<p>We took a vacation together (Hawaii!) as her graduation trip, just the two of us. Did the dorm shopping thing. My favorite thing now is sending her care packages. Oh and sometimes on a Friday night I call and have pizza or some kind of food delivered to her dorm, once I verify that she and friends will be hanging out at the dorm around dinner time.</p>
<p>I can’t wait to go dorm shopping! We’ll probably need to go a few times and keep it short and simple, though. When we get “fussy” we stop and have lunch. So I’m planning on a few mother/daughter lunches this summer! I do have to keep remembering that her taste in fabrics and furnishings is very different than mine.</p>
<p>Sons need some lovin’ too!</p>
<p>Yeah, but are they “into” all the going off to school stuff?!!!</p>
<p>D1 was (and still is) a minimalist. She gets freaked out when she has “too much stuff”. D2 is the opposite…getting her to not go overboard with everything she packs will be the challenge! D2 already has assured me that since she’s not nearly as OCD as her sister, that she’ll gladly take my suggestions when shopping for or packing for her room!</p>
<p>Sorry didn’t mean to leave out the sons! It’s just that I will be experiencing this with my daughter before my son!! And most of the times boys could care less about shopping!! Sons are welcomed in this thread too.</p>
<p>Didn’t really do this too much with either kid. S wasn’t much into shopping, but I did get him some stuff. He’s given D his hand-me-downs from his dorm days. We all went with S for his move-in day in 2006. D moved in as a transfer sophomore Jan 2009. She grumbled a bit that I had promised we’d do a lot of shopping but somehow it never happened quite like that (turned out she was too busy and so was I at the time). When we took her to school, we did take her to Target & Costco & she did get a few care packages.</p>
<p>I have mailed her some warm clothing & some sports tops. She’s pleased that I gave her a credit card, “just in case.” She did use it when she didn’t have cash–she purchased food for herself & friends who reimbursed her in cash when they were on a trip, so she would have cash. She also bought a jacket with it.</p>
<p>It worked out OK.</p>
<p>D & I took advantage of the ridiculously good pre-Xmas sales this year and stopped at an outlet mall on the way home from a college visit in November for an Eddie Bauer down comforter and a few other things. So far, we’ve been able to pick up some very good deals by shopping only sale/clearance items, especially with BB&B’s coupons. Have a few more items left, but I’m guessing we’ll run out of stuff she needs long before it’s time to go. We both dislike shopping but it’s been a bonding experience.
The only disagreement we’ve had is over the Pulse Smartpen. I wanted to get her one last week (Target had a gift card offer with it) as she’ll be taking alot of sciences in large lecture halls. She liked it too but worried that the pen would make a beep when she hit “record” and it would be too obtrusive. I really didn’t think it would matter in a room of 300 kids! Does anyone have one of these? [Livescribe</a> :: Never Miss A Word](<a href=“http://www.livescribe.com/]Livescribe”>http://www.livescribe.com/)</p>
<p>Please accept my apology. I meant to reference Bed Bath & Beyond when discussing the special program of ordering items at store near home, and then picking up the items at the store nearest the college. My understanding is that IKEA does NOT offer this program.
We did shop IKEA for small items that could fit in her suitcase-ie:duvet cover/small throw pillows. ~APOL</p>
<p>Another hint-to make up for my boo-boo…try to hold off buying the lap-top. We ended up buying her laptop (Apple-her preference) till August-and they included a printer with the sale. We ordered it at the Apple store near home, and then picked up & paid for it at the Apple store near her college.</p>
<p>Last year, my daughter and I used to do online shopping on Fri afternoons.We would get on same site (NM, Saks, BG…) together, go through their new lines together. </p>
<p>This year she’ll wake up a bit early on a Sat morning while everyone is still asleep, go down to her sorority house, and we would have a DPD (deep philosophical discussion) for an hour.</p>
<p>My daughter and I both like fleamarkets and second hand stores. We found a church store full of things like old handbraided rugs, little old lady lamps with flower, etc, all dirt cheap. She was in heaven. Her dorm room looks like an 80 year old’s sitting room. The only thing missing is a cat curled up on the rug. I swear, she was born old.</p>
<p>Remember that spring is too early for college shopping- wait for summer for availability and sales- including computers. We had to walk through a women’s floor to get to son’s freshman dorm room a week after everyone moved in and before classes started- what a contrast in decorating- or lack thereof. Don’t forget standard stores such as Kohls and Penneys when shopping for linens and towels- pricing and quality may be better than BB&B or IKEA (I finally was in an IKEA and was not impressed with quality of major items).</p>
<p>Does anyone have thoughts on buying rugs and curtains for a dorm room?</p>
<p>It is tricky if you have roommate(s). Some school may not allow you to put up your own curtains. I would wait until she is in school. Maybe give her some money to let her decorate her own room.</p>
<p>Someone I knew, with a son, wanted to call the roommate’s mom to color coordinate their bedding colors. We all told her it wouldn’t be appropriate.</p>
<p>Actually the housing guide recommends bringing rugs and curtains.</p>
<p>My d and her roommate are already discussing color schemes, so I don’t think that will be an issue!</p>
<p>You might want to see what the place looks like & what is there to put the curtains up on before investing in them. S bought his blackout curtains on craigslist & then we had to make multiple trips to Ikea to get the things to mount them properly without damaging existing curtain rod. He had to store the vertical blinds he removed to install the new curtains. He is thrilled with his blackout curtains that has helped him stay healthier, allowing him to sleep in after the sun has risen.</p>
<p>Since D has allergies, I’m happy that the only rug she has purchased is a bathmat. The dorm she’s living in has recently been renovated & has a good carpet with virtually no pile. For allergy sake, I prefer her to have as little “stuff” as possible.</p>
<p>I agree it’s good to let your D do some of her own decorating once she’s there. Especially as a freshman. It helped mine feel like it was her home to go and get a few things (some fabric to hang at the window – didn’t require hardware. Velcro comes in handy here.)
One thing that will make a HUGE difference are some small lamps. Most dorms have flourescent ceiling fixtures and there’s nothing more depressing.</p>
<p>Once she is there, she won’t have a car or a father to help her with the curtain rod hardware and schlepping of rug – plus I’m not sure how easy it is to buy curtains of the correct size. In her case I think it would be good to do the planning ahead of time, especially as she will know her roommate and they can decide together. And then the parents will be there to help put everything together.</p>
<p>Are you taking her to campus? Could you all go to the store together once you see how things are set up where she’ll be living? That would be the ideal, so you don’t purchase things that won’t fit & don’t make a lot of expensive holes in the wall (which is forbidden in most housing I’m familiar with). I can’t envision purchasing without seeing the place, but that’s how we are.</p>
<p>The problem is that for many of these items (curtains, rugs), there is a much wider range of options if you order online.</p>