<p>I’ve sent 2 boxes so far… the first was practical… his dress shoes & a lamp. The second was a little better… a george forman grill… his webcam & palm pilot he forgot to take, a book he wanted to read. Our synagogue sends holiday packages, S said he got one yesterday with Rosh Hashana treats. I’m planning on sending him a framed photo of his dog in costume for Halloween. I’ve also ordered some books from Amazon that are coming out soon that I know he wants to read, and had them shipped directly to him.</p>
<p>My son is not really a goofy kid. He wouldn’t get into Halloween decorations or nerf balls. This is kind of reminiscent of sleepaway camp, when packages were a huge deal. I used to stress so much about what to put in them. And now, he’s in DC, where every store is in walking distance… he can really go out & get himself whatever he needs.</p>
<p>I met my husband in college. After a year or so into our relationship, I was able to borrow his car to do my laundry off campus as long as I did his laundry too. When folding his underware I could not help notice that the fly was sewn shut! It turns out that my Mother in Law was responsible for that prank. I don’t think it was to make my husband’s trip to the toilet difficult. I think it was her way of telling him to keep his pants on. </p>
<p>For the parent(s) that don’t think their S/D would like the silly stuff, you might be surprised. Even if their initial reaction is cold, their roommate(s) may get a kick out of it and help your S/D explore life’s less serious side.<br>
Even though they are “adults”, you are providing life long memories for them. I don’t think tasteful gag gifts will put them in therapy. </p>
<p>Before our S left, there were times he treated his younger brothers poorly. We told him if he didn’t straighten up, we would send him his childhood stuffed animal. The fear of being embarrassed, straightened him right up!
He said if we ever did send “George”, he would take him to the firing range for target practice. (I think we’ll keep an eye on “George” a little while longer.)</p>
<p>My 13-year-old son insisted on mailing that special baby toy–a white gorilla puppet with matted fur, “Mungo”–to his big brother. (I kept taking it out of the box, he kept sneaking it back in…finally I just sent it). When S got it, he emailed “Was it really necessary to include Mungo?” Maybe he was a little embarrassed, but I think he was somewhat pleased, too. H sent him a Napoleon Dynamite air freshener which I thought was dumb and corny, but S was amused. (Might be useful for the closet?) I put in the rice crispie treats and pop tarts.</p>
<p>Yo-yos, balsa wood airplanes, his favorite “twirling” pens. It’s nice to send enough for the room/suite-mates. Last year I “dressed” gingerbread men in dorm t shirts for all the suite. (So glad he wasn’t in Wigglesworth. ;)) DS has a real kitchen this year so I am on the lookout for some tacky refrigerator magnets.</p>
<p>Speaking of air freshener, my daughter picked up one that looks like a jello jiggler in the car air freshener section of Target and sticks on. She put it on the mirror in her bathroom in her apartment. It smelled so good, I got one for Son’s dorm room bathroom that he shares with three other guys.</p>
<p>Fridge magnets! That’s a great idea… I’ll be on the lookout for those.</p>
<p>As for the stuffed toy… my almost 16 yo son (HS Soph) still has his crib blanket on his bed – a full sized, once-fluffy, once white, crib comforter. He no longer takes it when he travels (he stopped that when he was 12), but its on his bed. His friends sleep over, hang out in his room, they know its there, no one makes fun of him. You’d be surprised at how mushy a 6’2" teenage boy can be.</p>
<p>It was definitely easier to find stuff for dd’s care packages than ds’s. But I did manage to find a few things for him: gift cards for nearby stores, sports stuff for when he started playing intramural sports, like shin guards for soccer–and unfortunately, a goofy sock to put over his cast and stickers for his crutches when he wiped out during football and softball (it’s easy to think intramurals are mere play, but they’re played in earnest by former varsity/club/travel team players some of whom could have played for their college if they’d wanted). Just sent my dd some shin guards, blister packs, Spongebob Band-Aids, and football shoes for her soccer/football intramurals. Sometimes fresh fruit is appreciated when they come from a sunny place and head to the East Coast. So it can be expensive to go the Harry & David route, but the fruit is packed well, lasts and is tastier than much of the stuff that sometimes passes for produce in our local stores. Also, a card that said, “Inspired by how caring you are” with a note that I’d sent a donation of $ or dog food or whatever to their favorite local charity or humane society. Sometimes even stamped, addressed blank birthday/get well cards to send to Grandma and Grandpa/relatives in case they had good intentions, but didn’t have time to get to the store.
No doubt, some kids won’t be excited about care packages. And yeah, they certainly can shop for themselves for whatever they need. But it’s fun for kids who are willing to pause amid their grueling study schedules, laugh at the goofy stuff (that I hoped was still practical), forget their hassles for a moment, remember they’re being thought of, and pass the goodies around to their friends. And it helps me when I miss them. After all, dd’s college is in NY and I’m in Cali.</p>
<p>This thread is cracking me up. S is the serious type who was practically born grown up. In addition, we live in the high-paced sophisticated NE near NYC. All the same, when we moved him in to his dorm, I was still extremely surprised to see that the freshman BOY down the hall had actually brought along 2 Pooh bears and a Teddy bear to be displayed prominently on his bureau. I wondered what mother in her right mind would let her son do that, even if he was sheltered enough to want to do that. So, I included a silly stuffed animal in S’s first care package, joking that it was so he wouldn’t feel jealous of the other boy!</p>
<p>Wow, so I guess there are more of you out there than I had thought!! I guess we moms all have the desire to keep our kids and the memories of their childhood close, don’t we? No negative comment was made by S about said animal, so it’s possible the regression theory is correct.</p>
<p>Hmm. Can someone explain the symbolism/attraction behind the army men?</p>
<p>Just discovered this while looking for something to do when visting D in Western Mass. tomorrow. This link is for care packages to be sent locally to the 5-College area (Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire, Amherst, and UMass).</p>
<p>Had never thought about refrigerator magnets–that’s a nice idea & perhaps we’ll send some of our collection from our travels to grace their fridge (or maybe I’ll buy them some touristy HI ones <grin>) Will look for some of those inexpensive little gliders & toys for his dorm for halloween/bday favors maybe. Hmmmm</grin></p>
<p>I always sent birthday cards for birthdays they didn’t have (like their 40th), or “Happy Anniversary” (unmarried, of course), or…(and etc.) It has also been a standing joke in my house that I promised the older d. a kilo of Black Russian caviar (which is now banned of course) when she has her opera premiered in Vienna, so I used to send little tins or jars of fish eggs.</p>
<p>She’s now in Florence, though, so that’s the end of that.</p>
<p>My son took one of those back-of-the-door basketball hoops with the soft ball. Also, I think he appreciates getting funny ecards on a regular basis, so it is worth the annual subscription to American Greetings or Blue Mountain! They are definitely more fun to read than a regular email.</p>
<p>Geez, I just read this thread and I feel like a bad parent! I don’t send care packages to college. Yikes, my kids are deprived. I didn’t realize all you guys do that. However, I spend a small fortune on my kids, don’t get me wrong. And if we see them in person, we may arrive bearing food they like, etc. Once when we traveled for the day to D’s college soccer game, we brought bags of apples we had picked since every fall she used to go apple picking here and could no longer do so. Her team liked that. And when we go to her ski races, we bring food/lunch for the team, and sometimes I will do something my D especially likes such as chocolate covered strawberries. But I have not ever sent them “care packages”. I’m now wondering if everyone else at college is getting these and they aren’t?? I buy my kids so much stuff they need, all their clothes, and so it is not like they do not “receive”. </p>
<p>The only thing I can think of that came close to a “care package” was last year on D2’s 17th birthday (and her 18th is coming up and I’ll likely do this again), I baked a cake as I have done on every birthday and actually half birthday since they were born, and I MAILED the cake and it got there in one piece. I sent the candles and stuff like that for her to celebrate with friends, besides her presents (which she got before she left for college) and tickets to see a Broadway show with her roomie on her birthday. I did send along an extra gift package (a skirt, earrings and bracelet…nothing major) to her only because her big present was bought over the summer…all her linens for college… and I wanted her to have something to open on her real birthday, also her first away from home. </p>
<p>I guess I’m not too with it as I haven’t done care packages!</p>
<p>PS…mini…it would be funny if our D’s were to run into one another in Florence, given that they met briefly at he open house at Smith a couple of years ago. My D is there all semester. I’m hoping to go visit.</p>
<p>We sent a Rosh Hashona care package with apples and honey (and an apple slicer) and threw in some chocolates. S spent the summer cleaning out his room and throwing out a ton of inexpensive toys etc. so I don’t think he wants to start a new collection quite yet! I was thinking of sending him some of our old handmade Halloween decorations next month - the ones from elementary school, that is - plus we took pictures of our Jack-o-lanterns every year so will probably send those along too.</p>
<p>I sent a box of fun Halloween decorations to my D last year. She is in a house with four other girls and they were planning a Halloween party. I got most of the items at JoAnn’s all on sale the week right before Halloween. That was fun because we’d never had a Halloween party at our house as my D was growing up. </p>
<p>I’ve sent lots of care packages of food–snacks, treats, instant soups. During finals week last year we sent bagels from our bagel shop at home because there aren’t any good bagels in her college town. I also sent a wonderful food box from Zingermann’s Deli in Ann Arbor once when she was having a difficult time.</p>
<p>Your son cleaned his room??? I’m jealous!
My son got his George Foreman grill today in a care package, and was excited. I also sent him a new sterling chain for his Chai, and he got a kick of the card I included. “You were on my mind today… Everyone else was on my nerves”. I’ve bought a bunch of cute Hallmark cards to send him, including “Happy Halloween from the Dog”… and I bought a doggie halloween hat… I’ll send a photo:.</p>
<p>Now, off topic…</p>
<p>Did anyone’s (Jewish) kids come home for holiday? All of a sudden I’m missing him terribly. He didn’t want to come home, I didn’t encourage it… and he’s attending services with his new friends at Hillel, which I’m very proud of him for doing. But he said its about 50/50… a lot of kids decided at the very last minute to take the trip home afterall. A friend of mine whose kids are in their late 20s/30s said she was waiting for me to finally miss him… she didn’t think it would take this long. But I spent a good part of today moping around… missing him. My friend said I wanted him to be happy… he finally is… I should just get over it. But it seems like such a huge chunk of my family is missing… with just one person absent.</p>
<p>And then I think of 2 friends of mine who lost their sons this year… one to disease, one to an accident… and I kick myself and feel so guilty…</p>
<p>We just spoke to my daughter who was returning from Hillel services. Said the services were disappointing, only 1/4 full and it’s the first time she’s felt homesick. She’s well respected in our congregation and usually winds up at the altar for some honor or other during the High Holy Days. It’s not the same here without her.</p>
</p>
Will look for some of those inexpensive little gliders & toys for his dorm for halloween/bday favors maybe. Hmmmm</grin></p>