My nephew and the kid of a close friend (who lives far away and won’t be sending her anything similar) are both starting college.
I’m trying to think of what would be interesting / fun to put in a care package, while also keeping an eye on shipping cost vs cost of what’s in the parcel, lol.
@LulusMom1 also started this baked goods thread recently which is a Venn diagram overlap 
Have you sent care packages? What worked well and what didn’t? What was an hit and what wasn’t?
So far I’ve got an eclectic list.
Trying to balance junk with not junk, but these are very healthy kids who work out constantly so I’m less worried.
I’m also trying to figure out whether to send the dry things at one go or send a package every 2 weeks or so because it’s nice to get a parcel (that isn’t Amazon haha).
I found a ceramic ramen mug/bowl thing with a lid on Amazon that seems like it would be useful for more than just microwave ramen.
A few packets of interesting ramen certainly (x2 in case roommate sharing).
Have to do a run of TJs for some variety of other snacks in small packages and mini chocolate bars.
Apparently Indians have made big business of freeze drying / dehydrating / snack-packing favorites as the number of indian kids going abroad to study has skyrocketed (mainly vegetarian).
So maybe 2-3 varieties of personal-portion indian favorites that can be conjured up with just water. (There’s also a vac-pack version that just needs reheating, will send both and see which they prefer.)
Baked goods per the restrictions @LulusMom1 described - what won’t spoil / will stay well.
I’m guessing you know both kids well and can customise the contents to their individual tastes. I’m hoping my son will be going to university next year so your post has set me thinking. But I know he would appreciate stuff that may not be on the average UK kid’s list of stuff they like.
Ramen bowl and unique ramen flavours Sunday great - I’m stealing this idea!
Hot sauces? Chilli flakes/dried chillies/chilli paste?
Ghee (keeps well, my kid loves adding it to plain rice and will eat just that as a meal).
Hot chocolate powder/tea bags/coffee - you can get fancy flavours nowadays.
Honey (keeps well, good for adding to hot tea if you’re feeling a bit sniffly)
Nut-free snacks (I became good at finding these because schools in the UK tend to have policies of no nuts/nut products at all in packed lunches). Roasted crispy giant corn kernels are a favourite.
I’ll be interested to see the ideas that crop up in this thread.
I send them a lot!
At least 6 so far this year.
I either send direct from the source, or pack them myself and send.
The most recent care packages have been a selection of imported tinned mackerel and nuts to a cousin’s husband. I sent the first package myself from Toronto. The most recent package I sent directly from Portugalia online, because postage to the States was only $15 for them to send it to California.
I think I took photos of some care packages I have made at Xmas. I will find some.
I often focused on local stuff. Spice blends, coffee, tea, jam, cookies, chocolate, maple syrup, candy. I’ll add some home baking if I have it ready. Rum Balls travel well.
Last year, I sent one cousin Fortnum+ Mason Ketchup, biscuit and tea. The cost of the items and postage was still less than most conventional gift boxes would have cost me. I guess I don’t pack things quite as beautifully. The amount of packaging wrapping tiny amounts of food or candy in the upscale Advent Calendars has been bothering me a little lately.
Maybe also a bar of soap.
Both dried fruits and nuts from TJs are good if they like them. The college kid I sometimes supply food to is crazy about dried apricots and dried mango. For a special treat I send them from Apricot King but he’s very happy with TJs.
I tried to send goods from Apricot King to Canada. They seem to only deliver to the States, and not Canada.
It seems most of the orchards in California with premium dried fruit will not ship to Canada.
I had wanted my cousin to send us almonds from California one year, as a fairly simple ask for a Xmas gift, since she tends to go overboard. Another relative used to send us gift boxes from Blue Diamond almonds from the 1970s to 1990s.
Well, my cousin sent us a huge box from NJ based Nuts.com instead. The nuts were good. Shipping was included and Nuts.com was a better deal for shipping to Canada than any local places in California.
Some other threads for ideas
Yes, I know both very well (and have fed them often) but there’s the dorm room overlay which changes things up.
I did add some sauce pouches while filling my cart – the nice thing about starting in India is that there are small pouches with a screw top that are more dorm fridge friendly than what I’ll get in nyc.
Nice idea on coffee – there’s great instant coffee here in individual packets, and while my nephew still isn’t allowed to drink coffee regularly, I think that’s about to change.
Also found some interestingly spiced nuts in individual portions.
Does your kid like Bhel? Both these kids adore it (my friend - the mom of the second kid - repeated “bhel” at least four times when I asked what Indian junk she’d like so I can stock up on it here 
– turns out you can get it in single serve packs with powdered chutney to boot! Which I am supplementing with additional chutney pouches bec my nephew LOVES all his sauces.)
When I get back I will make date and nut energy balls (“nutella bites”), besan barfi / gram flour fudge, brownies, choc chip cookies, and other things like that.
Right now I’m trying to think of dry stuff that won’t spoil.
Thanks!
I’ve perused those threads before.
The difference here is that we are talking about college kids and all the constraints (and quirks) that brings with it.
Also shared dorm rooms, limited storage, no kitchen or shared access, and so on.
And teenagers with still-developing brains who are living independently for the first time — so I’m thinking for them where mess, spoilage, and the rest of what’s “normal” to us grown-ups is concerned
All these different constraints and things to think about when deciding what to send! Lulu isn’t allowed a microwave - even in the shared kitchen (which has 1 pot). She told me she made pasta puttenesca this week by making the pasta, setting it aside, and then making the sauce in the same pan. Not ideal, but she was very proud of herself.
I came across a recipe for apple cider rice krispy bars yesterday that I think sounds very durable, so I will likely send that in a couple weeks.
If they’re going to a college far from home, foods that aren’t available there would be welcome. Entenmann’s buttery pound cake and chocolate chip cookies, favorites in the NYC area, weren’t available upstate, so it was a treat to get them.
Yep. I also realize you had also contributed to those threads.
I haven’t been sending much to the college-aged kids in my extended family recently.
I know my mom sent home-made chocolate chip cookies to my cousin when he was in boarding school.
The thing some kids at my boarding school cherished was home-made pepper sauce. (From Trinidad, Barbados, etc. ). They would make a jar last a whole semester.
One friend from Singapore rationed her case of special instant ramen. 33 years later, I wonder if the ramen she brought back from Singapore were Prima Taste brand.
That said, our residence had a fridge and a stove. We could get fry up our own bacon or grilled cheese, or boil noodles, etc.
I’m trying to be Auntie and not overstep Momma, but I do know he has a microwave and a little fridge in the room (we weren’t allowed either way back when but we had a smexy new renovated kitchen — that no one ever used 
).
Can you get Lulu an inexpensive tri-ply pot & fry pan that she can leave in the kitchen and can’t be destroyed? (I like the Calphalon line - on Amazon, but frequently at tjmaxx and marshals since you’re going for parents weekend soon.)
ETA:
Re durable, the date and nut balls last forever (if they didn’t get gobbled up) and can be flavor-modified to will.
That’s reminding me of that Top Chef Masters episode, when they cooked in the dorm, and I think Hubert Keller made pasta in the shower.
Thank god he wasn’t in my dorm!
I will have to find that episode!
ETA: Just realized you posted the delish recap that has a description of what everyone made. Cabbage soup??? In a dorm room??? GET OUT!!! No - really!
Chewy Granola Bars, Kind Bars, Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. Oreos, especially the seasonal ones. Hot chocolate mix, and if they have a coffee maker, a good grind or k-cups, whatever works. Students in particularly cold regions appreciate a chapstick and a pair of warm gloves (so often lost).
Nice ones, thank you!
I’d forgotten that! Amazing episode.
I will discuss the pot/pan issue with her. I will happily do so if she thinks it will stay in the kitchen.
No one stole stuff out of our kitchen. It may have been used badly or not cleaned properly, but things rarely went walkabout.
