A College Gift Basket: Follow One Parent's Experience

I’ve always thought that giving someone a gift or gift basket was a pretty good way to celebrate a special occasion. And one of those is surely sending a daughter or son off to college. This is a family milestone that has everyone emotionally involved. No amount of preparation is complete when the time comes to leave the nest but for mom and dad it sure is the beginning of a brand new chapter.

And at that time of the year, cars full of teens and all their personal belongings are pulling up to college campuses to transfer everything to a space that will be their new home. It makes for a long day but it all gets done somehow. It makes for a long day but it all gets done somehow. And what follows, soon after, is a stream of care packages filled with urgently needed items.

Fixing up a new room to make it comfortable and with a new look will be an early project. Once all the roommates get acquainted they can pool their ideas and resources and get down to mapping out how to decorate their new space. Moms are usually called in at this point to help supply some of the things needed.

In addition to the “much needed” stuff that needs to be sent, it’s a good opportunity for mom to think about sending a welcome present like a college gift basket.. I was glad I did, it was a big icebreaker for a group of young people who might be about to begin lifelong friendships.

If you have a friend that can recommend a basket maker, you can go with that. But it’s just as easy to search the internet for a college gift basket to fit your needs and price range. Keep an eye out for what is popular, which could be a simple movie night theme or a wholesome basket of fruits and cheeses. Searching mail order sites will also give you ideas for care packages of your own.

A look around the internet and you will soon be collecting your own ideas for popular themes with the dorm set. One of these might be a 1-cup coffee maker for the coffee lovers gift basket. Keep a drawer full of novelties and craft tools and it will be easy to add a touch of fun. I always have something like a handmade card, finger puppets or moon pies in my college baskets. It might inspire you to throw in a wind up toy, a cute finger puppet monkey or an etch-a-sketch as a way to put a light spin on things.

You probably have your own memories of homesickness and care packages during those college days. I knew kids who got them as regular as clockwork, the same day every week. For me, those college gift baskets help when money was tight and made me laugh with some of the funny things mom would tuck away in them. For me that box was home.