10:17 AM PDT on Thursday, September 22, 2005

Care packages are a fabulous way to show your college student that you care. Going away to college is a very exciting time. It is also a time of transition: making new friends, a new town, and adjusting to more difficult classes and balancing it all with an ever growing social calendar. As much as it may feel that your college bound student is pulling away, they will still really need and appreciate the support from friends and family.

After a tough day at class, there is nothing better than going home to your dorm room to find a slip of paper in your mailbox stating you have a package. What could it be? Who is it from? It can make the transition away from home a bit smoother and much more fun!

Here are a few ideas to inspire your creative packaging!

Don’t forget to send your college bound freshman with an address book full of important addresses and phone numbers, along with a calling card to stay in touch and share the stories of dorm life. Attach a pre- paid calling card on the inside flap of the address book with double stick tape and a note reminding them to stay in touch.

Communal living ca be challenging, a monogrammed mug is the perfect way to help them track their favorite mug. Add a package of hot chocolate with handmade marshmallows, or include coffee beans from the hometown corner coffee shop.

Although you won’t be there to catch their fall, or kiss their bumps and bruises, you can prepare them with resources in the event of an unexpected emergency on campus. Send a first aid kit, and include a one sheet with essential information such as family history, emergency contact names and phone numbers, and information on their medical insurance and coverage.

Who doesn’t remember the anticipation of opening a day on the advent calendar to find a chocolate treat behind the door? Re-create that anticipation by writing the day of the week on the front of colorful envelopes, and inside of each day tuck words of wisdom, a favorite recipe, an inspirational quote, or twenty dollars with a note that dinner is on you tonight! Cut a small slit in the top of each envelope and thread each envelope through with a wide colorful ribbon to hang from their dorm room wall. Send another set of envelopes full of surprises to replace the week prior, and they will check their mail each week with anticipation.

If a picture is worth a thousand words then several pictures will surely let them know you care. Give them a digital picture frame from Brookstone that will entertain for hours and impress everyone on their dorm floor.

There is nothing like the taste or smell of mom’s chocolate chip cookies! Send a container full of cookies and promise to send refills monthly. Make sure the container is easily shipped and has a vacuum seal so that the cookies will be fresh upon their arrival.

If you don’t have the time to put together your own creation, shop online. Beyond Bookmarks

(www.beyondbookmarks.com) has a wide selection of themed care packages, from Dirty Laundry complete with a book on stain removal, to Get Well Sooner with chicken soup and Vitamin C to ensure a speedy recovery.