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Your college students are juggling classes, projects, and everything in between. A little surprise from home could be just the boost they need to keep going through the long winter months until spring break.
Inexpensive college care package ideas — our favorites
Games and toys
1. KDG Motivational Stress Balls (4-Pack) (Amazon)
Motivational phrases on these colorful stress balls may help your teen manage the inevitable challenges they’ll find at college. At the very least they’re fun balls to bounce around the dorm room.
2. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza (Amazon)
This super-popular card game is easy to learn and can be played in 10-15 minutes. How can anyone pass up this game if only to find out how “taco, goat, cheese pizza” are related???
3. Left Center Right (Amazon)
A game is a stocking stuffer idea that your teen will love to open and play with throughout the holidays. Left, Center, Right is a wildly popular game appropriate for all age groups and one of our best-selling games. This is the #1 bestseller in dice games on Amazon.
4. Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty (Amazon)
This remarkable putty in a tin is a class care package gift.
5. Laneige Lip Balm (Amazon)
The silky balm will last her months, and it’s the perfect little luxury to gift as Laneige is a very popular cosmetic brand. Great for dry winter climates.
6. Jack Black Lip Balm – 1 Pack (Amazon)
This deeply moisturizing lip balm quickly soothes dry, cracked, and chapped lips while providing broad‑spectrum SPF 25 sun protection and nourishing ingredients like shea butter, avocado oil, and antioxidants for daily lip care.
7. grace & stella Under Eye Mask (24 pair) (Amazon)
Get rid of puffy eyes. This could be a fun treat for your daughter to share with her roommates and hall mates. This is the #1 bestseller in in Eye Wrinkle Pads & Patches on Amazon.
8. Sol de Janeiro Hand Cream (Amazon)
Who doesn’t love a little hand cream, especially when it is from the super-popular brand, Sol de Janeiro? This could be a very nice gift for anyone who is going to colelge in a cold climate, in particular.
9. Lanolips Ointment and Lip Balm – 2 Pack (Amazon)
This is one of our favorite lip balms: made with lanolin to keep dry lips moistened and to use as a healing ointment on cuticles and dry skin. Award-winning and amazing.
10. Hanes Men’s PJ Pants (Amazon)
These classic, comfy bottoms that feel soft and relaxed for lounging around or sleeping, with an easy pull‑on design, adjustable drawstring waist, and handy pockets to stash a phone or keys.
11. LINEMIN Fuzzy Socks – 5 pack (Amazon)
Who wouldn’t feel the love from home in these warm, fuzzy socks???? Many different color combinations available in these well-priced socks.
12. Do Your Laundry Or You’ll Die Alone (Amazon)
Becky Blades is the super-talented author and illustrator who wrote this gorgeous book for her two off-to-college daughters. It is pretty perfect.
13. The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College (Amazon)
Harlan Cohen wrote this bestselling book for first-year college students – a go-to guide for students whenever they encounter a sticky situation.
14. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Amazon)
This international bestseller with charming illustrations is a story about kindness and home – what better things to remind your student about?
15. The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter and How to Make the Most of Them (Amazon)
Dr. Meg Jay explains why and how our young adults need to focus on life during the twenties.
16. Squishmallows Clip-Ons 5 Pack (Amazon)
A little bit of whimsy to adorn a book bag or backpack.
17. Casegrace Mini Travel Jewelry Case (Amazon)
A safe place to store valuable jewelry in the dorm is essential, and this mini case could be placed out of sight in the back of a drawer or storage bin. Great for traveling. Available in seven pretty colors.
18. Gritin Book Light (Amazon)
It’s hard to share a room with someone and not keep them up at night. This rechargeable mini-light might help. This is the #1 bestseller in book lights on Amazon.
19. iBayam Journal Planner Pens Colored Pens (Amazon)
These super-popular pens are meant for journaling, but they can be used for anything you would need a regular pen, including note-taking, color-coding a paper calendar, or just doodling. The set includes 18 colors.
20. Salbree Microwavable Popcorn Popper (Amazon)
No oil needed-just kernels and a microwave. How fun!!!
21. Swiss Miss Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix (Amazon)
A cup of hot chocolate might be jsut want your student needs when they come back to their dorm room on a cold winter day.
22. Hero Mighty Patch (Amazon)
Small, hydrocolloid acne patches that your teen can stick directly on pimples to absorb gunk and speed healing, making breakouts look less noticeable overnight. This is the #1 bestseller in Pore Cleansing Strips.
23. Vgogfly Winter Knit Touchscreen Gloves (Amazon)
These cozy knit gloves keep hands warm without sacrificing phone use, thanks to touchscreen-friendly fingertips. They’re soft, comfortable, and have a grippy palm so your teen can hold their phone or steering wheel without slipping.
24. HotHands Hand Warmers (Amazon)
These single-use air-activated heat packs keep hands warm for hours in cold weather. They heat up on their own when exposed to air and are great for outdoor activities or just staying cozy when it’s chilly outside.
25. Ninja Outdoorsman 11 in 1 Stainless Steel Multi-Functional Gadget Tool (Amazon)
This slim, wallet-sized stainless steel multi-tool packs 11 handy functions into the size of a credit card in case of outdoor emergencies or quick fixes.
26. Maya J Store Bracelet Hair Ties (Amazon)
These look like chic jewelry on the wrist but double as strong, stylish hair ties.
27. Pocket Flyers Paper Airplane Book (Amazon)
A paperback full of step-by-step paper airplane folding instructions, featuring 69 mini models from classic designs to acrobatic flyers. It’s a great, low-cost, screen-free activity to keep college students entertained.
28. Kimwood Store Clip on Ring Light (Amazon)
This clip-on rechargeable LED ring light provides bright, adjustable lighting for selfies, Zoom calls, or TikTok videos. It easily attaches to phones, laptops, or tablets, and features multiple brightness levels.
29. Post-it Transparent Notes (Amazon)
A set of colorful, translucent sticky notes that stick securely and remove cleanly, perfect for quick reminders, page-marking, and study annotations without covering up the text underneath.
30. Bubble Skincare Slam Dunk Hydrating Face Moisturizer (Amazon)
A lightweight daily facial moisturizer with aloe, avocado oil, and vitamin E that deeply hydrates and soothes skin while helping protect against blue light exposure.
31. Anker USB C to USB C Cables 6 FT – 2 pack (Amazon)
A pair of durable, nylon-braided USB-C to USB-C charging cables for phones, tablets, and laptops. The six foot cord can be helpful when plugs are located inconveniently in a dorm room.
32. BIERDORF Diamond Waterproof Black Playing Cards (Amazon)
A fun upgrade from a standard deck. These waterproof playing cards are easy to shuffle, and tough enough to survive spills in a dorm or apartment.
33. Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Kiss Hydrating Lip Butter Balm (Amazon)
This nourishing vegan balm keeps lips soft, smooth, and naturally plump with a subtle shine.
34. FlexiKold Gel Ice Packs – 2 Pack (Amazon)
If your college student plays sports or exercises intensely, the FlexiKold reusable ice packs could be a helpful gift for them to store in mini fridge for use when they need to ice sore muscles. #1 bestseller in cold packs on Amazon.
35. TONYMOLY I’m Real Sheet Masks – 12 Pack (Amazon)
Lightly-scented facial masks in strawberry rose and red wine fragrances from Korean skin care company, TONYMOLY.
36. Spongelato Infused Loofah (Amazon)
This loofah, infused with different scents, can be used to exfoliate. Inspired by gelato, the choices are Mixes Berries, Pistachio, Limone, and Fiore de Latte. Lasts for 14 washes.
37. Bagsmart Padded Makeup Bag (Amazon)
This puffy makeup bag is the right size to slip in a dresser drawer, a suitcase of backpack. Available in dozens of colors.
Prices were accurate at time of publication.
Why You Can Trust Us
We are three moms who have raised 8 young adults and have been working on product lists for over 14 years now, making us experts. When selecting products, we survey the Grown and Flown Parents Facebook group of over 300,000 parents of teens, tweens and young adults. We do opinion polls, surveys and ask open-ended questions. We search for products that combine reasonable prices with high quality and are recommended by our large following.
