I've always thought that giving someone a gift or gift basket was a pretty good way to celebrate a special occasion. And sending a teen off to college is is one of those times. Anyone who has ever had the experience can sympathize with your emotional stress. No amount of preparation is complete when the time comes to leave the nest but for mom and dad it sure is the beginning of a brand new chapter.

Reality sets in when dad tries to fit everything into the car; it's unavoidable that things have to be left behind and even if it could be brought, there wouldn't be enough breathing space in a tiny dorm room. It makes for a long day but it all gets done somehow. It makes for a long day but it all sorted out somehow. And what follows, soon after, is a stream of care packages filled with urgently needed items.

Fixing up a new room to make it suitable and with a new look will be an early project. Once all the roommates get familiar they can combine their ideas and resources and get down to mapping out how to spruce up their new space. Moms are usually called in at this point to assist with some of the items needed.

Coupled with the throw rug, bed spread and table lamp that needed to be shopped for I saw this as the perfect occasion to send a welcome, a college gift basket, to these college kids. I was glad I did, it was a big icebreaker for a group of young people who might be about to start lifelong friendships.

If you have a friend that can recommend a basket maker, you can go with that. But it's just as easy to search the internet for a college gift basket to suit your needs and price range. Keep an eye out for what is popular, which could be a simple movie night theme or a healthy basket of fruits and cheeses. You may pick up a few suggestions that you can use for your own baskets.

Your own gift baskets can be an inexpensive experience by cutting up old magazines for handmade cards. One of these might be a 1-cup coffee maker for the coffee buffs gift basket. A suggestion that was handed on to me was by a mom who said she always kept a drawer of dime store novelties available. I always have something like a handmade card, finger puppets or moon pies in my college baskets. Having a drawer of stuff ready will most likely give you wacky ideas that you can easily put to use.

Any college grad can tell you how significant care packages were in those campus years. It could have been college gift baskets to deal with the college blues or a just-in-time basket to celebrate high marks on an exam. Many of these gift baskets sent to me in college were in reality just small boxes, with a few things, but to me they delivered a physical link with home that I still recall.