Daughter Going off to College

K.,

As far as family activities that are a bit different, how about:

1) Stockyards/Rodeo
2) Midieval Times
3) Dallas World Aquarium
4) Glen Rose, TX (about an hour and a half away) A safari!! If you haven't been, you have to do this! You stay in your car and drive around and the animals come right up to your car and the giraffes stick their head right into your car!
5) Southfork
6) Waterparks
7) Studio Movie Grill - you can have a mommy/daughter night out and eat dinner while watching a movie.

As far as a care package:

1) Her favorite magazines
2) Gift certificates to her college's local restaurants
3) A few family pictures for her to hang in her room
4) If you want to get nicer and if she doesn't have these things, perhaps a camera and a cell phone (although I'm sure she has a cell phone)
5) Soduku (if she is into that)
6) Board games, like Taboo, Scattegories, etc. - fun games that she can play with her new college friends

Hope this helps!

Ok so I don't have any ideas for the first part of the question. For the second part though things like baked goods or snack food items are always good...especially the homemade kind!:) Letters and cards are always nice. Money...always a positive on a college student's budget. If she has siblings or friends at home that want to add stuff that can be nice. Food items are a pretty big hit...every college student needs it and all the new friends she makes will get to enjoy it. You can also add items like DVD's or books or something she can enjoy. I think I pretty much got baked goods, food, snacks, and candy along with letters and cards and pictures my little sister drew for me.

Sorry I have no ideas for activities. But I do for care package. gum, candy, snack items, pens, pencils, lotion, personal items, fingernail polish, gift cards, perfume, hair stuff, jewerly, books, paper, pictures, cameras, socks,stuff animals, microwave popcorn bags, hot choc packs, and apple cider packs.
I hope that helps.

F. Decker
http://www.safe4myfamily.com
LETS GO GREEN!
MOMS HELPING MOMS!

My daughter just recently graduated from college. She always loved some homemade items like cookies and cakes. Also, she loved to decorate her dorm room and then her apt. for the holidays so I would always send small decorating items that she could use during the holidays (garland, strands of lights,etc). Before she left, I made a shoebox full of many of the things she was used to having readily available at home for ailments. I filled it with tylenol, cold/sinus medicines, band-aids, thermometer, midol, pepto bismal, etc. She thought I was crazy at the time but realized right of way that she was glad she had it and didn't have to run to the pharmacy when she wasn't feeling well to get something. Her roommate was glad she had it too!

Last weekend, Friday night, I met a girlfriend at Splitsville for dinner. I liked it so much, I took my husband there the next night for our 'date night.' We are planning to take our 16 yr old son there for his birthday. It really was a lot of fun!

I went and played Lunar Golf (indoor glow-in-the-dark putt putt) the other day with my son. We had a lot of fun and laughs.

Homemade goodies from home are always nice in the package. Cafeteria food gets old fast. But just make sure that you are not contributing to that freshman 10 pounds!

I don't have family time ideas, but depending on what she needs will determine the care packages. For instance, if she is in a dorm with a cafeteria and that's what she'll be eating, so won't need food items. But, you can figure out what will work for her, here are my ideas:
food (either for in the dorm room that she can make if she needs to or snacks), quarters for the laundry, gift card to a food place so she can have something different every once in a while, anything she likes that she can't get there - my brother in law went to college in Boston and couldn't get Zataran's mixes, so grandma sent those to him - maybe pencils/pens/highlighters as the year goes on, a sweatshirt/blanket/t-shirt/hat with the school logo on it, a study pack when finals come (apples, coffee, popcorn, etc.), laundry detergent if she's doing her own laundry. Really, anything from home is nice, anything that saves her money or time from having to either go buy it or spend money on it is good. Also, a book light, lamp for her room, pictures from home, etc. I think you'll be talking to her and you'll start to see the things she mentions that you can help fill the gaps.

Main Event is always something fun for the family. There are many different things you can do (bowling, pool, video games, laser tag). If your family isn't into Main Event, you could have everybody write down what they want to do on a piece of paper and put them in a bowl and draw a piece of paper to see what you are going to do.

She will realize what she needs once she gets to college. Snacks she can keep in her room are always good, so are gift cards for food places or even Target or Wal-Mart are helpful, things she will need for her classes (pens, highlighters, notebook, notecards, etc), a nice set of sheets, pajamas, comfy shirts, medicines she doesn't have (Tylenol, allergy med, etc), anything she mentions she wishes she had. When you talk to her and she says she wants something just make a list and send them in the care package.

In response to the care package part of your question I would suggest home made sweets & quarters. Sharing home made brownies or cookies is a great way to get to know your dorm mates & home cooking is something everyone misses. I suggested quarters because your daughter will most likely need them for laundry. My grandmother used to save her quarters all year & at Christmas split them between my sister & me. It was one of the best gifts we got not because it was money but because it saved us the hassle of trying to find/make change. It is always nice to get toiletries like razor blades, lip stick, ect. Every girl needs 'em & they aren't cheap.

Activity ideas depending on what she likes and your relationship:
Local Tea Room;
Spa day (can go to massage school or cosmetology school to get less expensive manis, pedis, massages, hairdos, etc.); bowling;
chick flicks at home or in the theatre;
local live theatre productions;
night at a B&B out of town somewhere;
horseback riding;
shopping spree;
quiet walk around a favorite local park/pond from her childhood;
ask her what she would most like to do.

Care packages: First of all and most importantly, just sending them will be an incredible blessing to her. I didn't get those when I was in college - not my folks' thing, I guess, but I would have loved to have gotten them.
If you're a baker, bake her some cookies.
If not,send Oreos or whatever she likes
(Cookie bouquet would be a great splurge that would bring folks to her dorm room too!);
don't forget to send encouraging & humorous cards & letters & emails;
teas, cider, hot chocolate in the fall & winter;
favorite gum, mints, candy;
cute sticky notes, pens, notepads, pencils, erasers - silly stuff she'll insist she's too old for but will love nonetheless;
gift cards to Starbucks, local ice cream/pizza/doughnut/fast food places;
movie theatre gift cards;
silly stress busters, especially around mid-terms and finals - colorful stress balls, stickers, markers, crayons even.
If she has favorite music artists, surprise her with a new CD one of them comes out with or with gift card to download tunes.

I'd advise worrying very little about what you send and sending very much! You will be such a blessing to her! Good luck.

Go on Priceline and name your own price. Click the area you want, the highest star and put in $40.00. Have yourselves a local getaway and lounge by the pool.