if she were away from home would love not having to buy feminine products. Sounds lame but she's a poor planner and sometimes doesn't have but a handful on the day she starts necessitating emergency trips to the store.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

I opened this thread hours ago and have neither updated the page nor read all the responses, so someone might have already mentioned this, but a Diva Cup/ Keeper/ Luna cup thingy would take care of this, if she's open to it. Not asking, of course, but wanted to suggest that. 

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Oh man. I'm the worst college mom ever! DDs school is pretty close, so we can easily plan a meal with her, but I pretty much send her stuff she asks for from amazon or I shift money to her account.

 

I'm a bad college mom, too!  I have three sons who graduated already and they received no care packages!  When they came home, I'd give them stuff they needed or little surprises (mostly food), but I only sent them stuff if they needed it!  Sorry guys!

 

ETA:  I hope my post doesn't come across as not liking care packages.  I actually do feel guilty for not sending them after reading all of the thoughtful packages put together here.  

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I do think sending her baked goods is very sweet, and I hate to sound negative, but I had a roommate in college whose family sent her regular care packages, and it just never made sense to me. Her family was on a very limited income, and money was tight for her. They would send her things like boxes of her favorite cereal, tampons, shampoo and other toiletries, etc. As a broke college student, that money spent on shipping a box every few weeks would have gone much farther if they had sent it to her in the form of gift cards or money, and she could have used it to buy necessities as needed. When you're spending $10 to mail a box of items whose value is about the same, wouldn't it have made more sense to slip a $20 into a card and write her a nice note? While the idea of little decorative things for her dorm room, fancy napkins, and seasonal items is lovely, in reality dorm rooms are small, don't have much storage, and get cluttered very quickly.

That is one way of looking at it, but personally, I think the care package is much better (at least for my kid so far). If we could barely afford it, I guess we would do something differently, but since we are not too fussed about sending a box that will cost $15-20 postage, I'm going to keep sending them. It clearly means a lot to her. Many people just plain enjoy getting that message that there's a package waiting, and the fun of opening it and seeing what's in there. The little "silly" things I have sent, it turns out, have apparently meant a lot to her, because here some of them are still turning up amongst her room decorations. One time, I sent an origami sailboat with the name of her college on it. She still keeps that as a decoration in her room. One time, I sent her a tiny glass snail and a tiny glass crab. Those were in her room decorations this year, too.

 

I do also agree with those who said hygiene or other necessities can be a huge relief if they otherwise have to buy those goods themselves. It's nice to know there's another deoderant or package of pads if you don't get around to the store (and the campus stores tend to price such things high).

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I send eight care packages per year. I have a boy, which I think makes fun things harder to come up with.

 

Nail polish?

 

I tend to stick to consumables because of space limitations, but one thing that was a HUGE hit was one of those wooden triangular, golf tee Cracker Barrel games! Lol!

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