Soldiers, Families Soldiers--Care Pkg. Suggestions needed!

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   TamCorposted 12 years ago

   Sorry, that was supposed to be "Families of Soldiers" in the title...
   
   A friend of ours has a daughter whose school is putting together care packages to send to soldiers.  She gave me a short list of items suggested, but I would really love to hear from someone who actually knows a soldier, and knows what they really would like to receive.
   
   Another question--Do soldiers like to listen to comedy songs?  My husband has written so many of them through the years, and people love them, so he thought about possibly putting together some CD's and adding to the package.  What do you think?
   
   
   And ideas or suggestions would be appreciated-thanks!
   
   Tammy
      

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2. 81

   TamCorposted 12 years ago

   Wow, I thought sure that I would get some replies to this overnight!
   
   Sorry to be a pest--it's just I want this package to be as nice and useful as I can get it, and I only have a couple of days to get it all put together...
   
   

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3. 82

   mary615posted 12 years ago

   It's a little hard to answer your question.  I know you want the package to be filled with wonderful things for your troops.  I'd say just send them what you think they would like if they were at home.  They will appreciate anything from home.  They like to eat, I know.  Candy, homemade cookies, gum.  We have family serving in the military, and they love the "cake in a jar" that we do.

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      TamCorposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks mary!  Cake in a jar? I'm not familiar with that, I don't think, lol.

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         mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         check my profile and you'll find info and recipe.  Can't say more than that or I'll be in big trouble!

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            mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            email me and I'll send you more info.

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   Cassie Smithposted 12 years ago

   I think they'd like a pack of disposable wipes.  That should come in handy over there.

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   Motown2Chitownposted 12 years ago

   I would think that things like phone cards, prepaid cell phones, chocolate chip cookies, toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss).  Otherwise, things you'd send to someone away at camp.    But ways to get in touch with friends and family back home are usually HUGE hits.
   
   

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   Journey *posted 12 years ago

   We send care packages to soldiers in my gift basket business. If you contact me directly, I can send you some pic examples but generally there is always alot of comfort food like soft baked cookies in the box. Additionally, believe it or not, little stuffed animals like teddy bears dressed in camouflage are very popular for sending and cheering them up. Hope this helps and good luck!

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7. 81

   TamCorposted 12 years ago

   Thanks everyone for the terrific suggestions--I was able to use several of these ideas!
   
   mary615--I love your food in a jar ideas--I didn't have the time to put any together this time around, but I am definitely bookmarking your hubs for future use!
   
   journey--I love the idea of your gift baskets!  I am going to check the website out more thoroughly...
   
   Cassie and Motown, too - Thanks again, so very much...

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   CASE1WORKERposted 12 years ago

   I know that when my nephew was in Afghan he was short of toiletries and I also sent protective skin cream as his hands were getting chaffed.
   
   Cards are good so that they can send them home to their children, wives and mothers for their birthdays.

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   readytoescapeposted 12 years ago

   My Son is an Infantry Sergeant who has served 3 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, his list of things he and his unit wanted/needed was something like this:
   
   Sunglasses
   Bath Gel & Hand sanitizer
   Small Package Snacks (especially Oreos & Cheetos)
   Hard Candy & Gum (individually wrapped, non melting)
   Sun Block
   Non-aerosol deodorant
   Small pillows / pads (roughly 10” x 10”)
   Pen and Pencil
   Pocket size notebooks
   Travel size toiletries (tooth paste, brushes, disposal razors)
   
   Note: for all the items above, send the smaller package sizes. Most of these things they need are for use in the field and will have to be carried. So lightweight pocket sized items are the best. For personal products send only those without fragrance.

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      mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This is a great list!  I would not have thought of the small pillows, though.

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    Journey *posted 12 years ago

    Thanks so much for checking out my site Tammy. I appreciate that!

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11. 90

    rmcrayneposted 12 years ago

    A lot depends on where they are.  There are a lot of sites that have "mini base exchanges" where they can buy snack stuff, toiletries, books etc. 
    
    We had some of our PTs and OTs that deployed mostly to Iraq to the “hospital” there.  Thankfully, they often had lots of down time (not many casualties).  Some of the women asked for "foo foo" stuff, so we sent some Mary Kay pampering stuff.  We sent them paperback books, and DVDs of episodes of their favorite shows.  Homemade cookies are always popular (even when they arrived as crumbs).  At Christmas, they always wanted small trees and decorations (I don’t think they had room to store from year to year). 
    
    Obviously, as someone pointed out above, the troops in forward operating locations, and in the field need individual sized toiletries, and no fragrance.  Good socks to wear with their combat boots would probably be good.  If they are eating MREs, they’d probably appreciate other non-perishable, calorie dense food. 
    
    When I was in Turkey during the first Gulf crisis, we got some of the surplus “GI Gift Packs”.  These were designed for about 20 troops.  We had wet wipes, boot laces and boot black (they would not be wearing black boots now), packets of washing powders, chap stick, etc.  They also had either 20 packs of plain or peanut M&Ms, which tasted like the washing powder.  I couldn’t eat M&Ms for years after tasting those.

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