I have a friend who is in Seattle for school and is really missing home (New England). Do any NE Dopers have ideas for a New England care package? So far, I am thinking:
Maple syrup
Dunkin Donuts coffee
Blueberry jam
Boston baked beans (candy, not legumes)
She’s a vegetarian, so no chowdah or lobster. Any ideas would be welcome.
Boston baked beans (the legume, not the candy)
A NE item specific to RI would be Autocrat coffee syrup for coffee milk
What about corn chower?
How about something from one of the sports teams? The Bruins and Celtics are doing well this year and baseball season is just around the corner as well.
Salt water taffy?
A corrupt state senator?
I’ve got some snow and ice right outside in my driveway that I’d be glad to send along.
Barring that, I think the Dunkin’s is a great idea. My daughter always wants that. And Fluff. She can’t get Fluff in the south, but I don’t know about Seattle. Too bad apple season has passed.
What part of New England is she from? Maybe some sand and shells from a coastal beach? This one might not make sense to anyone else, but they have these little pine incense things you get in NH gift shops. They’re not the long thin ones you see now. They’re more the size of a cigarette without a filter. And they come with a little wooden stand you stick the incense in. Always reminds me of NH because we’d get them every year when we were in North Conway area for Labor Day weekend. Not even sure they still make them as I haven’t been up that way for quite awhile.
Oh, how about salt water taffy?
ETA I see Hawkeyeop beat me to the last one!
Fluff! Good one, I recently heard that it’s not available in other parts of the country, but it’s so ubiquitous here.
All good ideas. I also thought of getting her one of those very touristy tee-shirts that they sell in drug stores.
She’s from western MA, but spent some time in Boston.
vegan or lacto ovo vegetarian?
how about the makings for indian pudding from Durgan Park?
Molassas cookies?
Chocolate covered cranberries
I grew up near Seattle and never even heard of Fluff until I moved here.
Apples they’ve already got. Coffee too. I know the locals rave about DunDo over Starbucks, but there are lots of other options in Seattle (chains and independents) so she likely has a local favorite by now.
Are we restricted to just food items? If not, I’d suggest:
A Red Sox cap
An MIT sweatshirt (or, if you must, Harvard)
A plush toy lobster
On preview: Western MA, eh? Okay, a Smith sweatshirt.
Dunkin Donuts? Isn’t that the McDonald’s of doughnuts? Why would you bother?
A copy of one of the local magazines. Isn’t there a *New England *magazine or somesuch? Or a photo book or calendar with pictures of iconic covered bridges, barns, etc.
A little vial of “dirty water” from the Charles.
A map of her home town or home state.
Heh, she went to Smith! She probably already has a sweatshirt 
She hates the coffee in Seattle, so I thought a little DD would be good.
She is vegetarian that doesn’t eat gelatin. I don’t recall if she is lacto-ovo or not, but she was willing to eat takeout from a Japanese steakhouse/Chinese restauarant without asking for special pans or anything. She became a veggie out there, so I’m not too familiar.
Non food stuff would be great! I’m going to get some sports stuff to throw in.
How about a rock or some sand from the beach. HAving been born and raised here [CT] there are a lot of decidedly New England things to give her. You ahve the basics but I would include something from the land itslef…like a rock, or a leaf or an apple tree twig…something wholly New England.
ETA: She doesn’t like Seattle Coffee??? And like Dunk’in better???
I mean I like dunkins - don’t get me wrong but…really? She doesn’t like the coffee in Seattle?
Moxie (if it’s it’s available outside of NH, the only place I found it when I was up there)? A bit heavy, but toss a couple 20 oz. PET bottles in-- even if she’s no fan of the taste, she’ll surely have friends who enjoy trying odd sodas.
That would be Yankee Magazine.
Well, if she’s out there for the duration, she might like a subscription.
How do you gift wrap a senator?
Wrap him in $100 bills.
/what?
New England-style hot dog buns.
I was also going to add Fluff, but I see it’s already been mentioned. And it goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that it should be real Fluff, not the Kraft stuff.
I live in CA and I’m running out of the Fluff my friend from MA brought me. I hope I can mail-order some for not too much $$. My children need to be raised on Fluffer-Nutters, darnit!
Are NE hotdog buns different? Interesting.
During lunch, I bought:
Touristy tee shirt
Harry and David’s Moose Munch or something like that
Boston Baked Beans (candy)
Boston magazine
That was all the local pharmacy had to offer.
It’s hard for me to understand the love for the Fluff. I never liked the stuff.