Seeking Ideas for College Care Packages

I just did the same thing for my neice. Got her a single cup coffee maker, filters, & Dunkin Donuts coffee. Also bought her one of those lap desks, a shower caddy and her favorite Bath & Body shampoo and cond. If she is in the dorm you could get her an extra pair of flip flops for the shower in case hers wear out in the middle of the winter when you can't find them anymore! You could also make one of those "no sew" blankets or pillow in her school colors! Good luck!!

I'm thinking back to when I was in college. I would have wanted advil, vivarin, quarters for laundry, baked goods, or twizlers, mase, a cute umbrella for walking in the rain to class, stamps, fast food gift cards, a cd, a gift card for blockbuster or the movie theaters, body spray or lotion or maybe a nail polish. Those all sound like good things a college girl would like.

My favorite thing to get when I was in college was gift cards... Gas cards so she can come home and visit family, Walmart gift card (there is always a Walmart near a college), nail or hair salon (stuff you cannot spend money on when you are in college), any local restraunts (you get sick of dinig hall food). Good Luck!!!

How about a Panera gift card? Anything to get away from dorm food once in a while!!
My grandma used to send me a short letter once in a while with $5 inside and I thought that was the best!

Care packages are the best. It's nice that you care enough to send one. When I was in college (first in the family to go away also) My mom sent me a package with 30 gifts in it. One to be opened every day for one month. they included things like nylons and socks, writing utensils, stationary, favorite snacks, personal bathroom items, (including tampons), gift cards, and various other things she thought I could use being so far from home. It was great! Once she sent me a large box with a few outfits, and some goodies (wrap well to keep ants out!) It was always a blessing. Every time my grandma wrote to me she always sent me cash and 5 stamps. I always appreciated that and looked forward to it. There was even a brand of baby food I loved to eat (tutti frutti) and on my 17th birthday my aunt sent me 17 jars of it. Never had to worry about the other girls getting into that snack!! Ha. Hope that helps!

Hi J.,

Care packages are great, but just sending post cards and letters on a regular basis is fun too. One of my Mom's cousins did that for me while I was in school and I always looked forward to her notes.
But, for the care package..... any small things that would make her life easier. If she's in the dorms, think about hot chocolate mix, cookies, granola bars or anything she likes to have on hand if she can't get to the dining hall or needs a midnight snack.

The best thing I ever rec'd in college was when my aunt sent me a gift certificate (this was before gift cards were so common) for the local grocery store. I have no idea how she got it since that chain is not even in the part of the country she lives in, but it was a most welcome gift. I would also say WalMart or Target gift cards.

As for little things...I liked spiral notebooks and pens, but your neice might use a notebook computer. Non-perishable snacks (like granola bars, nuts, dried fruit -- I would try to stay on the healthy side) are also good so she has something to munch while studying late at night and doesn't have to cook. Coffee or tea if she drinks it.

My aunts have a little tradition of sending $5 in a card to all the neices and nephews for the "minor" holidays -- like Halloween, Valentine's day, etc. That was always nice to get even though it's a small amount. Now they send the card & $5 to my kids who are also thrilled to get it (my kids are a preschooler and toddler, so they just like anything in the mail).

She may enjoy an I-tunes gift card, nice towels or pillow cases, quick dinners or fun food. Hope this helps.

Sounds like you've got some great ideas already, but I thought I would add that my aunt sent me a care package with a whole bunch of stuff in it, but the best was a roll of quarters for laundry! That was the hardest thing to come by as a student and many a time I would need to do my laundry and couldn't find any quarters. But I'm sure whatever you send her she'll love and it's the little things that mean the most. That's really nice of you and I know she'll love it!

Hmm... if she has a roommate, I'd say send a box of those disposable earplugs. Little bottles of lotion, baked goods, condoms... maybe that's just what I wanted. :-) The stamps are a good idea too. Little packages of chocolates and cashews, fancier stuff that on a college budget, she'd never buy for herself.

Any baked goods are always a favorite and boxes of crackers or other non perishable snacks. Maybe a couple rolls of quarters if she has to pay for laundry. Fabric softener, maybe frebrez or Downy wrinkle release. If you want to get crazy, you can do prepaid phone cards, gas card and ipod cards. Honestly college students are about the least picky people around.