<p>Fat Witch brownies (can be ordered via fatwitch.com), recommended by sybbie (thank you sybbie!), were a big hit with my son.</p>
<p>Now Redsquared…boiled peanuts are an acquired taste and well worth the effort towards acquisition. Your family has exquisite taste!!! I can actually find boiled peanuts quite conveniently at Walmart in some resealable microwavable bags…Yum!!! However, the sweet tea presents more of a problem in shipping. I do have a great source for Opera Fudge after the younger chick flies the coop and needs some in a care package. You got me!!</p>
<p>Caromom, my southern son is also in Boston. His dorm has a kitchen instead of a cafeteria. The first time he made “sweet tea” and fried okra for a community meal everyone thought he was . And while he’s goten a few takers on the tea, only one other will eat the okra. I use an electric teakettle. If she can have an electric teakettle that will work - it’s what I use at home. </p>
<p>Mattmom and I use the same packing technique. I also stick raisins, microwave popcorn and mac & cheese in the box. For packing material I use the Sunday comics and pages from the newspaper with articles I know he’ll want to read. I also send homemade fudge (but not in really hot weather as it melts and has to be eaten with a spoon). He’s always very popular when he gets mail because I send a lot of fudge. One guy follows him down the hall when he gets a box. I also get stuff at the Dollar Store such as slinkies, super balls (his floormates don’t like those) and styrofoam airplanes.</p>
<p>Anyone know if the Harry and David cakes are worth the $$. I have sampled some of their other products, and they are certainly very good.</p>
<p>Really soft kleenex.
The expensive cold medicines, like Nyquil.
My son always tells me he won’t need them. Then, he calls and thanks me for them when he does. Which is always about 3 weeks into the school year. Something about his dorm seems to take all those national-class viruses and focus them on his room. </p>
<p>Cookies? As far as I can tell, the girls in his dorm make him lots of cookies.</p>
<p>I sent my son with a couple killer recipes for cookies – I’m hoping before long <em>he</em> will make cookies for <em>the girls</em>, heh heh.</p>
<p>money–to be used to splurge</p>
<p>Sending cookies embarrassed S. I had no problems being the ‘cookie mom’ and others in his house seemed appreciative</p>
<p>I’m planning on sending homemade honey cake and apple cake (his absolute favorite) in time for Rosh Hashanah. Other than those special treats, I don’t plan on sending any edible goodies. It’s hard enough as it is to avoid gaining weight in the dorms. I did order him a DVD of a wonderful PBS program “Watergate + 30” that I thought he would enjoy.</p>
<p>My mom sent me a box of cookies at my request, I’m living 3000 miles from home, and the food isn’t spectacular. It’s been a week since they were shipped, and they still haven’t arrived. Apparently, my cookies are coming to L.A., CA from NH via Ontario, Canada, so if you send something edible you might want to be prepared for the worst. The only reason we know where the cookies went is online tracking. I will probably have stale cookies, but I’ve now got a great story.</p>
<p>S2’s birthday is less than 2 weeks away, and I’m already too late to send anything, unless I order something online and have it shipped. He’s just asked for Amazon certificates, though. I’m feeling guilty – losing supermama points.</p>
<p>I do try to send a small package everytime I meet someone going to the US with extra luggage space – takes too long and costs too much otherwise, but I’m afraid it doesn’t get appreciated all that much. Once we moved here, a number of friends and relatives picked up the slack (unasked for, but very appreciated!) and my sons got more care packages than they ever got when we were home. They love grandma’s cookies, so I just can’t compete. </p>
<p>The one thing S2 does like is postcards from here and every place we go, which I try to send fairly often. When I finally visited last May, he had every card taped to the wall. I never have anything to say on them (we email or phone often) but at least it’s something in his mailbox.</p>
<p>My daughter recently told me don’t forget to send her halloween candy. Last year she said it really rent over well as students went trick or treating. Just sent the usual stuff: now and laters, tootsie roll pops,mini candy bars etc, She also likes twizzlers which you can pick up at BJ’s, costco’s etc. She leaves them in the big plastic containter on her desk where people can come in and help themselves.</p>
<p>Jrpar, Yep the fatwitch brownies go over well at her school also.</p>
<p>over30–I’m a native Bostonian, and I love okra! Send your son over to my house–I’ll eat it.</p>
<p>chocoholic–I’ve only eaten H&D’s fruitcake, and that was scrumptious. There are H&D stores around where you might be able to sample the goods before ordering.</p>
<p>binx-For birthdays, I’ve sent a Mrs. Field’s birthday cookie. It’s a 12" cookie that can be personally inscribed. I just sent back to school ones that said “Study Hard”. Thay are always a big hit.</p>
<p>I also use a similar packing technique as Mattmom for homemade cookies and they have always arrived intact.</p>
<p>I remember baking cookies from my brother & sending them from the West Coast (where I was in school) to the East Coast (where he was in school). He later admitted they threw them all away because they were all stale due to some glitch in shipping or delivery. I never sent him a care package after that! I was crushed because I had really wanted to give him a special treat.
Sent my niece a nice set of notecards & a few posters to brighten up her room.
Have also sent microwave popcorn & local munchies.</p>
<p>I froze S’s brownies in an aluminum pan and wrapped in newspaper. Sent it out Fedex (among family photos at his request), and a couple other goodies. Arrived the next day in good shape. S’s girlfriend made him a darling scrapbook for his b-day that we’re shipping as well.</p>
<p>mattmom’s and over30’s packing techniques along with Tookie’s freezing the goodies first sounds good to me. Seems like overnight is important, though. I’m going to try it with lemon squares - S’ favorite - unless one of you tells me that is crazy. 
</p>
<p>Since D is far from home, when in San Antonio, I found Alamo crackers (animal crackers in the famous red box with scenes of San Antonio on it) and sent those. They really got a kick out of those in her dorm! I-tunes are big, too (gift cards). Just about anything is better than just an e-mail from home. The surprise is what makes it fun!!! D loves very soft chocolate cookies (baked maybe 3-4 minutes, at most). Send a box of Soft-baked Chips Ahoy.</p>
<p>We send breakfast or afternoon “tea” foods because he skips a formal breakfast and eats supper late.
2002: We sent comfort food he enjoyed for breakfast- homemade fruit bread -cake, 4-6 loaves per shipment (1 loaf=1 week) and home grown and processed, fruit leather.
2003: Bags of homemade biscotti and dried asian pears (big year in pears)
2004: Cookies and bags of homegrown dried apple slices. (big crop of apples)
2005: Senior. He’s on his own, so far. Or until his mom gets sorry for his poor dietary habits. This year he enjoys a couple of bags of Costco breakfast cereal, primarily because he had extra room in his single luggage, a carryon over-niter.</p>
<p>Care packages changes as they (kids) get older. He’s food spoiled</p>
<p>Jmmom-let us know how the lemon squares traveled =).</p>
<p>I wish someone would tell me how to make homemade biscotti – Biscotti (store bought) is one of the little things I miss from home. I’ve already learned how to make bagels and granola bars (although I haven’t perfected that recipe yet.)</p>
<p>Sorry to get off track. Feel free to PM me some recipes!</p>
<p>Okay, to make up for that, I will tell you what my S’s last carepackage contained – a bottle of bubbles, a package of water balloons, a yo-yo, a ball, a harmonica – yeah, a bunch of “regular” stuff, too. Food, mechanical pencils, a paperback book we liked, and such. Keep in mind he was at a summer program when we sent this, with one suitcase and no money. I’m not sure he liked it as much as we liked sending it, though.</p>