<p>I’ve sent various things - snacks go over really big as do clothes. I can also ship cases of some things (like her favorite Apple chips) directly from Amazon so she can share with friends and still have stuff to hoard. Amazon Prime is a life saver because it gets things there fast and I can track the package. </p>
<p>My daughter knits and sends crafts she makes via the postal service. My DH sends handwritten letters with surprise allowance every now and then. </p>
<p>BTW - get an account on usps.com. The postage is cheaper if you pay online and the delivery confirmation tracking is free. It even spits out the label with a barcode. It will - if you check the box - send a confirmation email to you when the package is delivered. It will also send an email to the recipient for free to let them know their package is there. That happened when we were shipping my d’s musical instrument and she literally rushed to the po box when she got the notice. The overnight mail costs were 1/2 the cost of UPS and Fedex overnight even with insurance.</p>
<p>Put a few dollars in the box - and trust me - it will train them to look for the packages - lol! </p>
<p>Anyhoo - we stock a lot of “flat rate” boxes in our office.</p>
<p>Exie- we think alike. I also use USPS online with flat rate boxes and Amazon Prime. I really get my $$ worth out of amazon as both of my kids are readers and you can ship even more than just books with Amazon. </p>
<p>Caution: Know your child - last year my mom sent my oldest a huge box of cookies and brownies for his November birthday. When we packed up his room in MAY - they were still under the bed!!! He is NOT a sweet eater and it never ocurred to him that others might be… LOL</p>
<p>Magazines - Game Informer and music mags- are a big hit. Beef Jerky and batteries rule.</p>
<p>Sometimes we send funny things or gags - like whoppie cushions, or those JAMZ guitars, jacks and balls, mad libs or other puzzles.</p>
<p>Oh and Exie’s tip on the cash - a BIG hit no matter the denomination!</p>
<p>I’m on a Mac laptop. USPS downloads the label with some weird ending on it. (.pdf.servelet.etc…) So I can’t open it as a pdf because preview (and sometimes Adobe) doesn’t recognize it. Found a nerd site that said to just erase everything in the file name after the .pdf and the file with pre-paid label will open just fine and be ready to print.</p>
<p>This is all very helpful, and my child isn’t even at BS yet! Do you assist with clothing needs (let’s say they’re still growing, or shoes fell apart), or do you wait until they come home to fill in any needed items?</p>
<p>Anyway, so many good tips and I know my child will be looking for that care package right away once they see others receiving them.</p>
<p>I feel like a terrible mom now! In the two years my son has been at prep, I have never sent a care package.<br>
However as it is only 5 hours away, we drive down every 4 weeks or so and I take the opportunity to stock up his room with Gatorade (;ike gold at his prep), sweet snacks and a variety of things you can cook in a microwave as he is always starving after study hall.</p>
<p>@cdnhockeymom - that’s the best kind of care package! - lol!</p>
<p>@Eastwest21 - It was my D’s first year and we guessed at some wardrobe needsthen had to make adjustments to her wardrobe on the fly once we understood the weather patterns and nuances of the dress code (like no writing on shirts - not even a logo). We knew her sizes and the Gloria Vanderbilt slacks at a Costco fit her well - so she emailed a request for pants in various colors, etc… You’d be surprised how much we could smash into a flat rate box - lol!</p>
<p>Sometimes a care package doesn’t have to be big or expensive - could be a cd with music, a photo of the family, a greeting card, whatever. Just to let them know you’re thinking of them. My daughter said they always seemed to come at the right time (like after a bunch of tests).</p>
<p>Another Amazon cost saver is subscribe and save–automatic free shipping and 15 percent off the price. You can subscribe and then immediately cancel the subscription–or not, if you know your student will eat a case of granola bars each month, as mine will, easily. Just sent some organic pop tarts that way last night. </p>
<p>As far as clothes go, I do send them to the school directly from LLBean or ebay or wherever I buy them when he has a specific need for something–but usually just when he asks, as I don’t think he associates clothes with treat. </p>
<p>On a completely unrelated note–if you have a boy, label all clothes, including shoes. My son managed to lose his (not inexpensive) dress shoes in the dorm somewhere this fall and we had to buy him a new pair over Christmas. Honestly, I think that lots of the boys don’t know what belongs to them–so a kid probably saw the shoes in his room and assumed they were his. The downside of sending clothes directly there is that I can’t label them, though I usually grab them when they come home dirty on break!</p>
<p>scene: my house after picking son up for Winter Break
Son: (constantly pulling up pants)
Mom: Did you lose more weight?
son: I don’t think so.
Mom: But your pants are falling down!
Son: Yeah, don’t know why. They fit last week.
Mom: wait a minute - you don’t wear pleated pants.
Son: huh?
Mom: let me check something (looks in back waistband and sees roommate’s brother’s name who lives on another floor)
son: That’s weird.
Mom: (wonders how he ever got admitted)</p>
<p>Moral: It doesn’t matter whose name is in them. They won’t check.</p>
<p>^ awesome story, neato! I endure some variation on that a couple times a week (though that one’s exceptionally ridiculous)…so there you go: yet another reason to send your urchins to BS!</p>
<p>Oh don’t disillusion me…I’m thinking that if I write his name in Sharpie in big letters in the bottom of his shoe, that the other kid MIGHT just notice it–as he’s stuffing his foot into a shoe that, strangely, pinches his toes. And then just MIGHT–I don’t know…throw my son’s shoes out into the hall for him to trip over and reclaim. A mom needs her dreams…</p>
<p>Great stories that illustrate why I pay extra to Lands End to put initials on the sleeves of my son’s dress shirts! </p>
<p>He learned in his first year that E&R destroys their clothing and now he takes only a few special t-shirts and just wears the white v-necks under his collared shirts. Another valuable lesson was that socks do NOT match themselves back up in the dryer or the drawer He now buys ALL of the same kind of sock - well half are black dress and half are sports white - so there are no matching issues.</p>
<p>I send cash ( its usually an afterthought ) even if its only $5, toiletries, granola bars. Usually mail a box because she needs something ( like an article of clothing, or application materials ) and take advantage to enclose other stuff. We have a UPS store, so I don’t even have to address the package - just bring in a box and they do the rest.
Got to agree with the Lindt chocolate - always welcome !</p>
<p>While I could not be more proud of my daughter, I have to say its hard at times parenting a teenager. I think BS is the BEST thing not only for her and for me, but for our relationship, and sending packages is important . I am thinking home baked cookies soon because of this thread!</p>
He now buys ALL of the same kind of sock - well half are black dress and half are sports white - so there are no matching issues.</p>