15 Thoughtful Care Package Ideas for Your College Kid

Sending kids off to college might be one of the most heart-wrenching experiences for a parent. After shelling out thousands, your little baby will head off to live in a dirty old building with a bunch of strangers.

OK, it’s not that bad. After all, they’re getting an education. And while you can’t be by their side 24/7, a care package is a nice way to show your kid that you, well, care.

Whether it’s with sweets and snacks, or toiletries and small luxuries, you can’t go wrong with a personalized care package. Here are a few helpful ways to build the ultimate box of goodies for your college kid.

1. Hot sauce

Dining hall food is a flavorless mess. Hot sauce goes with everything and provides a much needed taste of home.
2. Candy

You can’t send a college care package without including at least one kind of candy. It just doesn’t work that way.
3. Chocolate hazelnut spread

Your kid will put this on pretty much anything edible, and will be forever grateful with each bite.
4. Real maple syrup

Weekend brunch in the dining hall is pretty much a mandatory social engagement for college students. And if you’re going to eat three Belgian waffles topped with sausage and bacon, you should at least have real maple syrup to pour on top.
5. Homemade tea sachets

Good tea is both delicious and expensive. Send along a few scoops of your best loose tea for those times when your kid wants to forget that he’s broke and homesick. You could throw in a fun infuser too.
6. Homemade hot chocolate mix

Homemade cocoa mix is easy to make, doesn’t require refrigeration and is a comfort to have on hand. Martha Stewart has a bulk recipe here.
7. Soup packets

These super lightweight packages are perfect for college students who subsist only on foods that require only water and a microwave. You can find plenty of different varieties in the soup aisle of most grocery stores.
8. Vitamins

Because they’ll never buy a bottle for themselves. Plus, you need something to counteract all the processed sugars and salts you’re sending their way.
9. Blankets

You college student will appreciate the cozy gesture while shivering next to their drafty dorm room window.
10. Gloves or mittens

Chances are, your kid has already lost his pair and doesn’t feel like catching a ride to Wal-Mart to buy new ones. Just in case, send along a few new pairs.
11. Fuzzy socks

Perfect for padding around on filthy hallways carpeted in the 1970s.
12. Q-tips

Q-tips are enormously helpful, whether you use them for cleaning up stray eyeliner or cleaning out linty belly buttons. Buy your college student a bulk package, and yes, she will use every single one.
13. Tissue boxes

In the realm of dorm life, tissues seem like an unnecessary luxury. “Why buy tissues when I can just use toilet paper,” your child will tell himself. Save him his dignity, and send along a few boxes.
14. Fabric Softener

While most college students will shell out a few bucks for the cheapest laundry detergent, no broke 18-year-old is heading out to the supermarket to buy fabric softener. Send along a small bottle to save your kid from itchy, static-y clothing.
15. New toothbrushes

Your college student doesn’t care what the American Dental Association has to say about replacing old toothbrushes. For the sake of fresh breath, throw in a 3-pack of brushes.