Goody/survival box for DD starting Uni

Keeping_Motivated

A coffee travel mug or mini flask so she saves money on buying expensive coffees at Uni?

Voucher for Boots for toiletries or luxuries?

Voucher for somewhere like Dominos pizza for a treat?

daisybella

I know my student brother always appreciates

1) mobile phone credit, though he's just switched to contract
2) supermarket gift cards
3) treats like favourite chocolate and sweets
4) and not a survival box as such, but he LOVES getting letters and little parcels from us at home!

SuzySu

Wow - what a lot of fab ideas. Thanks so much all of you. I have a feeling the little box I was planning will need to be replaced with a small chest

SuzySu

Gingernutmeg wrote: »

If you live near an Ikea they do really nice fleecy blankets that are really cheap - a couple of those would come in really handy. Great for snuggling up in, using as an extra bedspread, picnic blankets, handy for throwing round your shoulders rather than turning the heating on ... The added bonus is that they wash really well, and dry very quickly without needing tumble drying.QUOTE]

I have one of those myself, so totally agree with you. Ho hum......yet another trip to Ikea looming me thinks....

babyshoes

Something that would save her a fair bit of money in the long run is a mooncup, if you think she would use it. You can look them up on the internet - they cost a little under £20 (or at least mine did a couple of years ago) but that is a one-off cost, the only ongoing cost is sterilising tablets, so get her a box of those too, (the type you use for baby bottles) they are less than a pound in Wilkinsons and will last for a year or more as you only need to sterilise it once a month and wash it with soap in between. If she won't use a mooncup then other toiletries like tampons, decent shampoo/conditioner, nice soap, moisturiser etc can get expensive if you are on a limited budget.

A family photo in a nice frame is always good if you are away from home, especially if it is your first time living away. A photo album or one of those frames for multiple photos is nice too.

Brightly coloured rugs, bed throws and wall hangings or posters can make a huge difference to personalising a generic residence room.

In our res, people used to put note pads on their door for others to leave messages if they were out - a nice little notepad from a cheapy shop will always be useful.

'Luxury' treats like decent quality hot chocolate are always welcomed, and help to make friends! On the same lines, powdered milk or coffee creamer are always a good backup to have around.

If there is a freezer in the res, she might appreciate home made soup etc, as in my experience the food can be pretty dire. (As can most mass cooked institution meals!)

If she doesn't have a camera, or if she would be unwilling to take it to places where it might get lost/stolen, then a couple of those disposable cameras are useful, especially for wild nights out. Try places like Poundland for cheapy ones, just make sure they have a flash, even if that means it has less exposures. You may also be able to get her a voucher for developing and printing them.

Anything that might remind her of home, wrapped up securely with a note on it saying it is not to be opened except in a homesickness emergency. This could be literally anything that will remind her immediately of home - a toy, a sample sized bottle of your perfume, a swatch of fabric, a book from childhood, a piece of jewellery, a bowl/cup, a cushion cover, piece of clothing, a recipe for something she enjoys eating etc etc. With the item, you may want to place a note or card with a description of a memory you share about that item and a reminder of your love. It need not be expensive or worth a lot of money, even a broken ornament can trigger a memory if there is a story attached to how it got broken! You could make up a couple of them if you can think of more than one thing.

How about a little jar or small box for 'lucky dip' notes folded up small with things like: sayings you or a family member use a lot, reminders, tips, quotes, pet nicknames, a memory, an instruction (phone home! Tidy your room etc), a *hug*, a little poem, encouraging words etc. You could do one a day for a set period of time, or just tell her to pick one when needed.

Wow, that's a lot of ideas! Hope some of them are useful for you. Thinking about this certainly brought back loads of memories of my experiences at Uni, mostly good but all worth having

SuzySu

Thanks Babyshoes - you obviously put a lot of thought and memories into that response. There are some lovely ideas in there. Thank you so much.

caz1892_2

As well as plasters, put nail clippers, a big pot of cotton buds, tweezers, germolene, cotton wool, throat pastilles and ibuprofen in a 'medical kit'.

Favourite sweets? Vouchers as suggested by a PP for favourite chain restaurants? Hot chocolate and a mug is also a good one.

You can get photo snowglobes in home bargains for 99p, a family pic in one of those might be geeky enough to be 'cool' ;-)

Maybe a bottle of flavoured vodka or something too, show her you know she's a grown up now!

It's a lovely idea and one I will definitely do if any of ours go to Uni...

cjj_2

My DD is also starting uni on 4 year teaching course. Im guessing she wont end up in telesales SuzySu. Good luck to your DD. What Uni is it ? Umberella would be good for the box and I second the posters to make it feel more homely. What a thoughtful Mum you are

mumps

I am doing a money neutral box for my DD, she is going into second year. I have got:
4 x£5 Dominos vouchers (from ipoints)
4 X £5 M & S vouchers (from surveys)
1 X £10 Boots voucher (pigsback)
3 X £10 Pizza Express vouchers (tesco clubcards)
Clutch bag with AngelFish hair products with boots points (half price £15 reduced to £7.50)
Fleecey blanket from Primark (yes I know I am lowering the tone but they do wash well and she loves the one we have this was using scratchcard money)
2 bottles of M & S wine from dine in for £10 (the food was worth £10 so these were freebies)
Body Shop vanity case reduced to £7.50 (not very pretty but big and useful to keep her bathroom stuff together lots of nice bits in it and it was free as I ordered lots of Christmas stuff and the Quidco cashback means this one is free but I wont get the cashback till she is at uni)
With some scratchcard money and this months Quidco I am buying some of her favourite biscuits and chocolates.
Some DVD's with amazon vouchers I got from bingoport and dooyoo
I think that is it. I can't believe how much I ended up getting without touching a penny of my own cash if you know what I mean.

niccy

son starts in Edinburgh next week, i have bought him , a tool box which includes hammer stanley knife,screwdrivers, pliers, gaffer tape etc, some screws ,bolts nails, a simple doorbolt. A first aid kit to which i added some blood clotting powder ( Celox ) A printer, spare ink , 1000 sheets of paper. A George Foreman grill , a Wahl hair trimmer.I've made sure he's got all discount cards ( Tesco , train,ferry,plane)