How To Make A College Care Package

Mom shares tips for putting together an awesome care package for your college kids!

How to make a college care package is a topic we field lots of questions on from our Celebration suggestions community. So as "off to campus" season is starting we thought it deserved a whole page to itself. As a Mom of 4 collegians, I can tell you College kids LOVE to receive care packages! For parents who complain their kids hardly call or even email from college (unless they need something!), this article is for you. Make a college care package and you will hear from them for sure! A care package received on campus virtually guarantees a call from your college student.

What do you put in a good college care package? Think like a college student. What would you like to get from home? Home baked anything is always a favorite, as are those little things they may not always have on hand in their dorm room or apartment. Some of those include anything that can cook in a microwave, dvd or video games, pictures from home, fun games like Apples to Apples, a gas card if they have a car on campus, extra Tylenol and of course, a little cash is always welcome! Look at this easy idea to cleverly incorporated their school onto candy bars for a great college care package addition. I always loved to make a college care package for the kids using a theme. I would theme them seasonally: for exams, for homesickness, for sports and for the holidays. You can see all the different ones we have put together over the years in our How To Make A COLLEGE CARE PACKAGE section. You’ll find a recap of all our different ideas and tips for packing and mailing your packages. Always be generous with your baked goods.. they will go fast in a dorm!
I read an article about a group of California Moms who had “Care Package” making parties. Once the kids leave for college, you are not in daily touch with all the parents as happens while they are in high school. No more football games, school plays, fundraisers etc. that pull everyone together. So this idea is a great way to keep all the moms connected once the kids head off in their own directions. It would be easy to organize and is great for Moms of multiple college students too. I would plan a “Care Package” party about once every 2 months, which would be 4 a year. Be sure you all talk and set a limit on what you want to spend. You can then either decide to have each person bring enough of their item for all the packages, or the Mom in charge, collects the money and shops for all the packages! It would be nice if each Mom, also brought a baked items, wrapped for each box. At each gathering, you put together the care packages and then decide as a group what the next package will be filled with. So if you gather for the first time, you may choose an FALL or HALLOWEEN themed package. The following one could be an EXAM SURVIVAL theme and then perhaps a VALENTINE or ST. PATRICK’s theme and finally SPRING, EASTER or FINALS. How fun is this for a ladies night out!! Here’s the article about how this group Moms started their College Care Package club! So gather your girlfriends and in lieu of a Book Club, start a College Care Package Club. You will love making these together as much as your kids will enjoy receiving them!


For some good advice on what us parents need to know before they leave for campus, read this article



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