Remember when your kids were little you’d always put a note (maybe with a Hershey’s kiss or two) in their backpack or lunchbox to wish them good luck and send a little extra love on their first day? Care packages for college kids have just the same effect and are especially appreciated when they come out of the blue, but think outside of the box of homemade chocolate chip cookies and brownies. (Although sending those every now and again is awesome too!) Here are some fun and still practical ideas for some care packages every college kid would love.
The stuff they left behind. Yep. It happens. When they leave, they forget stuff. Box it up and tuck in a few family photos or maybe a shot or two of the dog. Add a sweet treat, just because. Throw in a couple favorite tee-shirts that are still in a drawer or maybe pick up a few vintage concert or comic tees at a thrift store. And if you tuck in a gift card for the local coffee shop, you’ll gain extra points.
The sick bay. Kids forget that when they’re away from home there’s no handy medicine cabinet already stocked for them. Send them a box of the essentials. And you might even want to do this as more than one package, send one full of first aid supplies like band-aids, Neosporin, gauze, antiseptic, antihistamine, aspirin, and the like (you may even want to provide full size and a small carry-along kit); then send another with cold remedies, cough drops, extra Vitamin C, tissues and maybe a few cartons (since they’re better and lighter than cans) of chicken soup, and some herbal tea.
Clean it up. Along the same lines, kids are used to having cleaning supplied at their fingertips. Dorm rooms get dusty and start smelling stale. Send a box with some air freshener, dust cloths, paper towels, multi-surface cleaner, electronics cleaner, and some laundry detergent pods too. Throw in some soy candles in a scent you use to give them a whiff of home.
Just a note. Never underestimate the power of a few simple words of love and encouragement. Grab a box a whimsical notes or pick up a funny card once a month and just drop it in the mail for no reason at all. It doesn’t have to include a lengthy letter and shouldn’t be used to guilt them into calling or writing back. Try to include a gift card whenever you can, even if it’s just for a couple movie tickets, $10 for some new iTunes, or a pizza. Every little bit helps.
Water fight! Remind them that they’re still a kid. Send a box with water guns, water balloons, silly string, and goofy hats or sunglasses. Pack up a box of whatever you can think of that you know they’ll get a laugh out of and wrap it in comic book pages. Then put it in a bigger box and wrap that one. And so on. Make ‘em smile.
Night at the movies. Movie boxes are easy and can include some DVDs of classics you love, new movies, a Netflix card (or a note with the password to your Netflix account), or maybe even some old home movies burned to disc. Add a bag of cheese popcorn, some boxes of candy, and a bottle of soda. If you’ve got a favorite movie, you can theme out the box with random toys and merchandise—think Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avengers, or even Minions!
Be creative. Decorate your packages with drawings or tuck notes in with funny sayings or telling why you included the items you did, or “instructions” on how to use. Wrap items by putting them in cute and whimsical socks, pillowcases, bed linens, t-shirts. That’s a two-fer! Goofy puns are always terrific too. Making ‘em groan is just another way to make ‘em smile.
Surprise! Not so much a “care package,” and a little harder to put into effect when you have a busy, on-the-move college student, is a surprise delivery order from their favorite pizza place or Chinese restaurant. Call in and pay for an order to be delivered to your student’s door, and send a text saying “dinner’s on me tonight!”
