Summer Care Packages - Grandparents.com

Whatever the summer holds for your grandchild, you can assemble a care package that will make the season more fun.

Ah, summer. School ends, and young people race to vacation, hop a bus to camp, start a summer job, or prep for college. Want to help them celebrate the season in a practical way, or with some wackiness? Even if you don't live close enough to drop off your goodies, you can assemble and ship out one of these four care packages. Each will bring a smile to your grandchildren's faces, no matter their plans for the season.

Making the 4th Fun

Red, white, and blue are obvious choices for this patriotic holiday. Pick out a red hat, white shirt, and blue shorts to send off, perhaps, or a stars-and-stripes bathing suit or flip-flops. Or send a tie-dye T-shirt kit so kids can design their own summer outfit. For holiday weekend snacks, David's Cookies has a two-pound July 4th party tin, or you can send their Summer Beachbag filled with crunchy lace cookies. A set of water guns or a Velcro ball-toss game will add to the festive holiday atmosphere.

Younger children will love soaking up the adventures of Bethany Roberts's Fourth of July Mice (Clarion Books, 2004) between baseball games and fireworks shows, while older siblings might enjoy Barry Denenberg's The Journal of William Thomas Emerson, a Revolutionary War Patriot (Scholastic, 1998), the first-person story of a 12-year-old growing up in tumultuous 1774 Boston.

More Bang for the Bunk

A package that mixes the comforts of home and novel distractions is a great way to help your grandchild become a happy camper. A perennial care-package favorite is a do-it-yourself s'mores kit: Pack a box of graham crackers, a bag of puffy marshmallows, and a few megabars of chocolate, and your youngster will instantly be the coolest kid in the bunk.

Shadow puppets can turn scary darkness into fun, and a book like The Art of Hand Shadows (Dover Publications, 2002) can show a young puppeteer the tricks of the trade. Pack it with a sturdy flashlight — a useful camp tool in its own right — and some extra batteries. If your camper has nerves of steel — or likes to be the one doing the scaring! — include a scary story collection like Scholastic's The Best Ghost Stories Ever (Scholastic, 2004) for campfire tales. Summer Camp Mad-Libs (Price Stern Sloan, 2005) are always fun after lights out, and girl readers will enjoy the titles in the Summer Camp Secrets (Aladdin, 2008) series.

What else might a new camper crave? Cool patterned PJs, a jump rope, a deck of playing cards, water balloons, baseball cards, or a few easy-to-pull-off magic tricks could round out your care package. You can even include some stationery, postcards, and stamps so the kids can correspond with their favorite benefactors during the long weeks away.

Welcome to the Working World

A first summer job is a big step for a teen. Depending on their personality, you can choose to go practical or silly with your care-package choices. You may want to tailor the items you include to the type of job they're starting — say, polo shirts for a desk jockey, or sturdy boots and work gloves for someone who'll be toiling in a zoo or park.

This might be the first time your grandchildren have money they can truly call their own, so a cool or funky wallet could be useful; if you think they've finally hit the big time, maybe you should invest in a safe!

Help the new employee get up in the morning with a puzzle alarm clock — when the alarm goes off, four puzzle pieces flip into the air, and the buzzer won't stop until the riser puts them back together! A good watch is another option — there should be no excuse for being late.

Do they need a bike to get to work? Or a subway or bus pass? These aren't the most exciting gifts — but you know they'll be appreciated. Similarly, coupons for a favorite local pizza place or diner will help your working boys or girls recharge during their lunch breaks.

Phi Beta Package

A package for your favorite future freshman could include some funky dorm furniture or accessories to personalize his or her room — lava lamps are still popular, bean-bag chairs are handy when friends stop by, and a collapsible laundry hamper is an easy-to-ship essential. A gift certificate for Urban Outfitters could help your underclassmen finish their furnishing. Find out what they need, and see if you can fill in any gaps. Also, students need robes and a good bathroom kit to hold their personal items as they trudge down the hall to the showers, but most may not think of getting those for themselves. A compact but comprehensive first-aid kit is another important item that may fall through the cracks.

Show your tech-savvy student that you're up with the times by sending a compact USB laptop lamp that plugs right into a laptop and lets him or her work on papers (or Facebook pages) while a roommate sleeps. Also, once your grandchildren get to college, they may not call, but you can still help them remember the family with a custom photo calendar you can create online featuring the birthdays of key people — like you.

Many restaurants and chains offer gift cards — a sure way to save grandchildren money while also guaranteeing a few decent meals. If they'll be cooking for themselves, they'll need a good cookbook, such as Look, Dude, I Can Cook! Four Years of College Cooking Made Easy (Syren Book Company, 2007). And will they be traveling home for the holidays? Why not add a voucher for airfare to the care package. It's a gift that will last for miles.