Seasons > Valentine’s Day > Ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the Family > Valentine’s Day Care Package for the College Student

Use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to send your college kid a care package. They will definitely feel loved as they open a box sent from home!  My daughter was surprised that so many girls felt sad and lonely around Valentine’s Day until I pointed out to her that their mothers probably didn’t send them a fondue party, bouquet of flowers, and balloon every year. She admitted that that probably made a difference.

Fondue party

Since we did fondue as a family every year when our kids were growing up, I wanted to continue the tradition to give my girls in college a little taste of home. I was able to do that since I had someone in the college town to shop for the items, and deliver them. Throwing a fondue party from a distance does  present challenges--if you don’t have someone to deliver it for you, ship everything but the cream, and let her buy that one ingredient for herself. The chocolate and cream, are essential; the rest of the ingredients are all optional:

cream

chocolate

cake

marshmallows

cookies

fresh strawberries

dried fruit

nuts

Dollar store “I love You” mylar balloon

These are so cheap that it is a great way to send a message of love to your daughter. Of course, if you don’t have a friend or relative living nearby, you can’t take advantage of this bargain. Since some flower shops will include a small balloon with a flower arrangement when they deliver flowers, this may be an option, if you are going to send flowers anyway

Bouquet of flowers

Girls and flowers just go together, and if she doesn’t have a boyfriend, a bouquet of flowers from her daddy will fill her heart with love, and make the holiday not quite so lonely. Besides, she will be the envy of her hall--even girls who have boyfriends probably won’t get flowers, since college kids are often cash strapped. Flowers are  delivered world wide, so you can send it no matter where you are. it is totally worth the expense! Think of it as an investment on the future--keeping those parent-child bonds strong during this transition to adulthood.

For your son

Besides food, it is hard to come up with things that will make college guys happy. You DON’T want to embarrass him, so do NOT send anything pink or red, and leave out any hearts or mention of “love.” If you do, you will be creating all kinds of negative feelings instead of warm fuzzy ones. Let the home made cookies speak for themselves! You can’t go wrong with brownies and chocolate chip cookies!  You know what your son loves, so it shouldn’t be too hard to warm the cockles of his heart with food. Here are a few  more ideas:

quarters for laundry

clorox wipes for cleaning the bathroom

microwaveable meals (The kind that don’t need refrigeration--these were my son’s favorite items in his Christmas stocking as he faced returning to cafeteria food)

dried fruit

cookies, home made or store bought

junk food

breakfast foods (poptarts, granola bars, cereal.

office supplies--anything that runs out--printer ink, scotch tape, paper clips,  pens, glue stick

medical supplies--pain reliever, cold medicine, bandaids

Alright, so these are really boring things!! If you want to include something fun, make it something he can do with his roommate or friends  If you find yourself balking at buying him something so frivolous, just think of it is as costing about the same as you would spend on  a bouquet of flowers if he were a girl...and it  will last so much longer than fresh flowers!

For your daughter

Girls are SO easy and fun to get things for, it’s hard to stop putting those cute things in the shopping cart! If you include a couple of things for her roommate or girlfriend, you get cool-mom points, too. Here is a short list to get those ideas flowing:

mugs with hearts on them

dry drink mixes--hot chocolate, flavored teas, coffee, etc

Chocolate in any shape or form, but since there are SO many cute Valentine items at this time of year, get something special

valentine panties or socks

heart stickers, magnets, gel stickers

cute cuddly stuffed animals

heart shaped anything (valentine earrings, picture frames)

pink or red anything (nail polish, lipstick)

chick-flick DVD that she hasn’t seen

cute scented soap

candles (if the dorm rules allow them)

WARNING: if you are sending food and sweet smelling things like candles or scented soaps, send them in separate packages, or the food may end up tasting like the soap!!

Cuponk--players compete to see who can throw a ping-pong ball into a cup with the most trick shots (the cup makes noises and flashes lights when the ball goes in, not that you can hear it when everyone cheers when it goe in!) Guys are going to compete, so you may as well supply a harmless way to do it.

Nerf guns and targets or vests--are prefect for those late nights on a dorm hall when they are tired of studying, but have nothing to do... the perfect setting for all out war.

Remote control helicopter--these are really cool, and just think of all the practical jokes they can do with it! Your son will be the envy of the hall! They aren’t that expensive, and  Amazon sells them if you can’t find them in a store near you.

Empty Pringles cans make good containers for shipping cookies--I don’t recommend the flavored kinds, though, just incase washing the can doesn’t remove garlicy smells or flavors that could be absorbed by the cookies. If you don’t have any on hand, keep cookies from breaking by putting bubble wrap between each layer of cookies, sandwiched between wax paper.

Girl Party in a Box

Girls will especially enjoy having a girlfriend party to invite her friends to so they can all have a fun way to keep their minds off not having a date for the occasion. This doesn’t have to break the bank . You can put on a cozy little impromptu party for $10 or $20. If you are on a tight budget, skip everything but the food.

It won’t be a party without food:

any heart shaped candy or chocolate

home made cookies or cupcakes

dry drink mixes--hot chocolate, flavored teas, coffee, Crystal Light iced tea mix

things to serve the food on:

valentine paper cups, plates, and napkins--dollar stores have plenty of cute ones

create the atmosphere:

room decorations--dollar stores have so many cute decorations, and most of them come flat--just right for shipping

just for fun party favors

heart stickers, magnets, gel stickers

heart shaped anything (buckets, boxes, bags, shower scrunchies

pink or red anything (nail polish, lip gloss)

for entertainment

an i-tunes card so she can rent a movie

Self-inflating balloons

A new option I have never seen before is self-inflating balloons! 4 come in a packet that costs $1. You slam your hand down on it, and give it a shake, and it inflates before your eyes! Sold at dollar stores and in Target’s dollar section.

Do-it-yourself-balloon bouquet

Send un-inflated heart shaped balloons and let your daughter make her own bouquet of “flowers.” Be sure to include instructions, or better yet, a photo. A stuffed animal adds to the cuteness factor.

If you live pretty far away from your kids, or if the box you plan to mail is heavy, a flat rate box may cost less than regular shipping. So check out the options at the post office.

Cupcake Care Package

Bring back fun childhood memories by sending some home made cookies or cupcakes with icing and sprinkles so your daughter and her friends can decorate them themselves. Besides, that will save you of all the work of decorating them yourself!

After I took this photo, I sent off the package to my daughter. She was SO excited when she got it, that she called me up right away to thank me for it! She was leading her small group Bible study that night, but didn’t have a fun activity or snack. She didn’t have time to go buy anything, so she had prayed, asking God for help. Later that day she got my package--an answer to her prayers. Isn’t it amazing that the God of the universe is eager to help us when we ask for help, even if it’s not so important in the grand scheme of things.

Your college kids may act like they don’t need you anymore, but they still want to feel your love!!

Seasons > Valentine’s Day > Ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the Family > Valentine’s Day Care Package for the College Student

I can’t promise you that your son will like any of these...my son wouldn’t, but my son-in-law loves them all.  You know your son better than anyone, so trust your instincts. If he likes it, that’s great, and if he thinks it’s dumb, try something different next time. Don’t stop trying just because you miss once. Listen carefully to your son’s stories about the crazy things the guys do in college, and he might give you just the hint to help you know what kind of things he thinks would be fun.