This year, my second child will be heading off to college (where has the time gone?). The one that I have the most fun creating is the “survival kit” package. I find that there is hardly anything better than bringing a little levity to the start of the school year with a fun and lighthearted care package filled with sweets.
When creating a care package, considerable thought should go into the type of bag or basket to use. I like using a basket or bag that is reusable and functional after all of the sweets are gone. For non-collegiate students, I usually recommend a regular basket, a sling bag, or a small backpack. For college students, I like using a basket that can later be used on a desk or for holding small articles of clothing or accessories. I am also a fan of using totes or travel bags – SCOUT bags is one of my favorite go-to options. Sometimes, a customer will give me a particular bag or basket to use, and that works just fine too. After all, the whole point of this care package is to make it a personalized gift for your student!
Once you select the bag or basket, you now need to think about what candies to place in the care package. Obviously, you want to include many of your student’s favorites but also think about adding some other fun options. When creating baskets for college students, I like to add sweets that are amenable to sharing (pre-wrapped individual candies work best). After all, going to college is a time to make new friends and what better way to do that than to offer someone something sweet.
Once you have a good selection of candies, start working on some puns or school-related references to match each sweet. Some of my favorites are “Emergency Breakfast” which matches up with our Mini Fried Egg Gummies and “When you feel like a fish out of water” for our Swedish Fish® Assorted (or just use any type of Swedish Fish). If you cannot think of one on your own, don’t be shy about using Google to help out. There is a breadth of websites that focus on puns, idioms, and catchphrases. Below is a screenshot of some tags that I used for a College Survival Kit last year.
I typically recommend that the color scheme for the tags (and, if possible, the basket or bag that you are using) match the school colors. You can even add images of the school logo to the main gift tag to make it look like an official care package. I use my Cricut Maker to make most of my gift tags but using any document processing program will work as well, but you will have to cut them out by hand. There are also a variety of printer labels that work just as well. Avery labels are easy to find and their website offers many templates and designs to choose from that are free.
Just keep in mind that you do not have to get too fancy or creative. What will matter the most to your student is that you sent a care package filled with more candy and sweets than they likely have ever received from you at any given time. They will also appreciate the time and effort it took to make them something special rather than getting some generic gift from Amazon Prime. More importantly, they will garner instant fame in the dorm hall when word gets around that they received a gift basket full of candy.
Of course, if you would rather purchase a survival kit but still get all of the glory, we are happy to oblige! In fact, I am eager to start on a kit for my daughter! So if you want a customized college survival kit or any other type of care package, please fill out the form below and we will work to make it happen, or go ahead and order my standard (but still amazing) Student Survival Kit that works great for any student.