In Feb 2007, my nephew, 19 years old, will be coming over from Singapore to Melbourne to start his university studies. He will be staying in the student halls. I want to make a welcome/care basket for him for when he arrives. What should I put in? All the main meals will be catered for at the halls.
Well you could start out with some homemade cookies. Some crackers and cheese ( that doesn't require refrigeration , popcorn. Some drinks that are prepackaged or bottled.
Some candies even shave cream, and a few other toiletries would probably be welcome, it doesn't all have to be snacks and food stuff. Be creative and think about what you put in the basket. I am sure that he will be appreciative of anything that is usefull.
Make sure you don't put anything in there that requires refrigeration or will spoil.
Good luck
Kathy
I don't know about in Australia, but my cousins always gave me a roll of quarters at the beginning of each semester to use in the laundry machines.
Any type of prepackaged breakfast foods (granola or cereal bars, juice boxes) would be great. I know I never woke up in time to eat a good breakfast!
What a great idea...I'm sure he will appreciate anything you give him!
If you want to make some cookies i have a great recipe for pan de polvo cookies(mexican) that are great at room temp and we ship them all the time. Just pm me if you want the recipe.
I graduated in 2004 and remember the biggest thing was QUARTERS!!!! Quarters are like gold to a college student. We need them for laundry, a pop, a quick snack from the vending machines. But one of the coolest things you could have given us.....phone cards, envelopes, paper and stamps. As much as we said we wanted away from home....we still wanted to keep in touch with the people that loved us. Mints are a good one. You get the speech that mints help boost brain activity and you eat them like M&Ms before a test. Lanyards (things that hold your keys around your neck) are the worst thing to give. Freshman and newbies are easily spotted by these monsters. A nice ID wallet that has a keyring on it is much better. To go with the quarters, the laundry soap and stuff is great.....but don't forget to give us a laundry bag (laundry baskets take up to much space that we don't have and we just end up filling them with dumb stuff rather than dirty laundry). How about a giftcard to the local department store or grocery store or fast food chain??? We always forget our toothbrush or something on a trip home and don't realize it until we get back and have no money to buy a new one or we are always hungry for food. A magazine subscription to our favorite magazine is awesome because those textbooks could sure use a rest along with our aching minds. Pens and pencils are great----we always drop them along the way to class and they are lost forever. The granola bars are a good quick pick-me-up. This is all just a few ideas of the millions of things we need. I used to work in the University Mailroom and the number one thing that I heard students complain about was NOT GETTING ANY MAIL. Of course we got the millions of credit card and music offers, but we all longed for mail from someone who actually knew us. We even got so desperate as to send each other mail. A note that says I love and miss you is worth more to a college student than they will ever let you know. Hope all of this helps!!! Need any thing else---just ask!!! 
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