A mother of a son who has served in Afghanistan in 2 rotations - standing proudly behind him and supporting all the troops. I am here to hold a hand of, or lend a shoulder to other Military parents, families, wives and friends- as I too am a "Military Mom"- at home.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Care Packages
CARE PACKAGES
Items to send, what NOT to send and "getting creative"
HEY! Do you have any ideas, item requests, suggestions, etc.?
If so, please list them in the comment section below.
Reading material is often over looked. We've sent about 200 Reader's Digests knowing that they will be shared with a lot of fellow soldiers. We've been sending a small package about once week or so. We also include a newspaper or 2. Liquids can be a bad idea, if it breaks it can ruin everyones mail.
Dried fruit bars, protein/energy bars, meal replacement shakes (these are for those soldiers who are not on base very often and have to eat ration packs for 3+ weeks in a row).
Creative..my mom waxed fall leaves and mailed them. My brother gave them out to his friends who put them in their helmets. One soldier found one tacked to a board on base and wrote a letter to the globe & mail about how great it was to see.
Tilley socks and underwear (again for those soldiers in the field for long stretches). www.tilley.com.
Hand & face cream for men, Old Spice wipes, Brushables (teeth wipes) & chapstick.
I've contacted the head office of Blockbuster Video about the possibility of them having a voluntary program where customers can donate an unwanted DVD to send overseas. The person I talked to thought it was a good idea and took down my name and telephone number-hopefully something will come of it.
Another thing they like getting is Beef Jerky. I know some stuff that's available at one base is in high demand right now. I've sent over 3 lbs of the stuff so far. It's salty enough that it keeps alright.
Thanks Bear, Dana and Ann... lots of great ideas! I'm still working at putting it all together. (It's a bigger project than I had originally thought.. but will be helpful for all.. and I can keep adding) Lots of good useful tips.. Thanks again! Ann, Let us know how you make out with Blockbuster - great idea!
I just sent out Valentine cookies.. I put a note on top. "These cookies started out by being heart shaped..." :)
there are tons of things you can send! beef jerky is always good granola bars/oatmeal 2 go bars/cereal bars you can buy single servings of tuna with crackers and it wont spoil kraft dinner coffee - the prepackaged servings are best gum hardcandy - suckers,werthers, etc reading material and crosswords mr noodles the hungry man stew - the stuff that eats like a meal? sunflower seeds gatorade powder mix baby wipes (for when they cant shower) k, so that is all that i can think of for now but i know i am missing stuff. hope this helps
I would like to know how long it takes to mail stuff over to them? thanks for all these great ideas! I need all the help I can get A proud military mom
Reading material is often over looked. We've sent about 200 Reader's Digests knowing that they will be shared with a lot of fellow soldiers. We've been sending a small package about once week or so. We also include a newspaper or 2. Liquids can be a bad idea, if it breaks it can ruin everyones mail.
ReplyDeleteDried fruit bars, protein/energy bars, meal replacement shakes (these are for those soldiers who are not on base very often and have to eat ration packs for 3+ weeks in a row).
ReplyDeleteCreative..my mom waxed fall leaves and mailed them. My brother gave them out to his friends who put them in their helmets. One soldier found one tacked to a board on base and wrote a letter to the globe & mail about how great it was to see.
Tilley socks and underwear (again for those soldiers in the field for long stretches). www.tilley.com.
Hand & face cream for men, Old Spice wipes, Brushables (teeth wipes) & chapstick.
Hope this helps...thanks for all your support!!
Dana Gobbato
I've contacted the head office of Blockbuster Video about the possibility of them having a voluntary program where customers can donate an unwanted DVD to send overseas. The person I talked to thought it was a good idea and took down my name and telephone number-hopefully something will come of it.
ReplyDeleteP.S. My brother came home on his leave!! He's home for 3 weeks - feel free to check out my blog for pics!
ReplyDeleteDana
Another thing they like getting is Beef Jerky. I know some stuff that's available at one base is in high demand right now. I've sent over 3 lbs of the stuff so far. It's salty enough that it keeps alright.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bear, Dana and Ann... lots of great ideas! I'm still working at putting it all together. (It's a bigger project than I had originally thought.. but will be helpful for all.. and I can keep adding) Lots of good useful tips.. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteAnn, Let us know how you make out with Blockbuster - great idea!
I just sent out Valentine cookies.. I put a note on top. "These cookies started out by being heart shaped..." :)
there are tons of things you can send!
ReplyDeletebeef jerky is always good
granola bars/oatmeal 2 go bars/cereal bars
you can buy single servings of tuna with crackers and it wont spoil
kraft dinner
coffee - the prepackaged servings are best
gum
hardcandy - suckers,werthers, etc
reading material and crosswords
mr noodles
the hungry man stew - the stuff that eats like a meal?
sunflower seeds
gatorade powder mix
baby wipes (for when they cant shower)
k, so that is all that i can think of for now but i know i am missing stuff. hope this helps
I would like to know how long it takes to mail stuff over to them? thanks for all these great ideas! I need all the help I can get
ReplyDeleteA proud military mom