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Military spouses and families are constantly trying to send a little piece of home to their service member while they’re apart. Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to show your love and send a piece of home by making homemade or personalized care packages.
Here are eight crafty-yet-simple ideas to get you started:
Showcase your love and your crafty side with some simple homemade Valentine’s Day care packages.
Picture Pillowcase
Grab a comfy pillowcase and some photo transfer paper to create a personalized sleep aid. By sending the case over in a Ziploc bag sprayed with perfume, your service member can get a scent of home along with the visual. Also, if you’re worried about bedding rules, try ironing pictures on the inside of the pillowcase.
Handy Handkerchiefs
With a handkerchief, you can iron on photos or paint on designs that your service member can carry around. You may want to leave a handprint or another meaningful image.
These are wonderful because service members do not have to worry about a picture getting wet or a little dirty, they can wash their handkerchief. They also are small enough that soldiers can carry them with them at all times.
Love Lists
A simple list of all the reasons you love your spouse can be a great way to remind your spouse how much he or she means. You can also send a smiley photo of yourself with a list of ways your spouse makes you smile.
A variation of a love list that is very popular is taking a deck of cards and putting one reason on each card. This will give your soldier 52 reasons why you love them; one for each week in a year.
Love CD
Take it old school and make a mixed CD of your and your partner’s favorite songs. You can make a theme of all love songs or songs that spur special memories. If you’re feeling bold, you can record yourself singing.
Personalized Mug
Find a place that can transfer images to coffee cups or insulated thermoses to put a favorite picture of you and your spouse. You may even be able to add a personalized message or quote. In addition to the cup, you can make homemade hot cocoa mix to warm their heart in more than one way.
Romance Story
Showcase your inner author and make your own romance “novel.” You can purchase pre-bound books with blank pages or learn to bind your own, there are even books that give you prompts for your love story. You can also order a photo book online filled with your favorite memories and add your own story lines.
Journal
If you’re feeling ambitious, go beyond a “Why I Love You” list and create a journal. You can list a reason and go more in depth on a particular memory.
You can also spice it up a bit by making it a “naughty and nice” journal. One side of it can be nice messages, but when you flip it over, well, you get the idea.
Baked Goodies
Bust out the heart-shaped cookie cutters and decorative icing and have yourself a time making your honey some goodies. Try cookies, rice crispy treats or if you’re feeling bold, make a cake or pie. If you’re not the cooking type, order up some personalized pink, red and white M&Ms. They may not melt in your hand, but they’ll melt your spouse’s heart.
More DIY Projects for the Holidays - Gingerbread House
Valentine’s Day isn’t the only holiday where you can get creative with your celebrations. During the winter months, skip the kit and check out this Do-It-Yourself Gingerbread House guide. It will tell you how to make and build a unique gingerbread house from scratch!
Photo courtesy of Elin B
4 Comments
Love the idea of a personalized mug. Service members LOVE coffee. Trust us, we know
My husband LOVES pineapple upsidedown cake and for his birthday last year, I turned them into cupcakes… Anyway, im sending these over to him but could not figure out how to ship without a mess?? Well I found the perfect solution!!! I found out you can bake in mason jars soooo…. im going to buy some and bake in there, seal it up and ship with love
I have found a new love in baking with mason jars! The product last soooo much longer! 6months shelf life on cake in a jar- better than air sealed cookies but I still send those too. If you dont have $ to buy a sealer ziplock makes a hand pump one and bags that are a lil more cost than normal ones but soooo worth it!
how do u bake in a jar? it doesnt break in the oven??
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[...] say it again, making care packages is one of my favorite things to do regardless of whether I am crafting a valentine or collecting favorite items from the store. It makes me feel connected to my spouse because I get [...]
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