Just not in the form of a gift card.
I sent the first (only?) round of care packages off this week, one has been received, the other hopefully tomorrow.
What made the cut:
Homemade:
– “Nutella” energy bites aka date, hazelnut, almond, and cocoa balls
– Magaj aka Besan laddoo aka bengal gram flour fudge – I was reminded that Diwali is only 2 weeks away, and this is the kids’ favorite sweet from our side of the family
– Badam Katri / Katli aka almond fudge – ditto, but other side
Other:
– Spicy peanuts, spicy peas, and chickpeas of several flavors, selected by other aunt
– Ramen selection curated by her
– BHEL! The #1 junk food request from BOTH kids! (paging bhel lover @gcaggiano – I found individual serving packs), plus extra chutney (because grandma said they’d need it)
– Freeze-dried idlis — who knew this even existed? (a friend of mine did, she ate them on a flight and made me track them down 
) + freeze-dried coconut chutney to accompany them, god forbid we leave out the appropriate CHUTNEY for anything 
– A few shelf-stable Indian entrees for him to test out (grandma is not convinced they will pass muster, but I think anything that tastes of home is better than cafeteria mush)
– A selection of hot sauces – chilli crisp, calabrian chile sauce, habanero sauce, Indian chili garlic, and spicy ketchup
– TJs spice mixes for the few meals they cook, or to stick in a backpack to boost the blah cafeteria food – spicy aglio olio, onion (& garlic) salt, everything bagel mix, & chives, elote seasoning, taco seasoning, and furikake
– Single-serve Indian instant coffee packets (another grandma accent)
– Fererro Rocher – because a little late night comfort chocolate never hurt anyone!
“These kids better be grateful,” I was thinking as I taped up the boxes, and yet as I was chatting with my own college roommate about it, we were pretty convinced that their reaction would be “oh yeah, of course my fam sent me this OTT box of stuff” 
But then I got a very sweet message this evening saying he had unpacked and examined EVERYTHING and THANK YOU, so 
(Also sent a steel-lined ramen / reheating bowl that’s microwave-safe and which I’m extra pleased with because it actually breaks down into 3 separate bowls and has cutlery too.)
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PSA on shipping – I checked USPS, FedEx, and USPS, and USPS worked out the cheapest even though I thought the fixed-rate version of FedEx was going to win for the higher dimensions / weight (I’d used USPS Priority a lot before, but the price has gone up a good bit for smaller packages).
And as an extra, they delivered a day earlier than promised (2-days instead of 3). I could also track the package without explicitly choosing tracking because I created the mailing label online (and they picked it up for free).
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Amazing!
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Love this! Lucky nephews to have an aunt like you.
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Seeing a sign saying “Motichoor laddoos”, I asked the lady in an Indian store for “Motichor” laddoos (I don’t speak Hindi, but am pretty sure that translates to “fat thief”. She didn’t even crack a smile!
A liver specialist once said to me, “No After Eights after eight”, meaning no late night chocolate. Apparently bad for acid reflux.
Pearl thief (moti = pearl, that’s why the laddoos are called that)
MoTI (hard T) = derogatory term for fat female
But people are used to mispronunciations, probably why it didn’t strike her
I LOVE After Eight. Can’t have them in the house too often! (TJs has a pretty similar tasting mint dark chocolate confection, but they’re not svelte like A8)
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Did you take any goodies with you when you visited for Parents’ weekend?
(Theirs isn’t for another week, and I’m sure reinforcements will arrive then.)
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I took a huge suitcase worth!! LOL. It was semi-embarrassing at security.
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Eh, 50-75% of my bags are filled with food for whomever I’m visiting
(Got annoying when TSA started flagging bags to check “biological” matter, but after two of those I started putting food in a reusable bag inside my carry-on so I could pull it out into a separate bin.)
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Okay. I had mentioned it to a Gujarati speaker, and she thought it was funny.
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You can come visit me anytime!
I got pulled over too, as did the woman ahead of me who had a roll-on full of cheese. It was a fun morning at TSA.
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They should just tell people to take out food.
I only know because I asked once, and whenever I take it out, I don’t get pulled out, vs when I don’t.
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Mrs. ricepad was nearly asked to pour out an entire cardboard canister of oats (not a big Quaker Oats one, but still plenty big) by TSA once. IIRC, she managed to convince a supervisor to confirm that it was all just oats by shaking it.
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That’s quite lucky. I have had (expensive) bagel shop cream cheese thrown out many times even after asking them to stick a fork in it and swirl it around to make sure nothing dangerous is in there. (Now I have them pack tiny 1/4 lb cups which elicit no similar concerns.)
Hey-o!
New college semester, so maybe… a new care package?
Anyone mail homemade goodies around other than at Christmas?
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I have recieved cookies , and delivered cookies and pastries , after wedding receptions.
I often mail fancy condiments, chocolate, and canned seafood to my cousins for birthdays or after surgery.
I have also taken part in booze exchanges and snack exchanges with people in other parts of Canada, before Victoria Day weekend in May.
My cousins’ kids are now past the undergraduate stage. I don’t know anyone in dorms requiring treats at the moment. It’s mostly a baby gift phase for me right now.
I sent some new parents a charcuterie and cheese box that was home delivered by a driver in the same city, during the postal strike up here.
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My niece and her daughter love my pistachio shortbread, but it doesn’t travel well……arrives broken. They enjoy it anyway.
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