Are you an empty-nester? Whether you’re missing your collegiate terribly, are a year or two into college already, or reveling in your newly found time, throwing a Halloween Care Package Party with friends will either pick up your spirits or just be another fun event with your pals.
This idea came from my own old college pal. She told me about it and it sounded so fun that we co-opted it for ourselves. We did the Valentine’s Day version last year, and we’re going for the Halloween version this year. Basically, the hostess provides the breakfast/brunch and the mailing boxes, then she asks that each gal-pal (or guy-pal) bring items to place in the boxes (one for each box). The US Postal Service “if it fits, it ships boxes,” (very handy in case the boxes get heavy) are perfect, but you can always just provide regular boxes and labels.
NOTE: It’s important to be COVID-cautious. You should ensure that employ the proper COVID-19 safety policies for gatherings in your region and that no one is exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms.
As the hostess, here’s a quick list of supplies that you’ll want to have on hand:
- Shipping boxes
- Mailing labels
- Sharpie pens
- Shipping tape (for securing the boxes)
- Extra masks for anyone who forgets theirs ?
Ideas for the care package items:
- Halloween candy
- Halloween lights for dorm room/apt
- Halloween cookies
- Emergency health pack (e.g. with vitamin C, Emergen-C, echinacea, cough drops, Band-Aids, etc.)
- Pumpkin carvers
- Spooky baked goods
- Protein bars
- Advil
- Decorations – spiders, spider webs, witches for dorm rooms and dorm doors
- Cool ideas for Halloween treats can be found here
Team PlanHero was thinking that you could do lunch, or wait for it…wine and hors d’oeuvres as alternatives to breakfast/brunch. And if you want to get really adventurous, you could whip up some of these yummy savory Halloween pies to really wow your guests.
We’ve put together an example of how you might use our Signup Tool to keep track of who’s coming, how many boxes each person needs (e.g. I have two in college), and what each person can bring. No annoying reply-all email strings. No fishing through your inbox to figure out who’s coming and who’s bringing what. Reminders are sent out automatically via email and text. Imagine that; you can be an awesome parent without the headaches!
Click here for our Halloween Brunch Signup example.
Have fun and let us know how it goes!
