Newspaper Page Text
Page 66C
The Champion, Thursday, June18 r 2015
www.championnewspaper.com
Packaged With Care
By Tresa Erickson
Remember when you were a college student and how much
you loved getting care packages from home? You would haul
the package up to your dorm room, rip it open and discover
an array of favorites, old and new, from Mom’s homemade
chocolate chip cookies to Nana’s latest quilted creation. Care
packages are great, whether for kids away at camp, teens at
college or servicemen and women abroad. They can also be
great for travelers. That’s right. You can ensure a good road
trip with care packages for one and all.
Travel can be hard, especially on youngsters. Being cooped
up in the car for hours on end can do the best of kids in.
Sure, you can help alleviate the boredom and bickering with
portable DVD players, handheld electronic games and the
like, but eventually kids will grow tired of those devices. You
can play some music or classic road trip games, but when
everyone tires of that, what do you do then? You hand out
care packages, and with any luck, what’s inside will boost
spirits and alleviate boredom on the last leg of your trip.
Whether you’re traveling by car, truck or SUV, chances are
space will be at a premium, so big care packages are out.
You’ll have to think small, and lucky for you, there are a lot of
compact gadgets and gifts out there. When shopping for care
packages, it’s best to list the names of all the recipients and
their likes and interests. You’ll want to fill the care packages
with items that will not only suit the recipients’ interests but
keep them entertained throughout the trip—in the car, at the
hotel and out and about. While your amateur photographer
son might like some new photo editing software for his
desktop at home, that won’t serve him well on the trip. A
sleek new digital camera, on the other hand...you get the
picture.
Along with entertainment, you will also want to consider
snacks. Long hours in the car can make for hungry tummies,
and you don’t want to be stopping at every convenience
store in sight. Save yourself some trouble and alleviate
hunger and thirst with some tasty treats. Just make sure
you tailor the snacks to the recipients’ needs. Your health
nut daughter might not appreciate that pack of oooey-gooey
brownies as much as her younger sister would. Choose
foods and beverages that suit the tastes of recipients.
Games are an excellent idea for road trip care packages,
and there are several available from travel-size board games
to handheld electronic games to old-fashioned crossword
puzzle books. Just make sure whatever games you select
will work for the car. And, don’t forget to include all of the
extras, like batteries, pens and pencils.
Entertainment, food and beverages, and games are just
some of the many items to target for road trip care packages.
Again, think about recipients’ likes and interests to determine
what would work best. And, never go over budget. Care
packages by nature are not expected to be extravagant. You
may want to forgo the $300 computer tablet with a drawing
program app for your young son in favor of some coloring
books and crayons.
When it comes to care packages, presentation is everything.
Chances are there will be a lot of little gifts tucked inside
each package, and you’ll want to make it easy for recipients
to keep everything together by presenting it all in a durable
container. You will find a variety of container choices from
tins to designer gift boxes. Choose what will fit the items and
the car and work for the activities to come. If you’re planning
to do a lot of sightseeing on your trip, then a fanny pack or
backpack of some sort might be the best option. Recipients
can use the pack to store their care package items and any
other items they collect on the trip.
Imagine ending a long car ride with a care package for each
of the passengers. What a pleasant way to start the next
phase of your trip. Depending upon what’s inside, the care
packages might keep recipients entertained for hours.