Drinks:
1-Instant coffee
2-Powdered Gatorade
3-Powdered hot chocolate
4-Kool-Aid, pre-sweetened of course
5-Tea bags
6-Country Time Lemonade Mix
Snacks:
1-Slim Jims
2-Crackers and Easy (spray) Cheese. Triscuits and Ritz crackers are great
3-Potted meat and crackers (remember to send plastic knives for spreading)
4-Single servings of bagged chips. The small bags stay fresh longer
5-Cookies, Homemade cookies stay fresh with a piece of bread placed inside the container. Send Oreos
6-Tuna with crackers. There are even Lunchables pre-made like this
7-M & M�s are great, hard candy-anything that won�t melt.
8-Little Debbie snack cakes
9-Graham crackers, you could send Teddy Grahams
10-Lunchables! Don�t have to be refrigerated
11-Bubble Gum
12-Snack mixes-Chex Mix, Gardetto�s
Cashews, peanuts, etc.
13-Pretzels
14-Applesauce, pudding or fruit cups with the pop-off lids
15-Raisins and trail mix. Send it in several small Zip Lock Bags.
Non-Microwave Meals:
1-Cup �o Noodles soups (made with hot water)
2-Bowl Appetite dinners (made with hot water)
3-Breakfast bars. Granola, cereal and power bars
4-There is an enormous number of different soup mixes available that they can just add hot water to.
Microwave Meals:
1-Campbell�s Chunky Soup. They have some that require no water and they have pop-top lids.
2-Dinty Moore makes a line of meals that are sealed just like the Pasta Anytime meals.
3-Microwave popcorn. Send quite a few of these, because it gets passed around. And get the individual sizes for more room!
Fun Stuff!
They gotta have a little fun once in a while . . .
1-Videotape their favorite shows on TV
2-Use your computer to print onto magnetic paper. They can put these directly onto their racks
3-Send favorite magazines
4-Get a stuffed animal and spray your perfume on it. Seal it in a Zip-lock bag to preserve the scent in-transit.
5-Do the same with a pillow case
6-Use your computer to print onto iron-on transfers and then iron them onto t-shirts, hats, pillow cases or even underwear (just for fun, print clip art of favorite hobbies, photos or World�s Greatest Dad and his name)
7-Get some white boxers and paint on handprints on the back, kisses all over
8-If they�re gone over a holiday, do up one box with just holiday stuff. Be creative! Use streamers, confetti, balloons (not blown up), etc
9-Lots of disposable cameras. They can take pictures of the boat and in port and then mail them home for you to develop. (this is especially nice for Scrapbooks!)
10-With a CD burner, make a CD of favorite songs. You can also make a cassette tape.
11-Always write letters, but in addition you might record your letter onto a tape (or onto the computer to make a CD)
12-Send a few toys, Slinkys, sidewalk chalk, squirt guns . . . anything extra silly
13-If they have a laptop with them equipped with a DVD player send DVD�s, but take them out of the boxes first. Just send them in a sleeve, so it doesn�t take up so much room
14-Theme packages, make it all one color scheme with ribbon and confetti, if they like a cartoon character, for example, send a video of the cartoon and a card with the character on it. You can also decorate the outside of the box with stickers relating to your theme
15-Make your own custom crossword puzzle! Go here - http://www.pdos.lcs.mit.edu/cgi-bin/theme-cwo... and follow the directions to print out a crossword puzzle using your own words. They�ll love it
16-Make your own word search
17-Get a small baby food jar and fill it up with dirt from their backyard. You could also put sand from their favorite beach with a shell inside. It�s oddly comforting
18-Two words -- Silly Putty
19-Make a miniature scrapbook. Go to the craft store and get a small scrapbook (about 5� x 7�), it will usually be spiral bound. Get a few supplies and go crazy! Do a theme book a day in our life where you take pictures all in one day for the book, decorate pages with stickers, cut-outs and journaling.
20-Blow up a balloon, but don�t tie it. Holding it closed, use a permanent marker to write a saying or short letter on the balloon. Deflate it and send with a note that says to blow it up.
21-Use your computer graphics program to create a cool calendar with magnetic dots that they can use to mark important days (like homecoming!) and print on magnetic paper
22-Books on tape are nice, or send small paperback books that they can give away when they�re done. That way they do not have to store it.
23-If they�re gone over their birthday, send a birthday box with streamers, hats, noise makers, a birthday card and a birthday cookie decorated with icing (refer to the tips section on how to ship cookies) Record yourself and the kids singing Happy Birthday. And of course, decorate the outside of the box with birthday stickers
24-Foam footballs and basketballs, the miniature size, these will get played with all the time!
25-A Frisbee, the flexible ones are best
26-A hacky sack (a little bean bag for kicking around)
27-If they�re gone while summer changes into fall, take a few leaves that have changed colors and press them, then have them laminated
28-I found a keychain version of the Super Soaker squirt guns. It shoots 20ft away, my husband loves the big Super Soakers, so I bought 2 keychain versions (he has to have someone to play with) for $3.99 each. They really work and they�d be great to take to work, since they fit in a pocket
29-On these two websites you can pick out and print your own greeting cards. Canon Print Planet and American Greetings Create and Print.
30-Very carefully open a box of Cracker Jacks and remove the prize, put your own prize in the box (use the prize somewhere else in your care package). Put in a little note or a bigger prize-maybe something personal that only your men would understand. Then carefully seal up the box so they don�t see that you�ve tampered with it. Craft glue works best.
The Practical Stuff
This might not be fun or romantic but if they can�t find their favorite brand, they�ll love you for sending it!
Toiletries:
1-Clorox wipes, just in case the bathroom needs a little extra spot cleaning, also useful for the bunk area
2-Razors, shaving cream
3-Foot powder
4-Shampoo, conditioner
5-After shave lotion
6-Soap or body wash
7-Mouth wash
8-Deodorant
9-Toothpaste and brush
Needed for Comfort
1-Gel insoles
2-Foot powder
3-T-shirts, underwear and socks MONTHLY - trust me, they�ll need them
4-Sachets for their lockers to keep clothes smelling like home
5-Glade Stick-Ups, these are easy to hang in their racks
6-An egg crate mattress pad, those racks are thin and not very comfortable
7-Small bottle of febreeze
8-Toilet paper is always nice
9-A small battery operated fan for their rack
10-Baby wipes are good for fast, easy clean-ups, a small travel pack is best
11-Eye drops
12-Sneaker balls - they�re like sachets for your shoes
13-chapstick for those in the desert
General Stuff
1-A small stack of Dixie cups can be handy for lots of reasons
2-A small battery operated light with a clip on it is great for hanging in their rack. It�s easier to read by than using a flashlight. Check with your soldier, many have lights in their racks already and wouldn�t need additional light
3-I like to send dryer sheets, in a Zip Lock bag. They can use them in their lockers to help things smell fresh, or they can rub them over their clothes before they go out. It�s just a nice thing to have
4-Send batteries. It sounds simple, but people forget. Sure, they�re available onboard ship but anything you can send cheaply will save them money.
5-Sun block is nice for anyone who �lives� in a sunny port.
6-A small sewing kit.
7-A stain remover stick (Shout makes a good stick)
8-A stress ball might be nice
9-Stamps, paper and envelopes with a nice
10-writing pen might inspire a few more letters home.
11-A padded mailing envelope, just in case they need to send home something they bought for you.
12-Request a phone card from the National VFW. They provide free phone cards to hospitalized veterans and deployed active duty members. Please use this service only if you are in need. If you can afford to make a donation to the VFW for this service.
General Tips
These tips have all been road tested by me during one deployment or another!
1-This one is an oldie, but there might be someone out there that has never heard of it. When you send homemade cookies, please a couple of pieces of bread in the box. It will absorb any moisture and the cookies will stay fresh.
If you send store bought cookies like Oreos, something that cracks easy, take them out of their package and pack them loose in popped popcorn. The popcorn takes the shock of traveling and the cookies get there in great shape.
2-Popcorn (the old fashioned way-not microwavable) is a great packing tool. I use it to pack everything. It�s cheaper than packing peanuts and bridgeable.
I recommend sending packages Priority Mail. It does help to get it there faster. Priority mail will get it across country and into the hands of the FPO workers faster, and the FPO people respond quicker to Priority mail packages (maybe because they stand out more, who knows). It�s also cheaper in a lot of cases.
Your package can be any size you want, but try to keep the individual items as small as possible. The racks are small, and there�s not much room to store things. Try to think about where things will be placed - sheets won�t take up any room, but books will, etc . . . .
Anything that smells good, seal into a plastic bag. Dryer sheets, sachets, perfume-sprayed stuffed animals or pillow cases and Glade stick-ups or other room freshener are all good examples
Place anything that could spill (shampoo, cologne) inside Zip Lock bag and then tape that bag to the inside of the box.
On the outside of the box, write �This Side Up� and even though it will never stay �that side up�, it will help! Taping things to the side also helps to distribute the weight and keeps heavy things from crushing smaller or breakable items.
A good source of boxes is the supermarket. Often they�ll save a box or two if you ask nicely. Also, craft stores are an unlikely source for the perfect size box. Places like Hobby Lobby, Michael�s and Frank�s have boxes in any size imaginable.
When you send food of any kind, try to send a lot more than you think they�ll eat. Most food gets shared and they may not get much if you only send a single serving.
This is the most important tip I have. It takes a special skill to write a letter during deployment. Avoid writing phrases such as �Everything is falling apart and I can�t handle it without you� or �Everything is falling apart and I don�t need you any more to fix it for me�. Either of these will cause your spouse terrible anxiety, and it�s dangerous for them and for anyone they work with also. I know how hard it is, but I also know how important it is.
A Little Romance
Little things that keep them thinking of you.
At some department stores (such as Wal-Mart) there are �pet tag� machines that let you customize tags for your dog�s collar, usually for contact info if the pet is lost. How about making one with your name with your loved ones name and your anniversary on it? They can put the tags on their key chains and have a constant reminder of home.
At Hallmark card stores there are �angel bears� with custom heart-shaped name tags. Maybe spray one with your perfume, hang your name around it�s neck and your loved one can hold it at night if they get really lonely.
Do you love steamy stories but can�t quite work up the nerve to try writing one yourself? Try www.pillowmail.com. This is a fantastic FREE website that asks you a few simple questions about yourself and your mate (such as what is your hair color, what is your favorite food) and turns it into a customize story that you can email to your loved one (you can also highlight the story, click on file, print, click on sections, then okay and it will print out just your story so you can mail them a hard copy if you don�t want to send it via email). They offer �Sexy, X-Rated and Off The Wall� as story themes, The X-rated are very explicit so use caution, so are the sexy ones. I tried it myself and found it to be something I�ll use many more times.
There are �talking� picture frames out now that allow you to record a message. Record yourself saying goodnight and I Love You, so your sailor/soldier can hear you say it each night.
At card shops you can find pennies with shapes cut out of the middle of them, attached to a card with a poem. My hubby has a penny with a heart from me on his keychain that I gave him 9 years ago. Another suggestion was to wear them on their dog tags
This will work well if he package doesn�t have far to go and if the recipient is a fun person who can take being a little embarrassed. Get a Mylar balloon on your way to the post office and be sure to have them use the long-lasting stuff inside the balloon to help it last longer than normal. Tie a pair of panties or a garter belt to the end of the balloon and tape the end of the balloon string to the bottom of the box. When they open the box, out floats the balloon with the panties. You might add a note to open it only while alone!
Get a stuffed animal and spray your perfume on it. Seal it in a Zip-Lock bag to preserve the scent in-transit. Do the same thing with a pillow case
Get some white boxers and paint on handprints on the back, kisses all over
With a CD burner, make a CD of favorite songs. You can also make a cassette tape. Love songs that are meaningful to both of you are nice to have around
Send at least a few VERY steamy letters. You can even go online and read sexy stories for inspiration, or copy them right into your letter!!
Begin a journal to keep at home and write in it everyday, or when you can. Paste in cartoons or pressed flowers. Give it to your loved one when they return home. They�ll love reading about your days without them, and they can read the things that you couldn�t (or didn�t want to) send to them in a letter while they were away. For a twist on the journal idea, keep a �Naughty and Nice� journal. The first half write nice, normal things, then flip it over and write naughty things in the other half. Title and decorate each side so they�ll see it�s two different journals made into one.
This is for spouses or significant others. Get a pair of chopsticks, a fortune cookie and a Chinese takeout box (Wal-Mart carries these in their craft department). Write on a piece of paper. �Sex with you is like eating Chinese food. . . I�m always satisfied, but an hour later I want more!� Put all items in the box. They�ll LOVE it. To go the extra mile, BAKE a fortune cookie with the saying inside it!
Make �coupons� to use when they get home. Some ideas - One Half-hour foot massage, One 15 minute back rub, etc . . . Be creative.
A �memory chime�. In most craft stores in the jewelry aisle there are chimes. They�re balls with a loop on them for hanging on a keychain or necklace and they have a chime inside. There are different meanings - memory, ocean, courage, strength, and many more. Buy one for you and one to send with a note that says every time they hear it chime, you�re thinking of them. It�s sappy, but my husband loves his memory chime.
Wives or girlfriends can send sexy panties. Just be sure to put them in an envelope all their own marked Private so he won�t open them in a common area and get embarrassed.
I absolutely love this idea - if you use a particular scented lotion or if your perfume has a lotion that goes with it, put some in a travel lotion bottle (about $.50 at the drugstore) so they�ll always be able to have you close. It will also last them through the whole cruise.
If your special one is a reader, send a paperback book or magazine with love notes tucked inside at different places inside. They�ll love finding the treasures as they read.
Try this fun idea for a little shock of surprise. This only works if you�re a woman. Take a plain pillow case of any light color. Using a contrasting darker color in fabric (or other washable) paint, make a �boob print� (there�s just no other way to say it - LOL) on the front. Leave the other side plain. It�s a very interesting way to make a statement!
Ideas
