Care Packages From Home

Care packages from home can give a sense of  joy to the recipient. This year I have been trying to send more care packages to my daughter who is away at school. Many times they include photos, poems, wall hangings, socks, t-shirts, and food from home. For her the favorite part seems to be the food, of course it is usually food that she can not get at the cafeteria and it many times invokes found memories of home. When I first started to package the items it was hit or miss if it would get there in one piece. It is a good thing that even though it may not look too good it stills tastes good – even if she had to eat it with a spoon.

I have gotten better at packaging the items and I also have learned a lot about what can be mailed and what would not be safe for her to eat if it has to be in route for several days. I never send anything that would need to be refrigerated or is perishable. When she comes home we have a list of casseroles, salads, and desserts that we make and share as a family.

What do I mail?  Well, usually it is cookies, bars, nuts, and candies. *Delicate cookies and ones that have many little tips or shapes don’t mail very well. They are not very pretty, but do have good flavor.*

How do I mail them? I arrange cookies and bars in self-sealing bags with wax paper between the layers. Or I also like to use rigid plastic containers or decorative tins for the season. I try not to mail strong flavored items with delicate flavored items, as the flavors sometimes migrate. If the cookies are all the same size I have been known to stack, and then place them in a long tube container with a lid. Homemade flavored nuts and candies are typically placed in small self-sealing bags, and then layered in the extra spaces of the box.

I learned that the tighter everything is packed in the box the more likely it is that it will remain unbroken in transportation. That is why I reuse bubble wrap, crumpled paper or tissue paper, or packing peanuts. Caramel or plain popped popcorn can also be used as a cushion. The caramel or popped popcorn can be placed in plastic bags and then consumed when the box is opened and it doesn’t make a mess when the box is unloaded. The socks and t-shirts also are a great cushion, and not fattening.

If you have ideas for mailing food gifts from home, please post a comment below; I would love to hear from you.