Help! I need care package ideas!

[Bitch_Goddess]

My fiance is in the military, and has been deployed to help fight this war for about a month. He finally has a set address, and can recieve packages. I am having a hard time thinking of things to send him. I thought of baked goods and newspaper articles, but am having a hard time coming up with other things. The box can't be bigger than a shoebox, and I can't send anything that needs to be brought home, as he has no room in his bags for extra items. So anyone that is in or has in been in the military, what would you want? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[KillerMuffin]

Depends on what he does and where he's at.

Do not send porn or pictures of yourself less than fully dressed.

If he's in the field, send condiments. Not in packets, but in bottles. They sell small ones. Koolaid that's already got sugar in the packet is good. Beef jerky, cookies, anything that isn't in an MRE.

If he's support and hangs out with rear echelon, he gets hot meals anyway. Condiments will be unnecessary and cookies are good. So is candy. Make sure it's sealed.

Send him reading material. He'll get bored. Write him long talky letters about people you know. Don't talk about sex, what you're wearing or food unless you want to be cruel. Don't tell him what you saw on CNN cause he's already seen it. Tell him about local news and things he's missing.

A care package is nice, but if you can, send him a letter every day. Or as often as you can. It's as much of you as he'll get while he's gone and he'll treasure those forever. Describe your day, things that are happening to you that you may think is ordinary but that he might be craving. Write often.

That's what the Stud "been there done that" Muffin says.

 

[Kymberley]

Picture of you

Small piece of cloth from one of your nighties that would remind him of you. Spinkle a little of his favorite perfume on it, you know, the one he nuzzles your neck to smell everytime you wear it.

Kiss a tissue with that color of lipstick that you wore on your first date. Another thing you can spritz that perfume on.

Little things that will remind him of your love.

Mini calendar with a new love message on each day.

 

[Guest]

Plenty of condoms.
Never know where those Afgani women hav e been.

 

[KillerMuffin]

Sorry, Kym but perfume is a bad idea. He can't keep it. Why? Because he's not the only one who can smell it.

If he's anywhere that he might be near the enemy or in trouble, they can smell it and locate it and him. It's a sure bet the enemy doesn't wear perfume.

This is assuming he's where he might actually have to fight. It's different depending on what he does.

 

[Guest]

And if he smells pretty, theyll take hit condoms away and assfuck him with thjem.

 

[Kymberley]

Sorry, Kym but perfume is a bad idea. He can't keep it. Why? Because he's not the only one who can smell it.

If he's anywhere that he might be near the enemy or in trouble, they can smell it and locate it and him. It's a sure bet the enemy doesn't wear perfume.

This is assuming he's where he might actually have to fight. It's different depending on what he does.

So true. Didn't think about that.

 

[Shelby]

If perfume, etc. is out, is a pair of your underwear out? That was my first thought, but decided that it may fall into the perfume cat. Maybe a thong that you wore yesterday??? Just thinking out loud.

 

[Bitch_Goddess]

Thanks for some of the ideas. The kool-aid one is really good. The mini calendar is great too. My mom suggested little tubes of chap stick too. I do understand about the pictures and all. Most of his magazines are considered porn, so he can't have those.

I do try to write him everyday. Very basic letters, but at least he gets them. I try to send him sport articles about teams he likes, since he gets very little news beside things pertaining to war. I've started to get letters from him too, and he gets one 5 minute phone call per week, so it makes things a little bit better. He is already making plans for when he gets home by having me send him little brochures of places we could go for a weekend.

 

[christophe]

some of the care pacages i used to get included the fowlloing items: books, magazines, cigarettes, pictures form home.
baked goods aren a good idea the military is actually slower than our postal service if he is overseas many letters alone will take 10 days to arrive, so if food is on your list send items that are non perishable.
also depending on where he is would necessitate what to send him.

 

[kiwiwolf]

KillerMuffin is bang on the money... NOTHING sexual. No perfume.
I was in for 9 years in some fairly interesting places. My most valued packages were books and family photos. Make sure he gets a letter a day. There hasn't been anything invented thats better for morale. Even if it's just a postcard if you are busy one day. Better still, why not turn a few special photos into postcards.


May he stay safe.

 

[Adoratrice]

DO NOT send Hershey's Kisses..........they melt

 

[freakygirl]

Oh.. letters yes.. I read all of the ones my husband got while he was in Saudi.. we weren't together then.. so none were from me. His wife was far to busy with everyone else, so none of them were from her either.

He got a card, a note or an inspirational saying everyday from a girl that wrote to him and his mom. The girl was 12, and had wrote to any soldier for a class project and he wrote back. He said it helped him through some really long nights.

I'll talk to him tonight when he gets home. Maybe he can give me some ideas to pass on to you.

 

[horny_giraffe]

I'm with KM about the sex stuff--as in, don't remind him of what he isn't getting. Besides, porn might get him in trouble with his commander because it can potentially offend the host country. Same with alcohol.

It gets pretty dull, sometimes. Something to pass the time is nice. I used to play a lot of card games. UNO, Hearts, whatever.
Obviously, a big board game or any game that takes a long time like monopoly may never get finished and the pieces get lost. Although I used to play speed chess.

Fiction is nice if he's a reader. If it is absorbing enough, it's like a little vacation.

I never worked the front lines, myself, so I'm not sure about combat conditions.

 

[Lady_Kit]

other suggestions

Bitch Goddess,

Send the sounds of home on an audio casette. Record gatherings that he is missing, add some photos, and let everyone there send a hello.

If you send baked goods, be careful with your packing. Cookies that aren't protected for shipment will need to be eaten with a spoon.

Its great that you're making the effort to do this for your guy. He'll appreciate it!

Lady Kit
Former Army Wife

 

[BlondGirl]

1.) Puzzle books.
2.) If you send cookies or other edibles, be sure to send some in a flavor that he despises, this way he will share. (And everyone he shares with will remind him constantly how lucky he is to have you )
3.) Calling cards when he gets near the end so that when he has a real chance to call, he can.
4.) Postage stamps and the orders to mail some souvineer to you that is something he thinks you will enjoy.
5.) Internet jokes. Edit them for content and send about 5 or 6 pages together. Make sure that none are half on one page and half on the other. Gvie him instructions to share. These are worth their weight in gold (ditto for friends/family in prison)
6.) Sunflower seeds. A great way to pass some thoughtful time.
7.) Cake in a jar--it is sealed--if I can find one of the websites, I will post it here. You literally bake the goodie in a wide mouthed Mason jar and seal it--it stays fresh for 3 months or so. Really good for care packages.
8.) Even though chocolate melts, as long as it is not summer, no one is going to gripe about it. It will be loved. Send away. minatures are the best. Take each one and write out a message on a small piece of paper and tape it on to make your own fortune cookie. I will bet you that he will open them all in one sitting and it will be one of the most treasured memories. Be sure to wrap that entirely in plastic to keep any of the oils in teh chocolate from getting on other stuff.
9.) Hang up a card at church for everyone to sign. Go to his buddies and get everyone to sign it too. Take a camera and go get pictures of everyone--if you want, have them write "Hello" with a Sharpie on a piece of cardboard to hold up in the picture. Feeling forgotten is very traumatic.
10.) If he has a CD player, send batteries. If you can burn a CD for him with audio on it--that would be supreme.
11.) Send Chapstick.
12.) Send the new state quarter that comes out.
13.) Send cartoons.
14.) Send some manly magazine that has to do with hunting or Popular Mechanics (check out the ads first)
15.) Pull a few needles off a pine tree and slip them in for that slight fragrance.
16.) Make a secret puzzle to share with him. On the top of the letter or whereever, put one letter. Make these letters be the ones that are in a treat or prize or whatever that you will give him when you are face-to-face again. He will have something to wonder about and to stay occupied with during stress and when he figures it out, he can be excited. And example, if he loves football you can put T-I-C-K-E-T-S -T-O-S-E-E-D-A-L-L-A-S-C-O-W-B-O-Y-S. If you want a bigger challenge, mix up the order of the letters in each word.
Good luck. I am sure I will remember more suggestions later.

 

[Bitch_Goddess]

Wow blondgirl, those are some great ideas! I am definantely going to do this picture thing, since thanksgiving is coming up soon, and all the family will be together.

Thanks everyone for the great ideas. Giraffe, cards are a great idea, so I'll have to stick in some of those. Lady_Kit, I'm going to try and do the casette thing over thanksgiving too.

I have decided aganist homeade baked goods, I'm going to send pre-packaged cookies. I might try blondgirl's cake in a jar if I can find a recipe.

At his suggestion, he would like allergy medicine, chapstick, and clean socks. Other than that, he's happy with whatever else gets thrown in! When I mail a package out, hopefully sometime this week, I'll list what went in it. You all have given me enough ideas for several packages though, so thanks!!

 

[BlondGirl]

Oh--another word of advice.

When packing anything edible, list that as "HEALTH FOOD" (Mental health is the same as physical health when deployed, in this case)

If you list chocolate, its chances of arriving safely are decreased.

My son and I, one year, for our "good citizenship" requirement for homeschoolers (here in the state of Texas) elected to send carepackages in exchange for post cards. We sent between 5 and 20 packages each week. I am not sure who benefitted the most from these. We also got some incredible goodies back. It was a wonderful project. (Yes, we started with the "to any soldier/sailor" letters.)
One was from a guy who "lived" in the next neighborhood over. That was pretty neat. We never met face to face, but we would see each other around town sometimes while one or both of us was driving so we always waved and it was very, very good.

The best "reward" we ever recieved for those sent care packages was a letter from the wife of a man. He had been very depressed and her letters were just not enough. (After all, she "had" to love him, right?) Having strangers send him cookies and jokes and pictures and other goodies just out of appreciation for him making it his carreer to save our asses was what helped him keep his sanity.

If anyone else is interrested, please get involved. Right now it is difficult with the current situation, but this will not be the circumstance forever.

A website dedicated to this is:

http://www.OpSOS.org

 

[lilminx]

bump

 

[Bitch_Goddess]

Blondgirl, it’s great that you and your son did the care package thing. I know it made many soliders very happy. They love getting letters, pictures, etc. from children, as many adults these days seem to brush off the military, but to children they are heroes. If anyone has the opportunity to write someone in the service, please do. It will be a long and lonely holiday season for many this year. As a result of the anthrax scares, Operation Dear Abby will not be in effect his year, making the holidays even lonelier for some.

In honor of our military, this was in Ann Landers Column today...

Freedom Is Not Free by Major Kelly Strong
I watched the flag pass by one day, it fluttered in the breeze,
A young man in uniform saluted it, and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform -- so young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert, he'd stand out in the crowd.
I thought how many men like him had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mother's tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom is not free.
I heard the sound of taps one night, when everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play and felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times that taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children, of mothers and the wives
Of fathers, sons and husbands, with interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard at the bottom of the sea,
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom is not free.

 

[PowerOfOne]

Hallmark and other card companies sell wonderful greeting cards with a mini recorder in it to record a special message. I am sure he would love to hear your voice. Best of luck to him and to you and I do appreciate what your husband is doing for us.

 

[luv2tvl69]

Help! I need care package ideas!

I'm sorry that he needs to be over there and away for you....but thank him for me for fighting for us. He is very appreciated...atleast here in Upstate NY.

I am not sure what necessities they are allowed to have, but I think if you send a few small momentos of you it would help his mindframe.
-Maybe a small picture frame that you can also put a small bit of your hair in it
-spray your letter with your perfume, so he can smell you
-Take a close up picture of your lips blowing him a kiss

just little things to bring you closer to him. I wish you both well and hope you are together again soon.