5 Essential Care Packages for Your College Kid
Once the excitement of moving to college has settled down, your college student will no doubt need some long-distance love from home.
For those of you who have sent a kid to college this year—whether it be a Freshman or a Senior—once Parents Weekends have come and gone, these babies of yours are gonna need some loving! Here are five fun and essential care packages you can ship off to let them feel the love from home.
Comforts of Home
Nothing says “home sweet home” like a framed Photo of the family/pet, or maybe a couple shots from a recent family vacation or outing. Popular now are voice recordable cards with music, which can even include the family dog barking or cat purring. Be sure to include her favorite homemade goodie or hometown treat from the local bakery, her favorite comfort boxed cereal that she loved as a kid, or a fragrance from home such as the regular airfreshner you use can also make your student feel cozy. And with cooler temps now arriving, a soft throw blanket is a great way to assure your student will feel warm and snuggly while up studying into the wee hours.
Feeling Healthy
Cold and Flu season is on tap. In case your college student forgot these items you can make his/her first illness away from home a lot more comfy with these cough drops, favorite tea/hot cocoa, throat lozenges, warm socks, vicks vapo rub, tums, cans of chicken noodle soup, Echinacea products, Motrin, cough syrup, honey, instant soup or oatmeal, boxes of tissues, saline nasal spray, a Netflix gift certificate to watch movies while they are down for the count, and anything else your child used to rely on back home when he/she is rallying to get better.
School Supplies Stock Up
By now, your student has probably lost dozens of pens and pencils and could use help restocking some basic school supplies, like a stapler and staples, Sharpies and highlighters, ink cartridges, notebooks, paper clips, colored pencils, folders and binders, scotched tape, white out and more. Be sure to throw in some of his favorite treats like trail mix, mixed nuts, mints or Hershey Kisses to really show him the love.
Let’s Get Personal
Something as simple as a new toothbrush and dental floss, body wash or a couple bars of their favorite soap, breath mints and gum, a box of feminine hygiene products, baby powder, hair spray and deodorant, and some chapstick and body lotion can really brighten your college student’s day. Ask your child what toiletries she’s running low on, and help her stock up—especially before finals crunch time.
Motherload of Laundry
If your college student wasn’t used to doing his/her own laundry while living at home, after they’ve been settled in for a couple of months, they may be exhausted from trying to keep their underwear and socks clean on a regular basis. A laundry care package could include a stash of new socks and underwear, some yummy-scented dryer fabric sheets, a stain stick, a couple of new towels, his/her favorite magazine for reading while they wait for clothes cycles to finish, and of course a couple of rolls of quarters for the dorm washing machine.
If you don’t have time to create your own care package, there are several on-line options such as Carepackages.com, which you can customize according to the occasion and your budget.
And don’t forget to send handwritten notes and cards! E-mails and texts are great, but nothing beats a handwritten note, especially from mom or dad or another close family member. (That includes the family pet!)
Be sure and share your ideas for care packages on the Mighty Mommy Facebook page!
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.