<p>What do you send your kids for their care packages? If you can, define a care package in your own words.</p>
<p>Timely topic, as I just sent two packages this week (to my ds and dd). The packages were kind of lame, so much so that I referred to them as “care-less” packages. Both my kids are in the midst of winter doldrums, so I just wanted to send a taste of home. I love to bake, so I try to send homemade goods. Both got a loaf of banana bread with chocolate chips, chocolate chip cookies, a box of propel for water bottles, a box of hot cocoa mix, homemade marshmallows and a small box of their favorite candy (movie theater size) and some apple sauce containers (lunch size) to fill in the box gaps. The note in my daughter’s said, “share, you beast.”<br>
My kids love care packages, but get them infrequently enough for them to be very special. Oh, and btw, my daughter said hers was gone in a day or so and that it was enjoyed by all. She especially likes being able to give a goodie or two to her advisor.
zp</p>
<p>Wow Zuzu, you make me feel like at totally bad Mommy, especially if that was a lame package…what do you send in a good one?!</p>
<p>Anyway, I just posted this in another thread but will repost here. The last care package from home had propel-type drink mix packets, a drawing from little sister, maybe a photo or two thrown in from the family photo box, some random pieces of candy donated by younger siblings, a couple of little sister’s fruit snacks he’s always stealing from her when he’s home, and a magazine of his that had just come in the mail. That’s about it…by ZuZu’s standards, exceptionally lame 
, but just driblets of life at home.</p>
<p>I love to bake, so adding baked goods is absolutely no biggie here. Fact is, my kids would love to receive oreos. I said mine was lame because it was small and I didn’t put in the wonderful things you did, classicalmama. My kids, especially my daughter, would LOVE the heartfelt notions from home, the drawings, the photos…yours fed the heart, mine fed the stomach.
Big difference.
zp</p>
<p>We got a huge box of different cheeses for Christmas. Due to caloric issues (!), neither the DH or I wanted to eat it. So off it went to our D with a box of crackers. She and a couple of friends had a feast! </p>
<p>Usually, we send some bags of ‘fun-sized’ candy (3 Musketeers, York Peppermint Patties, etc.), a couple of skin-care sample sizes, maybe some temp tattoos if I see something that works for swim or some other upcoming event, an office-supply or two (erasers, an unusual Post-It note, etc.) and her favorite cookies. Whenever I go shopping, I’ll grab a dollar or two’s worth of ‘care’. </p>
<p>We send about once a month or whenever she asks for something specific (‘Mom…I forgot…’), a bunch of other stuff goes in the box.</p>
<p>Do you parents do something extra special for birthdays?</p>
<p>some parents send baskets from local flower/candy places. others pick their kids up for dinner.</p>
<p>I put a package together today to send ground delivery. It included some paperwork (summer applications), magazines, some of his favorite snacks like kettle corn, chocolate bars, apple juice cartons, snack crackers (small bags), and the requested pop tarts.</p>
<p>I also utilize vendors like Harry & David’s or See’s Candies to send stuff like pears or Valentine’s chocolates. On his birthday, I have sent money for him to buy pizza for his dorm mates and made arrangements with the catering department for a cake.</p>
<p>Care packages can quickly become community property. My son initially resented this…so to make it easier for him to share I included things that he had very little interest in but would go over well with others. (Sort of like the crackers you buy near the duck pond…you wouldn’t eat them yourselves but they’re so well appreciated by the locals!) He learned to use them like they do in the military – he would grab the best and personalized stuff for himself and then put the box in the hall for everyone to pick from. After a couple times they policed each other about grabbing too much at once and the box lasted a little longer in the hallway (below the ironing board) than it did if he kept it in his room where it would be picked clean the first time others came in to visit the guy with the big box.</p>
<p>So my main tip here is to include a bunch of awesome stuff that your own child has some bizarre aversion to.</p>
<p>Oh, and find out what the ground rules are for allergens (or at least be kind enough to toss in a spare Epi-Pen if you don’t).</p>
<p>I send some cheap seasonal decorations–particularly this time of year. Some glittery hearts hanging from the ceiling and cupids all over the door really brightens thing up. This may only work for girls…</p>
<p>Also, I always include something specifically for her awesome roommate, like her favorite candy.</p>
<p>My kids have really enjoyed the hot chocolate mix. It’s less likely to be grabbed by dorm mates, but really hits the spot on those cold NE evenings.</p>
<p>Just sent one last week myself- homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, forgotten belt and hat he left home at the holidays, thoughtful card and Aiens movie trilogy. Son’s birthday is in 2 weeks and I am feeling at a loss at what to send. I feel the need to make it extra special- however the reality is what does a 15 year old guy really want? I am thinking tickets to a show or concert when he comes home for Spring break in March. Any ideas for special birthday care package are appreciated.</p>
<p>ITunes card and Godiva chocolate, a favorite magazine perhaps.</p>
<p>I think the tickets for something special for break is a great idea–my kid really likes having something special to look forward to to pull him through those last few weeks before break. The itunes card is a good idea too–personally I wouldn’t waste Godiva chocolate on my 15yo–he wouldn’t really discern between that and a bag of chocolate chips… :)</p>
<p>I’ve become rather fond of the “care text”… the photo of some funny drawing, or awesome lego creation by little brother or the sister making a goofy face. </p>
<p>As for chocolates, Lindt truffles are the indulgence of choice, only to be shared with roommate.</p>
<p>I don’t send the package any longer because they are liable to languish at the PO counter for weeks; and that just makes me mad.</p>
<p>You can get a Godiva chocolate bar or Dove chocolate (I think Lindt and Hershey good too), in your grocer’s candy section for a couple bucks, and it makes the kid feel extra special to get something “extravagant.”</p>
<p>Also, a card with $10 - $20 is good too for ordering out or picking up something at the local grocery or bookstore.</p>
<p>For kids at a school near a Starbucks or some other cafe, a gift card is nice (cheap to buy and to mail). It’s not just the cocoa money, it’s a way of saying “take a break.”</p>
<p>Ahhh…right, the big chocolate bars are nice. Back to regular care packages…I almost always throw in a bag of cough drops AND some regular hard candy so he’ll put the cough drops away for when he needs them. When it comes to buying major amounts of evening munchies snack food, I order straight from Amazon–a case of granola bars disappears quickly and ships free. But I think those little packages of not much from home are probably more fun to get.</p>
<p>Nice move with the additional hard candy, ClassicalMama. I do have to admit that I very often faked sore throats just so that I could get a cherry cough drop! Fortunately, I have long outgrown the habit which may or may not be attributed to being figured out by my father. :-)</p>
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<p>YES! Exactly. Even though I had forgotten about the frustration when that happened, my blood pressure is probably still elevated. It was a good thing he was at BS because that always really made me want to smack him…especially if it was something “urgent” that he was looking for.</p>