How to Make Welcome Bags, Boxes & Bundles

Each semester, my sorority, and hundreds of others like it around the country, hold a rush or recruitment week.  This is the week where ladies around campus show their interest in our organization and we take the time to help them get to know us.  At the end of this week comes the all-important Bid Day (this is not always the name for it, depending on the school and/or organization you are referring to).  This is when a committee specifically selected to organize Bid Day get together and extend bids to all ladies who qualify to receive one.  As an added bonus, my chapter, a few years back, changed the way we did things.  My bid was extended to me over the phone.  Now, instead, we have adopted a more personal approach.  We visit each lady, personally, at her home or in her dorm room.  Generally this visit includes a rose, a lot of crying and screaming, and a Welcome Bag.  What goes into a Welcome Bag is the point of this article.

Welcome bags don’t necessarily have to be from a sorority to welcome new sisters.  They can be created by Residential Advisors for new freshmen on their dormitory floor, by Girl Scouts (or similar organizations) for new scouts.  Basically anytime you want to make someone feel welcomed, a welcome bag could be appropriate.  Also, welcome bag ideas translate well to “cheer-up” bags, “get well soon” bags, or Christmas stockings.

Bags

Start with a container.  We use brown paper lunch sacks because they are easily customized but a small plastic bucket or pail would work just as well.  We spend an entire afternoon decorating bags.  They always have our  Greek letters (Alpha Sigma Alpha) and the word “Welcome” printed somewhere on them, either by hand with markers or with letter stickers.  Decorate your bags in a way that best represents the organization or situation you are welcoming people into.

Toys