Care Packages

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>First time poster here, but hope to be here for a while as my son is starting up at the University of Arizona next school year.</p>

<p>I'm kind of nervous for one thing now that he won't be living at home anymore. I've talked to some of his friends parents that graduated last year and they talk about sending care packages. Of course I'll send him cookies and other homemade goodies, but I don't know if I just feel comfortable giving him a bunch of money to buy everything else.</p>

<p>I'll keep perusing the site as I haven't done in great detail yet, but if anyone has any suggestions as to care package companies, or delivery services, or something along those lines, I'd really appreciate it.</p>

<p>Thanks a bunch everyone and I hope to get to know all of you better :)</p>

<p>-Jess</p>

2

<p>I don’t know if they do this at University of Arizona, but at smaller schools they often put care packages together for the students to pick up at finals. Parents can order the packages if they want to get one for their kid. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about sending lots of care packages. He will appreciate the homemade gifts, but otherwise he’ll probably just let you know if he needs something and you can decide if you want to purchase for him. His needs the first year are likely to be few, outside of money, which college kids always need. :-)</p>

3

<p>A lot of us like the USPS priority flat rate boxes, where you can stick just about everything that fits & mail it off for a set price, regardless of the weight. I’ve mailed an entire suit to S that way once, as well as coffee, favorite canned goods, snacks, favorite beverages, post-season chocolates, and other treats. It’s nice to include a framed photo from home, if your child didn’t take one (or even if he did), just to help it feel more like home. :)</p>

4

<p>^^Ditto HImom on the USPS priority flat rate boxes. Just remember that you cannot mail liquids, like cough syrup.</p>

<p>I learned a great idea on CC: one parent on a discussion thread for my S2’s class hosted a “care package party” at Halloween. I think there were 10-12 parents (mostly moms) of a group of HS friends/teammates. Each parent brought enough of a single item (Halloween socks, candy, homemade cookies, caramel corn, etc.) to put one in each care package. So, if there were 12 parents, then each parent contributed 12 of a particular item, one for each care package. It was a great way for the parents to reunite & compare stories about their kids at different schools, & the kids got fun Halloween packages.</p>

<p>Last year I sent my S1 an Easter package with quarters hidden in plastic eggs (for laundry), and this year I sent my S2 a Valentine’s package with dollar bills folded into origami hearts (also for laundry). With the USPS flat rate packages, weight doesn’t matter, so I usually throw in a roll (or two) of quarters for laundry. Microwave popcorn bags are another staple. </p>

<p>Another parent put together a care package for a son with a bad cold. She put in vitamins, EmergenC (powdered vita C drink mix) cough drops, cold medicines (tablet form), herbal teas, hot chocolate, warm socks & a hat.</p>

<p>Congrats on your son’s acceptance to U of Arizona!</p>

5

<p>Actually, you CAN mail liquids, like cans of juice or soup. I have also packed in bubble wrap & included in a care package a jar of mango chutney, to D’s delight! If your child doesn’t need quarters or $ for laundry, you can include other cute things and practical things that your child might not be able to easily get near campus. My niece who was in Idaho loved getting a package of local cooking favorites–nori (dried seaweed), canned spam, dried miso soup, and other food items that were tough to get near her dorm. Sent D some individually packaged trail mix and a case of chocolate soy milk with the jar of chutney. She was VERY happy! Have also sent her some energy bars for semi-healthy snacks (she doesn’t have a car & it’s a healthy on-the-go food item). She loved getting dearfoam bedroom slippers for December finals as well as some snacks & powdered drinks.</p>

6

<p>I don’t know if you’re supposed to mail liquids or not - but I do. I have a D in college, so I’ve sent lots of hair products! I have also sent packages (priority flat rate) to my nephew - homemade goodies, starbucks cards, socks, handwarmers, candy, jerky. I try to send consumables because the last thing they need is more stuff to find a place for and to store for the summer.</p>

7

<p>You definitely can mail liquids, provided that they won’t spill. USPS also offers a discount on postage and free tracking if you pay for your postage online. You can then schedule a free package pickup, give it to a mail carrier, or drop it off at any post office. The flat rate priority mail boxes usually take 2 days to cross the country (3-4 days to/from AK and HI.) It is very possible to bake something and ship it on Monday evening and have it arrive in time for breakfast on Wednesday, provided that the recipient has morning delivery (common for PO boxes.) </p>

<p>Also, if you are including baked goods in the package, ask the post office to stamp “perishable” on the box.</p>

8

<p>My DS is spending his first winter in a cold climate. I know he HATES to shop, so I sent him gloves, scarf, several sweaters, long sleeve T’s. cookies and cupcakes also aprreciated. I enclose a cute card, or comic strip Zits. I ave also enclosed gifts for his cat.</p>

9

<p>I think that most kids love receiving something from home, no matter how inexpensive. The only problem with the candy and other snacks is that sometimes other people on the floor will eat them before your child gets to!</p>

10

<p>Ah, but it’s good “bribe” currency and can help your kid get the ride s/he needs to the store or wherever. You don’t really want your kiddo to gain weight alone anyway, do you? No kid should open the package addressed to anyone else anyway, so your kid can determine where, when & who is around when said package is opened. :)</p>

11

<p>My kids prefer mostly cash “packages”. Less dorm clutter that way too.</p>

<p>If you are thinking about sending food, I highly suggest looking at Amazon Grocery. It has free shipping for total over $25 (or with the Prime option, free for college students).</p>

12

<p>When I lived overseas and wanted to send my d care packages I used netgrocer.com to pick out her favorite snack items for final exam times - they were cheaper than a lot of the gift package places and I could order exactly what I knew she liked.<br>
The first time I did it she didnt realize the food was for her to snack on so she brought most of it home at Christmas - I had sent some clothing for her sister and other items that we couldnt get overseas and she thought the food was just part of the stuff she was bringing back. I thought it was obvious - all her favorites!</p>

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<p>We did care package parties with moms of other freshmen for DD’s first year at college. It was a nice way to get together with people I did not see often.</p>

<p>This year, I have sent Wolferman’s baked goods and clam chowder and bread bowls from a place in San Francisco.</p>

14

<p>Love this thread–S will be going off to college in the fall, so I’m making notes, but more immediately I’m remembering how much I loved getting boxes of my mom’s chocolate chip cookies when I was in school!</p>

15

<p>There have been several threads on this topic before. One to look at is</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/787018-quick-easy-dorm-care-package-ideas.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/787018-quick-easy-dorm-care-package-ideas.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you like to include silly stuff in your care packages, I have found [Archie</a> McPhee & Co. - Toys, Gifts & Novelties](<a href=“http://www.mcphee.com/shop/]Archie”>Novelty Store, Funny Gifts, Fun Toys | Archie McPhee) to be a helpful site.</p>

<p>I have also used [Minimus.biz</a> - for all your travel size needs](<a href=“http://www.minimus.biz/]Minimus.biz”>http://www.minimus.biz/) to ship directly to my D.</p>

16

<p>Welcome. :)</p>

<p>Ditto on the USPS Flat Rate boxes – best thing EVER for care packages. </p>

<p>Over last year, I developed a kind of formula (I sent alot!):</p>

<p>Some healthy/semi-healthy food: Dried fruit (dried cranberries are my D’s favorite), nuts, granola bars, packets of instant oatmeal, tea, sunflower seeds, pumpkins seeds, turkey jerkey. I also enclose one junk treat, usually candy.</p>

<p>One or two small cheap practical items: Chapstick, hand sanitizer, purse-size lotion, razors, rubber bands, a flash drive, socks, pocket-size kleenex packs.</p>

<p>An envelope for paper items and little souvenirs: photos, comic strips or cartoons, articles from the hometown newspaper which might interest her (her high school seems to appear several times a year, and the local ballet company), a button I picked up at the state fair that says “I’m Wacky.”</p>

<p>A small, very cheap toy or trinket: a mini rainbow-colored slinky, a reindeer headband, a little glass heart, a balsa/rubber band airplane, glow sticks.</p>

<p>I imagine for a guy, the emphasis would be more toward food and less toward cute toys.</p>

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<p>My mom sent me a birthday card with money in it last week even though it wasn’t my birthday just to be funny. I got a good laugh out of it and it encouraged me to call home to ask her what she was thinking. :P</p>

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<p>I love the USPS boxes. I have sent my D1 holiday room decorations, socks, school supplies, hair stuff, etc. Her school (U of Minn) also has decorated birthday cakes delivered (includes plates, forks, etc.) as well as care packages you can order online through the bookstore. The cake was a huge hit her freshman year but not so much this year and she ended up throwing half of it away.</p>

19

<p>My son is oos and we found Fed Ex to be cheaper than the USPS flat rate boxes. With Fed Ex we get the commercial rate because he’s on campus. His packages go to a campus package center instead of the dorm - that might be why we get a commercial rate - but, it might be worth checking. We can mail a much larger package than the post office’s large flat rate box for less money than the $14.50 flat rate. </p>

<p>I think LasMa is right that with boys the preference is food over cute things, but I’ll add the Sunday comic pages, news articles, recent family pictures, an occasional itunes card and his golf magazines that still come here. The rest is primarily his favorite non-perishable snack items – ¾ healthy, ¼ junk. I’ll also throw in some toiletry replacements. I send him one of these every other week. Once a month, I send him a box of fruit from a San Francisco company called The Fruit Guys (I can highly recommend them). They have a Dorm Snack that is 25 pieces of organic fruit for about $35 including shipping. The fourth week I send IZZE drinks from Amazon using the free shipping, or a grocery store gift card, or cookies from an in-town bakery that delivers them hot with a quart of milk. </p>

<p>It sounds like a lot, but the school he’s at doesn’t have an all-you-can-eat meal plan. My son has always been a big eater, so care packages help keep him fueled.</p>

20

<p>ShanghaiMom - Too funny about your daughter bringing the food with her at Christmas! I also ordered from Netgrocer when we lived overseas, and since we will be back overseas next fall - I’ll be using it for care packages, but I’ll be sure to make clear it’s to enjoy!!!</p>

<p>I also send my son mainly food items - some candy, fruit snacks, Goldfish crackers, oatmeal packages, his favorite tea (not a coffee drinker), breakfast bars, etc. I have also included a framed family photo, a magazine I knew he’d like, chapstick, some desk things he had forgotten, iTunes card, gift cards to his fav restaurants (Chipoltle, Five Guys), etc.</p>

<p>The campus bakery also has cookies/cookie cakes that can be delivered to students, so I have done a dozen cookies on occasion. That - and the King Cake my mom sent him for his birthday - were big hits!</p>