Microwave popcorn and rice crispie treats always go well.

gift cards to grocery store, fast food, gas station, etc. are always helpful for when the funds start running low (in about a week!!!) LOL

Will he need quarters to do laundry? A couple rolls of those would be nice. A prepaid credit or gift card to a pizza place near him. Stamps. A copy of his favorite magazine.

Many kids cars are packed full when going to college and he may not have room for a big care basket so you may want to keep it smaller and simple. He'll probably have all his necessities in the beginning and some foods don't travel well --chocalate melts, etc....

I would consider giving a gift card or cash with a little gift before he goes off and mail a care package a couple months into the year or at intervals if you think he's one that may not have a lot of room for a care package in the car or plane.

iTunes card, Subway card, WalMart card, pre-paid Visa card (not a credit card - but they can use them in most places that take Visa) - I always send the receipt with the card in case they don't work

USB flash drives, socks, CASH, Command hooks (3M product that sticks to the wall and is removable - most of the time they aren't supposed to use nails).

On the outside chance he ever does his own laundry (LOL) get some Purex laundry sheets. They just toss one in with the load and it has the soap/softener/dryer sheet all in one. That way they don't have a drippy icky bottle of laundry detergent sitting around. They can just toss the sheet into the laundry basket and take it down to the machines and toss it in. The box is small and does 22 loads!

Best wishes for your Grandson!

Not sure if this is the case at all colleges - but DD just uses her ID card on the washing machine. It debits her account....and it sends her a text when her load is done.

Times have changed! Oh!!! No quarters needed.

What about a 'desk in a box'?

Often when young friends are starting out taking up housekeeping, I get several useful things together for them. One is a desk in a box, so they will have the 'needed' items handy when needed.

I usually use a shoe box to keep it all together.
regular envelopes
business sized envelopes
postage stamps
mechanical (lead) pencils
eraser tops for them
ink pens
white out and/or an ink eraser
post-its
small note pads
stapler
paper clips and small binder clips
scissors
a ruler or shorter straight edge
scotch tape

I kind of thought that with the laundry/quarters, iowagirl, but wasn't sure if they all did that now or just some. Never hurts to have quarters though (parking ,etc)-- just hopefully they won't use them to engage in those drinking games!

I'll have to remember those washer sheets exist. Those seem a lot easier than carrying around laundry detergent.

Wow, Iowagirl just gave me a degree in laundry! Never heard of laundry sheets OR using a debit card to do laundry.

I agree with Carla to just get him a small gift card for gas or pizza now, and send him a box of goodies in about 3 or 4 weeks when he's starting to miss home a lot. In the meantime you can buy a few things at a time you know he likes.

Lots of good ideas here. How wonderful to see him go off to college, very exciting for the family! I remember those days.

Mother always made me banana nut bread and chocolate chip cookies. That was in the 50's, and included self addressed stamped envelopes so I would write her. :o)

Times have changed :o)

DD#2 said one of the best things she got was from my sister, who put together a little sewing kit. Scissors, needles and different colors of thread for loose buttons. Suzanne said she used that a lot more than she thought she would. It included some other things, but I can't remember what they were--maybe some safety pins.

"Never heard of laundry sheets OR using a debit card to do laundry. "

In many schools, those same school debit cards work for parking and in vending machines also.

Debit cards are also used in the food service/dining halls.

My niece just finished her freshman year. Her top items were:

a cloth laundry bag - definitely not a laundry basket.
Pop-Tarts
Microwave popcorn
rolls of quarters
iTunes gift card
Target gift card - this was used for beverages and school supplies...and other food on occasion.

During the year, she very much enjoyed packages of baked goods.

Envelopes, erasers, white out would be a waste since each kid has a laptop:)

I have 2 college kids. What IowaGirl said.

Also, I send duct tape and it gets used. I like to get the wild colors or camoflauge pattern. A deck of cards, Frisbee. My son plays a lot of outdoor games at night, so a glow-in-the-dark ball or frisbee might be nice.
Post it notes are good, and so are those little flag-style post it notes so they can tab their textbooks for reference. Ziplock bags. SD card for his camera if he uses one.

I don't know any universities around here that still use quarters for laundry. Even the parking meters where my son lives uses dollar bills, and my daughter's college town is small and has no parking meters. So I wouldn't send quarters to my kids.

My kids also wouldn't use general envelopes as their personal correspondence is almost all electronic. However, they do use very nice, professional business-like thank you notes and stamps for thank you notes for job interviews and after they've finished their internships, etc. Right now your grandson won't be thinking about that much, but maybe in a later care package he might like that.

You are a sweet and thoughtful grandma!

Coins quarters) for the laundry and vending machines. Peanut butter and crackers.Any special candy he's always liked?

Thanks so much gals. Those are terrific ideas.

Does he cook? A 5 or 6 qt Nesco roaster would be a great gift along with some things like basic utensils, foil, plastic bags and the like. Or a small countertop convection oven. Either would allow some real food rather than frozen pizzas and tv dinners all the time. Throw in some recipes for easy pot roast, ribs, hotdishes, stew, soup and the like. A little bachelor's cookbook of simple recipes if they don't know how to cook.

A small first aid kit would be a good choice too. Toss in a thermometer, some aspirin and the like, bandages, alcohol wipes, etc. You can buy the little camping kits that have the basics for an emergency.

Possibly a case of bottled water (yes, the kind so vilified around here! LOL) and some of the little "sticks" for flavoring. I like the Hawaiian Punch. A 10 pack is $1 at Kmart & Target. You can get other types, teas and a variety of flavors or just for drinking the water by itself. Sometimes adjusting to a new water can cause people some problems.

Pretzels are usually popular. I'd look for things that take up less room than normal if possible, for instance if you want to send some chips, I'd get Pringles instead of the regular chips. More compact. Assuming they have a microwave, micro popcorn is good but also the old Jiffy Pop! They probably have a stove and I think it's better popcorn anyway. Plus it's some nostalgia too. There's some good trail mixes that can be good for you too. Candy or gum if he likes that.

Is there anything you make that is a favorite? Cookies, bars, breads, things like that. Would go over real big, especially if it'll last a little while.

A couple other ideas, a Tide 2 Go pen for stains that you know will happen. Maybe a couple microfiber cloths and a couple Magic Erasers. A small bottle of *good* dish soap (I like Dawn or Joy - just work better). Some of the Stain Release packets to toss in the laundry. A roll or two of good paper towels never hurt. Does he have basics like towels, washcloths, dishcloths, etc? A small bottle of glass cleaner or multipurpose cleaner (Simple Green is great) that will do a number of things around the place.

"A 5 or 6 qt Nesco roaster would be a great gift along with some things like basic utensils, foil, plastic bags and the like. Or a small countertop convection oven. "

A roaster and an oven would NOT be allowed in the dorms.
Most also prohibit Foreman grills, kitchen torches and the like.

You need to find out what is provided and also what is allowed in dorm rooms.

DS's room came with a microwave and minifridge. Coffee makers were allowed, but absolutely no other cooking appliances. And there were random checks to make sure.

Laundry rooms and the various cafeterias and such all used the swipe cards, so rolls of quarters wouldn't be necessary.

I can't say I think much of the paper, envelopes, stamps, either - they send emails!

Generic gift cards - small, easily used for what is desired. That's what both my son and his friends most appreciated.

I appreciate the tip about the laundry sheets, too. My daughter is in a traditional hall style freshman dorm and can really use something like that. I sent her with a bottle of Tide, and the sheets would be a lot better.

Jenson13, a lot depends on whether or not your grandson is in a traditional hall style freshman dorm or something like an apartment with its own kitchen. Boys on a traditional hall have limited space and use the dining hall for a lot of their meals. They get tired of the dining hall food, though, so that's why the restaurant gift cards are so great.

But nowadays even the freshman can live in university apartments on some campuses. Freshmen living in an apartment with its own kitchen could really use small stuff for the kitchen. Most of the boys I know don't have much kitchen stuff the first year unless their moms buy it.

Have fun with your care package. I'm about to start shopping for the first one for my daughter tomorrow. I'm getting some of those laundry sheets!

Alex's college uses an I.D. card for laundry. Gift cards are a good idea. I'm making one up for Alex, going to go shopping for stuff this weekend. He moves into the dorm Sunday. I think I'm going to get him some Cup O' Noodles, peanut butter, jelly and a loaf of bread, among other things.

No candles are allowed in the dorms, but some Febreeze might be nice. Poster putty, hot chocolate or instant coffee packets, Red Bull?

I can't believe nobody has put any Pringles in yet. I would need about a dozen cans....

Another great gift is an umbrella. My godson was a freshman last year and he thanked me again after his school year was over. Said he used it a bunch of times headed to class across campus in the rain.

It's one of those collapsable ones with a nylon case, so it doesn't take up much space; storage in a dorm room is at a premium.

Back in the day (early 70's) my college dorm wouldn't allow any electrical appliances, not even a hair dryer was allowed. I remember dorm mates sneaking in a Mr Coffee. I had a portable TV in my room.

The laundry/dryer sheets would also be great for washing laundry on trips.

Something, I always liked to have in my dorm room were canned soups, stew, or anything I could pop in the microwave when I needed a quick meal.

You are such a good grandma.. Our kids LOVE college care packages and I have made many over the years. I like to theme them with different seasonal ideas.. here is a good resource where there are a ton of ideas that are easy to do with lists of what to put in them. Hope it helps.. you will make him one happy boy!

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY College Care Package Ideas