How To Make Care Packages For Kids
Everyone gets homesick…especially kids. That’s because when we’re young, familiar routines are our best friend and it can be really hard to cope when they’re disrupted. But care packages can help! They’re a great way to make kids feel comfortable in places they’re not used to, like camp or school. To get started creating care packages for the kids in your life, here are some things to keep in mind:
Picking a Container
If you’ve ever looked at care packages, you’ll notice that generally, they don’t include a basket of any kind. This allows you to maximize the space inside the box so that you can pack in more of the good stuff – like chips and crackers and candy! That said, you’ll notice that a small box goes a long, long way because all those snack foods don’t really take up a ton of space. So, if you’re faced with a choice between a big box and a small one, go small. You’ll be surprised how much you can fit inside of it.
On the Inside
Speaking of inside, finding what’s going into your gift can be tricky. If you’re creating a care package for kids, as in more than one child, it’s a lot easier because you don’t have the inconvenience of shopping for individually sized things. For instance, it’s easy to buy an entire box of cookies, which is perfect for more than one child, but a single snack size can pose a challenge. However, if your gift is for just one child, your local grocery store might be your saving grace. Often times, groceries will have a section or counter where they make lunches daily. Since people picking up their meals need snacks, you’ll usually find single packs of chips and other similar foods there. If not, shift your gaze from the tabloids to the candy display while you’re snoozing at the checkout. Usually there are small bags of nuts and pretzels there too.
Using the Right Packaging
Since care packages are so diverse in what they contain, it’d be unreasonable to tell you that there’s only one way to ship them. But, as with any gift, you want to make sure that everything is secure. If you’ve just spent the better half of a day baking cookies, you don’t want them to end up as crumbs in your child’s hands. Make sure that nothing sits loosely inside your box by filling the empty spaces with some sort of packing material. All out of bubble wrap? No worries! Stale popcorn, old newspapers, and pages of magazines make great, eco-friendly materials for keeping everything in its place.
Finishing Touches
You were no doubt going to do this anyway, but it had to be said somewhere: don’t forget the note! It doesn’t matter if you write a full-blown letter or just a simple “thinking of you” card – your words and thoughts are probably the main reason why kids enjoy care packages. Just like adults, children feel special when they receive something that you took the time to create. And since they’re away from you, they’ll cherish your gift all the more.