26 Best College Care Package Ideas for Girls
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College Care Package Ideas
Searching for great (and useful!) college care package ideas for girls?
If you have a daughter, a niece, or a cousin who is going off to college and feeling anxious, a college care gift package is the PERFECT gift.
But you don’t need to spend $50 on a pre-made college care package. And PLEASE don’t send her the stereotypical care packages filled with hot cocoa or instant coffee, pens, cleaning, and laundry supplies, granola bars, energy bars, and…more snacks.
Here are UNIQUE and FUN college care package ideas a girl will enjoy and like.
1. Her Favorite Hair Tie
Yes, it’s a cheap gift. But girls love hair ties! Get her a fun scrunchie and a new set of hair ties. A girl can never have enough! Both Amazon and Target have super cute scrunchies for this inexpensive college care package idea.
2. Gift Card to Her Local College Bookstore
Don’t buy her pens, notebooks, and binders. She’ll want to choose her own.
But, she will want to get a new hoodie or t-shirt with her college’s name on it.
Send her a $50 gift card to her local college’s bookstore. This way, she can pick out a sweatshirt or anything else that she'll love!
3. Gift Card to Starbucks
Girls love coffee, and Starbucks is a treat for girls. Add a $25 gift card to Starbucks to the college gift card for your daughter, your niece, or your best friend heading off to college and she’ll love it.
4. A Weighted Blanket
I never knew how wonderful weighted blankets were, until I got one last week (from Aldi!).
A weighted blanket is so calming and a great stress-reliever. It may not fit in a college “care package” per se, but she will love it.
5. An Essential Oil / Aromatherapy Diffuser for Stressful College Days
Most college campuses don’t allow candles, but they will allow an essential aromatherapy diffuser.
Add a pretty oil diffuser to her care package so that she can make her dorm room smell nice.
6. Beauty Face Mask to Bond with New Roommates in College
Face masks can be fun, and a great way to bond with a new roommate! Target and Amazon.com sell a variety of fun, one-time use face masks. If anything, she’ll get a kick out of taking fun pictures and sending them to you!
- Set of 12 “Glam Up” Korean face masks for under $10 on Amazon.com
- Set of 12 “Celavi” Korean face masks in tea tree, honey, avocado, and more on Amazon.com
7. Grocery Store Gift Card to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods
A college student is usually low on money. A gift card to her favorite grocery store to buy her special snacks will always be appreciated!
- Whole Foods gift card on Amazon.com
- Trader Joe’s gift card in stores
8. A New Set of PJs for Her to Wear in College Dorms
If you know her style and size, add a cute set of PJ shorts and a top to her college care package. My favorite pair of PJs from Amazon are below. They are super soft, super feminine, and so cute! Plus, they are appropriate for co-ed dorms.
I am 135-140 pounds and bought a size small.
Buy Serendelicacy Silky Satin PJs on Amazon.com
9. Fun Nail Polish in Her College’s Colors (or Just Fun Colors!)
Buy her a set of Essie nail polish in her school’s colors.
10. Target Gift Card (for Any College Student!)
Everyone loves a gift card, and girls especially love Target. If you are completely clueless on what to include in a college care package, add a gift card and she’ll be delighted.
11. Bluetooth Speaker
A compact Bluetooth speaker is amazing!! Bose has several small bluetooth speakers that are just perfect for college students.
12. Coffee Set
A cute mug with instant coffee is a nice college care package idea. For fall, grab a cute Halloween themed mug or a cute fall mug! TJ Maxx and Homegoods usually have lots of cute mugs to choose from.
13. Lip Balms
A nice lip balm is always appreciated. I recently tried the KOPARI lip gloss and loved it!
14. Sparkly Eyeshadow that Smells Good Too!
A little bit of sparkle will brighten up your college student's day. The Too Faced Eyeshadow palette is amazing! Check out a review of the Too Faced Eyeshadow here.
15. CVS Gift Card
In case she needs to run to CVS for medicine (or maybe condoms), a CVS gift card would be appreciated. Plus, most college campuses have a CVS within walking distance.
16. Cozy Slippers
Cozy slippers, like pajamas, are always fun!! These slippers on Amazon can easily be delivered to your college student's dorm.
17. A Luxury Eye Mask
A luxury eye mask that is super soft is easy to fit into any college care package. I personally LOVE this eye mask from Amazon. It's silky soft and machine washable!
18. Victoria's Secret Gift Card
Most college girls will appreciate a Victoria's Secret gift card. Plus, this allows her to treat herself!
19. A Hand-Written Card
Don't forget to include a cute hand-written card with a nice note in it. Your college student will appreciate any kind words or words of encouragement.
20. A Gift-Card for a Plane Ticket
A DIY coupon promising to pay for your college student to fly home would be appreciated.
21. Emergen-C
Don't let your college student get sick! Encourage her to stay healthy by drinking Emergen-C when her roommate or friends get sick in college.
22. Perfume
If your college student loves perfumes, a new perfume would be fun to include in a college care kit for her. Check out this travel set of tropical scent perfumes by Tommy Bahama.
23. Olaplex No. 3 Repairing Hair Treatment
Let your college student do her own DIY hair repair by using Olaplex No. 3 deep conditioning treatment. You can check out my complete review of Olaplex No. 3 here. It's amazing and a must-have!
24. Face Mist
A fun facial spray or face mist is always fun! TJ Maxx usually has a lot of facial sprays to include in a college care package for girls. Or, check out the Mario Badescu Facial Spray Collection on Amazon. (Tip: You can keep one for yourself!)
25. Halloween Nail Stickers
Halloween nail stickers for a college care kit? You bet!! Halloween is HUGE in college, and this college care package idea is affordable and fun! Check out these Halloween nail art stickers on Amazon. I love them!
25. Makeup Remover Wipes
Make it easy for your college student to remove her makeup at night with these Neutrogena makeup remover wipes on Amazon. Or, check out any of these beauty products to remove makeup (without using makeup wipes!).
26. Audible Subscription
With so many college books to read, your college student probably doesn't have time to read much for fun. Allow her to listen to her favorite books by gifting an audible subscription!
Inexpensive College Care Package Ideas
Searching for cheap and inexpensive college car package ideas? Below is a list of inexpensive college care package ideas under $15 for her.
- Cute and soft scrunchies in colorful colors from Target.com
- Goody Ouchless Hair Ties (brown, black, white) on Amazon.com
- Sophisticated scrunchies for summer and fall on Amazon.com
- Burts's Bees Chapstick
- Gift card to Starbucks for $10
- A cute mug
- Target gift card for $15
- Homemade cookies
- Nail polish
- Nail stickers for DIY nails
- Sunblock
- Hot cocoa
- Instant coffee
- Emergen-C or Airborne
- A cute pillowcase
- Makeup remover wipes (or something to quickly remove makeup with no sipes)
- Face masks
- Fuzzy socks
- Slippers
- Gel pens
- A gift card to the college bookstore for $15
More Gift Ideas for College Students
Searching for more gift ideas for college students? If so, you may want to check out these gift ideas for teenage girls.
