"See Ya Soon Then!": Care Packaging Ideas for Our Military And Their Families

Last night was so much fun!!!!  I spent the evening with one of my best friends, Lisa.  Lisa and her family were heaven-sent when we were stationed in Florida.  We were all miserable and hated being stationed in Florida, in the middle of nowhere and away from our families; but when we were all together, time seemed to pass by a little quicker and the laughs were endless.  I remember when Lisa moved into her new house from base housing and she called me up saying:  "Guess what me and you got?  We got us a pool!"  It was always "us", we always had a blast together, good times or bad.

Last night, we very seldom talked about the looming deployment.  We actually spent half the night trying to pass some NCO test that she had to take, but we spent the evening laughing and having a great time.  I think we also realized how much older we've gotten since Florida, because before I knew it, we were O-U-T!!!

I don't know what I would do if I were in Lisa's position.  She's going to be gone for an entire year away from her girls...I'm not sure I could do it, but I am thankful to all the men and women who do.  They leave their families in order to ensure our freedoms.  I can't imagine what this country would do without them.

So...it got me thinking about cool gift ideas to send overseas as well as to the girls while their Mama is away.  Of course, for Military Personnel, You can always send them the basics:  toiletries, sealed snacks, books, magazines, DVDs, etc.  A lot of people like to send homemade goodies.  You can do this, however, the military will tell you that they aren't crazy over it.  The items tend to sit in a warehouse for a while, waiting to be shipped and can attract bugs if not sealed properly, even if you think they are.  Also, every box has the ability to be randomly searched and if homemade goodies are found, for safety reasons, they immediately toss them out.  So, while the thought is nice and the servicemen do appreciate the gesture, it's not the best idea. 

The kids can get involved by making them homemade gifts.  For example, if you know that the serviceman needs notebooks for classes and journals, have the kids decorate the covers.  This was a huge hit on both of Bob's deployments.  I was actually getting requests for these!  They also love water bottles, so have the kids make them "messages in a bottle".  This way, the card is guaranteed not to get mashed!

If you know a military member who has had to leave their children behind for a long period of time, please consider sending the kids a care package every now and then.  A great idea, is to send them a care packaging kit loaded full of construction paper, crayons, markers, scissors, beads, glue, glitter, etc.  They can use this kit to make their Mommy or Daddy presents while they are away.  Children absolutely love this idea!  It's also a way to help them express their emotions while their parent is away.

I hope you enjoyed these tips and consider putting them to use.  If you don't have a Military Family Member on deployment, I encourage you to adopt one.  There are programs out there that will connect you with a shipmate or soldier who may not get care packages often.  Often times, you can pick a ship, address a package specifying male or female and ship it and  the ship will make sure it gets to someone.  I used to always send extra packages when my hubby was away and he would see to it that it got to servicemen and women that otherwise wouldn't have one and it would brighten their day!  It's the least we can do for those who are serving our country and ensuring our freedom~!


*Remember...Your life is way more than average...so go out and live it in a BIG way!