Care Packages For Our Soldiers

CARE PACKAGE IDEAS FOR OUR SOLDIERS

(MALE AND FEMALE)


I came across the hints and ideas from SOLDIERS WHO HAVE BEEN THERE, and from people sending things to them....some very good ideas for anyone sending items to our soldiers at war....even good for scout troops or church groups, or familes wanting to send items...Thought this would be of interest. (There might be repeats in this, but I just included different peoples ideas as they wrote them..(or any) powdered drink mix, microwave popcorn, Skittles, M&Ms, small pkgs with cheese/crackers or peanut butter/crackers, hard candy, car magazines, black dress socks (required when in uniform on daily duty and they just tend to disappear, I guess!), goldfish crackers, Combos (very popular!), small single-serving peaches in a can, Twix bars -- I think you get the idea! Solid chocolate candy bars, etc., don't do well in the heat in the Gulf, but pretty much anything else goes -- that's not illegal, lol.

chap stick and individually wrapped wet naps are appreciated.

ANY snack food, cookies, p'nut butter crackers, peanuts, candy, etc - best to look in like Costco - & get the big quanties packed in indiv pkgs. (easier to share - they all do). Granola bars - rice/popcorn cakes - fruit leather/dried fruit. Kool Aid powder. There's so much out there, just look around. Don't send anything that'll melt. Don't forget homemade cookies & notes from home - maybe a project from school/church kids.

Toothbrushes/paste, shampoo, razors. Hand lotion/hand sanitizers.

Note pads/pencils/pens. Decks of cards. Paper back books. Magizines or hometown newspapers. Photos from home.

Any individual snack items. We try to send both salty and sweet items. Our gals asked for pillows and blankets, also magazines, current newspapers, etc. We sent puzzle books, decks of cards, small games like dominos and Skip-bo. Individual packets of hot chocolate and tea bags. The ladies also wanted hand-lotions and chapsticks and scented deodorants and body sprays. And shower gels and bubbles for baths.

We went to Sams Club and bought boxes of snacks that had different flavors of chips, pretzels, etc. We sent razors and scented shaving creams. Cold creams and scented candles. Sugar Daddy's were a huge hit!

I have a son in the Air Force and when he is deployed I put every item I send in a ziplock bag and then double it into another ziplock. That not only ensures freshness in case of long shipping, but it protects everything in case of spillage of something, and that item is contained in its baggies, and if it should pop them, then the others things have their own protection. And once it gets to my son, he then has lots of storage bags for himself and others in case he should want to divey up.

They just love ANYTHING from home and it doesn't even have to be homemade, just something that says "America" to them. And something to eat that is not an MRE.

Newspapers from home are a hit, church bulletins, reading material, lots and lots of reading material. I am the best customer the used book store has when my Flyboy is deployed and I tell him to just pass them along, not to worry about bringing them home, anything he wants to keep we can replace it here. They all seem to love Sci Fi Fantasy series. Paperbacks prefered as they are easily carried in a pocket for them. And yes, I even double bag the books, too. *G* You never know where that box might have to sit for a while in transit.

There are drink mixes out now that are premeasured for one bottle of water, they are especially popular for them as it is so much easier for them to do. Gatorade was always my guys and his friends' drink of choice but anything will be welcomed, I'm sure.

And I agree with Susie, SOCKS! LOL. They always need socks. My guy needed white ones, too, though, for some reason, I think maybe he wore them under the black dress socks because they were cotton and better for his feet than the black ones and thicker so they made the shoes more comfortable.

Since she's a female, besides all the great ideas already mentioned, she would probably appreciate tampons, sanitary napkins, baby wipes, baby powder or medicated powder, disposable razors, cold cream or other moisturizer, good-smelling soap or body wash, lip gloss, emery boards, nail clippers, toenail clippers, cotton balls or cotton pads, band-aids, antibiotic cream....clear nail polish.

The surprising thing that they have really appreciated is the DVD's. Each gentleman that has thanks me has always mentioned the movies first.

The other things that have been raved over by my "guys" are

hunting and fishing catalogs
car catalogs

I send are what they can put in their pockets when they go on missions. They expecially love the tuna snack packs, beef jerky (a must), Slim Jims, individual packets of peanuts, etc. I have sent peanut butter crackers, but they can get crushed in their pockets. Magazines are always good. There are many great suggestions already given on here. I have found that the 3 chocolate nut clusters hold up well and haven't had any melt yet. Their interpretors really love those. :o
Jolly ranchers and postage stamps,phone cards,charmin

cans of silly string. Soldiers use it before entering buildings to find trip wires. If the way is clear, the silly string will fall to the floor. If there's a hard to see trip wire, the silly string lands on it and the soldiers know the way is boobytrapped. The silly string isn't heavy enough to set off the bombs.

I am sending home made cookies, snack packs of cheese and peanut butter crackers. Also peanut brittle is a big hit with the troops.

The little kids made pictures and wrote letters, of course the feminine products, and all the other things mentioned here. Also, we sent rosary beads. We were sending the boxes to a relative who was a commander, and he set up a "mini-px", but it was free, and he said that the rosary beads were the first things to go! Maybe even a journal to write in.
Thank you to all our soldiers!

You know the left over packets you get from fast food places. (I'm not saying you raid the fast food places) but ask others in the church to bring you thier left over ketchup, mustard, taco sauce, salt, pepper, honey, etc... that comes in those little packets. Since your church will do this all the time keep a little box for people to put them in and when its time for some one to send just take whats there at the time.

another idea might be stickers, so when she writes her kids she can put some in her letters.

The soldiers craved vegetables.

They get koolaid, hot cocoa, and instant coffee mixes in their MRE's. Any other beverage mixes are a treat. (They have to drink a LOT of water every day.)

Any hand held games for the days when they are waiting for the action to start.

They loved tortilla chips and salsa.

The hand warmer packs like hunters use to put in their gloves, socks, etc.

We have a group that also does this, the only things that I saw that we were told to NOT do was the scented soaps, body wash, deodorant and talc’s. We were told to send UNSCENTED, because the enemy snipers can detect the fragrance and it is like a, “Hey, here I am, come and shoot me,” to them.

Also unless you know the person you are sending to, don’t send homemade food. It’s like anything else, you don’t know who made it and do you really want to eat it? About chocolate, it's ok to send from the end of October through the end of March. The rest of the time it will just melt and make a mess.

The last suggestion, if you are sending hand held games that work on batteries, take the batteries out of the game. You can send the batteries along, even extras would be appreciated, but if you leave the batteries in the game and by some freak chance it starts up by itself and makes a noise, that box will be destroyed immediately. They will take NO chances that it may be a bomb.

The only thing I didn't see that I put in my "care" packages is Eye glass cleaner. I send several packages of the pre-moistened ones to clean their glasses or sun glasses.
They (both men & women want panty hose & flea collars. They wear the hose to protect themselves from the sand fleas & the flea collars are worn around their ankles. The sand fleas over there are ferocious!

pretty stationary and stamps (if required)

pretty scrunchies and headbands hair accessories

sketch pads and colored pencils

suduko, word finds, crossword puzzle books

nice sunscreen 45 and above

personal hand held fans

crafting items, crochet hooks, knitting needles, yarns, embroidery kits,
PUZZELS, PAPERBACKS (ALL KINDS) AS THEY WILL MOST LIKELY BE SHARED AND YOU WILL READ JUST ABOUT ANYTHING YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON. BOARD GAMES (WE LIKED TUMBLE TOWERS, IT IS A GENERIC OF ANOTHER GAME (WALLMART HAS THIS FOR ABOUT $5).
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I didn't see this in the list, but I've heard Ramen noodles, Lipton instant soup, meal in a cup type packets, etc. are good bets.
Also, I include female magazines like Glamour, Cosmo., etc. for the female soldiers.
Trail mix and nut combinations are popular.
I have also heard that small American flags are requested.

Zakons,
Thank you so much... My Daughters boyfriend is going to boot camp Monday.. So i see a need for this list of stuff soon... He is a smart kid but it worrys me for anyone to have to go to Iraq....
Please EVERYONE: PRAY FOR PEACE...

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Sometimes our church provides care packages. Thanks for the suggestions.

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bump because of troll....