What is sent to Swabs will depend upon their needs and the items that they request.
Storage space is at a minimum and items sent should be able to be easily stored in a plastic box (the size of a shoe box; our Swab preferred the ones with the top that was attached, but again, that was her personal preference).
Swabs move rooms frequently and the more items, the more for them to move and reorganize.
During Swab summer my wife befriended the local post office (they still ask how she's doing) as our DD would send us a weekly 'wish list.' The flat rate boxes filled the bill and shipping time is good.
One thing to keep in mind is that your packages and mail will get to the Academy with no problem; remember that there will be a huge amount of mail received each week for Swabs, Cadre and those attending Summer school. Your box or letter may sit days waiting for the Cadre to find time to pick up mail for the Company and distribute all these items to each Swab. We as parents all have to be patient and keep in mind that the first obligation of our Swab's Cadre is to the training of the Swabs, not mail duty. Patience is a virtue this summer and please don't worry; your Swabs will get their mail, maybe just not as fast as we'd like them to receive it.
After all, we as parents are all desperate for even the smallest bit of information as to how our kids are doing. Some Swabs will write novels others won't send a single piece of mail to their parents all summer, it depends on what they put as a priority and most just keep busy studying, cleaning, etc.
What one Swab requests won't even be on the radar for another. Female Swabs will request different items than male Swabs. (Females are often requesting things from Bath & Body shop to avoid stinking
).
Most often we sent:
Pre-packaged food items (Sam's Club, etc. is a good source since we often mailed for our Swab and her company mates as well as including Cadre)
Ex: Cookies, cereal/breakfast bars, Clif Bars, etc.
We sent freezer pops to the Cadre (they had fun with those)
Other items included:
Gatorade single packets (DD did request a new Nalgene bottle since the powder leaves a "taste" in the bottle; these bottles are not going into dishwashers, just rinsed out each day).
Moleskin, foot powder, fingernail clippers
Hair gel, clips and elastic bands
Windex wipes, duct tape, Q-tips (for cleaning), cotton balls, Swifter clothes
For fun we sent her:
Comic strips, news articles from home.
The only book she brought with her to Swab Summer was an Uncle John's Bathroom reader (great source for quick reading and neat facts)
Pictures from home in a small photo album (very, very inexpensive plastic thing, nothing special)
AND the most cherished items she said that came from home: SNAIL MAIL letters
(She would save them all up and read them on Sundays)
Knowing now what we didn't know way back when is to not send things unless they were requested by our Swab.