Care Packages: First Class Food and Fun

Written by Tara Leonard

Family Life

Home-made chocolate chip cookies. Warm socks. Colorful cards from younger siblings. An alarm clock. Music may soothe the savage beast, but nothing warms the heart of a frazzled college student quite like goodies from home. Students of all ages enjoy receiving care packages. Freshmen, however, are particularly appropriate recipients for these reminders of long-distance love.

"Freshman term is a time of great excitement and anticipation," says Dr. Richard Allen, director of Counseling and Psychological Services at UC Santa Cruz. "It's also a big transition for students, with some anxiety and stress associated with it. A lot of students experience homesickness and benefit from anything that provides a sense of connection to home."

Care packages can be just the thing, as they're supportive, but not too intrusive. They don't require an on-the-spot response, as a phone call or a text message does, allowing students time to evaluate their thoughts and emotions before replying.

Martha Orr, a nurse in Student Health Services at Cabrillo College identifies typical moments of "freshman crisis," times when a call, e-mail, snail mail or package may be most helpful. During the first few weeks of classes, freshmen can feel totally lost in a new environment or frightened by independence. "Whether students are 30 or 3000 miles away from home," Orr says, "it's vital to have supportive, encouraging contact from home, acknowledging that they're working hard."

In October, during the first round of mid-terms, stress levels are unusually high. "That can be a depressing time of the year anyway," Orr adds, "because we lose light and students realize they haven't seen a familiar face in a while."

While cookies show you care, there are lots of fun and creative ways to send a little bit of home to a distant, or not-so-distant family members. Think about your child's favorite activities, reading materials and clothing. Consider gifts from local stores that hold fond memories for your child. Of course, a check never hurts.

"Money is the obvious answer," laughs Veronica Calderon, a recent graduate of UC Santa Cruz originally from Los Angeles. "Food definitely, because the dining hall isn't always open, especially for late night adventures."

"Quarters for the laundry machines," adds sophomore Kerry Fender from New York state. "My mother also sends me articles from the New York Times."

Articles from the hometown paper were a popular item for Sara Walsh's far-flung offspring. "Neither one of them wanted to be cut off from their roots," explains this Santa Cruz mother of two. "They wanted to feel like ambassadors of their town and still a part of it. So I sent them things that reminded them of where they lived. Post cards, photos, newspaper clippings, notes about what their friends were doing.

"Brendan had worked at Marini's for a couple of summers during high school. When he went off to UC Davis, we would visit the store and get the sour candies he loves."

Other good ideas, according to UC Santa Cruz junior Eva Padilla, are stamps, batteries and extra pens for the message boards on students' doors. Also consider packets of hot chocolate, Ramen noodles, microwave popcorn, cough syrup and favorite "comfort foods" such as soup and mashed potato mix.

If you send baked goods, include enough to share with hungry room-mates and study partners, Calderon advises, "because care packages are kind of a communal experience."

When students are particularly far away, choose lightweight items that won't cost a fortune to mail. Walsh recommends dried fruit because it's light, compact and sweet.  "When Brendan was in Tokyo," she says, "I wanted to send him a party for his birthday, but food weighs so much. I went to Outdoor World and bought him a freeze-dried party: beef stroganoff, even a banana cream cake!"

Walsh also likes 2-lb priority envelopes because they're sturdy and easy to stuff a bunch of stuff in. "When my daughter Lilah was in Ireland we kept a stack of those envelopes here with pre-addressed envelopes on my computer."

Of course, some items prove more of a challenge to ship than others. "We sent a birthday cake to Utah once," recalls Pat Barnes, owner of Mail Boxes Etc. on Almar Avenue in Santa Cruz. "We sent it express mail with arrows on the box so it didn't end up upside down."

Barnes recommends packing cookies, cakes and other foods tightly enough that they don't roll around. "If you can hear the cookies rattling away they're going to be crumbs when they get there," she says. "Try putting them in Tupperware or a tin, and then put bubble wrap around that. Sometimes people will put them on a plate, held down with kitchen wrap."

To avoid crumbled cookies, a phone call may be all that's required, according to local parent Sarah Stevens. When her son John headed off to UC Santa Barbara last fall, she received a care package order form from the student government organization.

"About a month before finals, I got a list including water bottles, snacks, gum, all kinds of stuff," she recalls. "You write a personal message on the card and they'll deliver it right to the student's dorm. Then at Christmas, when I do my baking and candy making, I send enough home-made toffee for John and all his buddies to share."

Holidays are a great opportunity to have fun with care packages. Send silly Halloween masks, lights and candy. If a student can't make it home for spring break, send sun glasses, tanning lotion and flip flops.

Some communication before a student comes home for the first time may also be critical. "That first homecoming can feel awkward for students," Orr explains. "They feel like they've changed and aren't sure how things may be different when they get home."

A letter, phone call, email or care package is a great opportunity to address the day-to-day events at home, according to Orr. "Tell them, 'Your dog did this, your bother is doing that.' Find out how things are going for them. Then there won't be as much awkwardness when your child comes home with an earring and a tattoo!"

 Care Package Favorites

Home-made cookies, brownies or other hand-held treats.

Clippings from local newspapers.

Rolls of quarters (for the laundry machine).

Photos or videos of missed family events.

Favorite magazines.

Prepaid phone cards.

Stamps and self-addressed envelopes.

Packets of hot chocolate, soup mix and Ramen noodles.

Microwave popcorn.

Travel-size toiletries.

A loving, encouraging message.

Tara Leonard met her husband George when they lived in the same freshman dorm. The initial attraction was his mother's chocolate-chip brownies.

This article originally appeared in Growing Up in Santa Cruz.