Modern Parents Messy Kids

We're all about finding ways to make family life better while keeping our sense of humor. Check out our famous MPMK Top Toy Awards, already viewed over 7,000,000 times!

  • Start Here
  • Travel
  • The Kids
    • Our Famous Toy Gift Guides
    • Play Activities & Art Ideas
  • The Home
    • In the Kitchen
    • Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life
      • Cleaning House
      • Meal Planning
      • Decluttering
      • Organizing
      • Schedules & To Do Lists
      • Daily Rhythms
    • The Holidays
    • Photography & Memory Keeping
  • Parenting
    • Parenting Discussions
    • Happy Family Habits
    • The Book Nook
    • Mom Health & Beauty
You are here: Home / Janssen / Sending Kids Off to College on a Budget

Sending Kids Off to College on a Budget

September 3 by Janssen

Great ideas for putting together a budget -friendly college gift pack and freshman would love to receive. #spon

*This post is sponsored by QVC but all opinions are 100% our own. Check out #QVC for more info. on the QCard.

I don’t have any children heading off to college yet; my oldest just started kindergarten, so those days are still a ways off for our family.

But my husband’s youngest brother begins his first year of college in a few weeks and even that is pretty much blowing my mind. I met him when he was nine years old, so it is hard to imagine that he’s old enough to head off for university life this fall.

After he graduated from high school, he spent two years abroad, so we haven’t seen much of him in a couple of years, but this summer, we had a family reunion and my girls were just head over heels for their Uncle Andrew.

Five minutes after we left to drive back home, my five-year-old was asking, “How soon until we see Uncle Andrew again?”

Because there’s such an age gap between him and my husband, and the fact that we’ve always lived far away from him, we’ve tried to keep in touch despite the distance.

I suggested to my girls that we put together a care package for him with some fun treats and snacks, some dorm room essentials, and a handwritten card, and they immediately jumped on the idea.

Packing a care package

We spent a fun hour over the weekend carefully writing a note, choosing gifts, both fun and practical, to include in the box, and then packing them all into a box.

Care Package

I chose a big wall clock so he doesn’t miss his classes, a shower curtain so he doesn’t have to use one that a hundred previous students have used, a new pillow, and some basic school supplies and snacks.

College Care Package

I addressed it, scheduled a pick-up from the post office, and voila! We look like the most fun relatives he has, plus my girls thought it was ridiculously fun.

Package

Of course, he’s on his own to get himself the big-ticket items like tablets, headphones, notebooks & other essentials, but I was able to help out there too by telling him about QVC’s Back-to-School Electronic Sale and the QCard. A great new way to enable him to purchase all these items and more.

The Qcard makes it super simple with with the Easy Pay Every Day feature where you can spread the payment over three monthly payments at no extra charge for any item, excluding gift cards, no matter how big or small the price tag.

Once he opens a QCard account, he can simply select the option at checkout for all items, all the time. No minimum price point. No extra charge. Excludes Gift Cards.

I just love dolling out this kind of advice and being the in-the-know relative!

Writing a card

Of course, what I most want to know is if he keeps the card from our gift basket informing him that watermelon is my daughter’s favorite fruit.

When we next go up to visit him, I’ll be checking to make sure he saved it. Or at least my five-year-old certainly will be.

Get Your Free Printable

Subscribe to our newsletter today and get our free printable... No More, "Mom, I'm Bored!"

Success! Now check your email to get your No More "Mom, I'm Bored!" Printable... Refer to it whenever the kids get restless!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by Kit
The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Twitter profile

Janssen

Blogs at at Everyday Reading
Janssen is a former librarian and avid reader who is always maxing out her library card. She now stays at home with her three young daughters (with another girl on the way) and blogs about books for readers of all ages, her favorite recipes, and parenting adventures at Everyday Reading.
My Twitter profile

Latest posts by Janssen (see all)

  • Top 10 Parenting Books for Raising Boys - July 22
  • Honk! Books for Your Truck/Train/Car-Loving Child - March 25
  • 10 St. Patrick’s Day Books for Kids - March 10
Share
Pin
0 Shares

Filed Under: Janssen, Simple Ideas, The grown ups (that's you!) Tagged With: college gift basket, college packing on a budget, qvc QCard

Get your kids' kit

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • xing

Finally Get Organized

Our Famous Gift Guides

MPMK's Famous Gift Guides

Find the Perfect Toy!

Copyright © 2025 · Parallax Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Web Design & Hosting Servously.com