This gift-giving adage – “something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read” – is a great one to keep in mind when building your care package. Just make sure the items you choose are on-theme. Tuck in photos, letters and a few other personal touches (plus an edible treat or two!) and you’ll be sure to put a smile on your soldier’s face.

Check out this guide for lots of practical information about packing and shipping your care package overseas.

Want

If your deployed loved one is a music aficionado, consider coming up with a playlist that features songs about your town, state or the U.S. in general. Include local artists to add an extra tie-in to your community. A lover of word puzzles? Use a free online puzzle creator to build crosswords, word searches and jumbles that use words or clues related to your hometown.

For diehard sports fans, consider recording a game or two for them to watch. Even if they already know how it turns out, it can still be fun to catch up on the action. A mid-level DVD recorder sells for less than $150, but find one that doubles as a DVD player to really get your money’s worth.

Don’t be afraid to get creative, and remember that space is at a premium for many service members. Send something you know they’ll enjoy (and that you enjoy making for them)!

Need

Look for practical items with a hometown design. The gift shop at popular local attractions (think zoos, museums or major landmarks) will almost always sell playing cards, ink pens, stationary, key chains and various other necessary items “branded” with your city’s name or logo.

Wear

A T-shirt or hat with a favorite college or professional team’s logo is a great reminder of home. If your children play on a recreational, club or school sports team, see if you can get their team shirt made in an adult size.

This Texas-themed care package would be a great treat for any Longhorn fan.

Read

Consider sending a copy of a local newspaper or magazine. This is a great way to keep deployed loved ones connected to their community and provides a form of entertainment when things are slow.

Letters are also an important element of every care package. Short notes from friends, family members, neighbors and others who soldiers interacted with regularly when at home is a great way to show them that they may be gone, but not forgotten.
Familiar flavors

Food items are very popular in soldier care packages. Think of what food your city is known for – and, of course, what your deployed loved one enjoys! Choose items that will keep up to six weeks, be able to withstand intense heat and hold up during transport. If a city’s signature item is too difficult to ship, search for alternatives that evoke a similar flavor. While it won’t be exactly like the real thing, it’ll still be a nice reminder. Pizza-flavored Goldfish instead of Chicago deep dish, anyone?

If your city has no signature food item, consider sending some other taste of home. Favorite restaurants may sell a bottle of house dressing; local bakeries may be able to box up a dozen or so specialty cookies. Local BBQ sauce, salsa, honey or jam are also great options.

Want to include something homemade? Try these easy-to-make sugar cookies, which can be customized with food coloring, cookie cutters, sprinkles and other decorative elements to go with the hometown theme. Be sure to follow these four tips for sending baked goods.

Finishing touches

Tie everything together by wrapping items in a map of your city or state (check visitors centers for free or low-cost versions). You can personalize your care package even more by marking special spots on the map with a circle, a little note or even photos of yourself, your loved one, friends and/or family taken at each location.

Photo courtesy staceyhuggins

Start thinking Autumn: the best care packages are planned & shipped early!

Yes, I know it’s only mid-August, but I noticed several bright red leaves on my maple tree this morning. Since the best care packages are usually planned in advance and shipped with plenty of time to spare, now might might be a good time to talk about autumn-themed care packages.

There are 3 good themes that run through the autumn season that are just right for care package ideas. Now’s the time to start picking things up so you are not rushing at the last minute or spending too much all at once.

Football care packages happen to be one of my husband’s favorites!

Are you ready for some football?

Football season is a sure sign that the leaves are about to fall! This year’s NFL season starts on September 5. Now is a good time to get a great care package put together for your favorite fan.

Ideas for a football season care package:

• His favorite team jersey
• Other team memorabilia (posters, pennants, mugs, etc.)
• a football
• Sports Illustrated or his other favorite sports magazine
• his favorite football snack (chips, jerky, nuts, etc.)
• Football schedule
• DVD recordings of games as the season progresses

Spooky, Fun and Delicious

Hot cocoa, coffee and apple cider are all cozy touches to add to care packages.

You will want to get the things for this box as soon as the spooky candy hits the aisle. Autumn begins a busy shipping time, so give these packages a few extra days when you ship.
Ideas for a Halloween care package:

• Candy Corn
• Suckers with a white tissue secured around them (ghost pops!)
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Spooky Decorations
• Hot Apple Cider Packets
• A Book of Ghost Stories
• Easy S’mores (Don’t send chocolate since it’s still hot this time of year. Instead, send graham crackers, marshmallows and Nutella.)
• DVDs of their favorite scary movie

Thankful Thursday

Remember to add pictures, personal notes, letters and craft projects from the kids for a personal touch.

Thanksgiving is a tough time of year to be away from your service member. It has been a long time since our family has been complete around the table for this special holiday. It’s hard to send a turkey overseas, but you can send a few items that will make him smile.

Ideas for a Thanksgiving care package:

• Pumpkin bread or cookies
• Spiced cider packets
• Hot cocoa packets
• Turkey jerky
• Thanksgiving decorations
• Thanksgiving art work from the kids (don’t forget the turkey made from a handprint!)
• Autumn scented candle or room deodorizing spray
• Dried fruit
• A special holiday card with small handwritten notes from friends and family on it stating what they are thankful for and a special note of thanks to your service member.

The most important thing is to think about your service member and what he or she will be most excited to receive. You know what he likes. You know what she doesn’t like. Keep their preferences in mind while you shop. Also have fun with it! Stuff the boxes with black and orange tissue paper for the Halloween box. Put plastic leaves in the Thanksgiving box. Make it fun and a create a special way to reach out to your deployed loved one.

Photo courtesy of Juushika Redgrave, eyeliam

The new rule applies regardless of the size, quantity or watt hours of the lithium battery. This means the shipping of all electronics containing a lithium battery, regardless of whether the battery is actually connected to the item, is prohibited.

This regulation will make it much more difficult for service members to receive electronics through the mail when stationed in overseas locations.

Check out our slideshow with all of the information on Google+.

Check out the slideshow on Google+!

In Compliance With International Regulations

The change is in response to the new standards developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Universal Postal Union in an effort to mitigate the risks of fire. Lithium batteries have been known to spontaneously combust in flight and are suspected to have caused at least two cargo plane fires since 2006.

Despite these risks, the ban should be only temporary. Many other countries still allow the shipping of electronic goods within strict safety guidelines. The USPS anticipates that by January 1, 2013, new regulations will have been established to allow customers to once again mail lithium batteries internationally, as long the batteries are properly installed in the devices they are intended to operate.

Other Shipping Options

Until January, service members stationed overseas can circumvent this new rule by mailing through private shipping companies such as UPS or FedEx, who are still willing to risk the transportation of electronic devices.

Unfortunately, this method of shipping is much more expensive than standard USPS. Another problem is that these companies do not ship directly to APO, FPO or DPO addresses, which means you will also need a civilian mailing address in the host country.

For now, service members are in a position to either accept the additional shipping charges or be forced to wait until they return stateside.

Photo courtesy of Plutor.

Transcript:

Hi everyone, I’m Christy Lewis with Veterans United Network. Right now, we’re putting together a few care packages to send to deployed soldiers. We’ve got a lot of experience sending these out, so we wanted to share a few tips and tricks with you.

The best bang for your buck would be to go to your local post office and pick up some of these free boxes. They’re 12 by 12 by 5 inches deep. These are flat rate boxes- meaning you can make them as heavy as you want, and still pay the same shipping price, around six dollars.

Even though these boxes are small, you can send more than one at a time. Normally, the bigger the box, the longer it takes to get to your soldier. These small boxes could make it there in about two weeks, instead of six weeks for the larger ones.

So let’s get to what goes inside the boxes:

Food

Of course, you’ll want to make sure it’s all non-perishable and unlikely to melt. Beef jerky is a very popular item.

Sauces and spices are pretty popular, too. Your soldier probably gets tired of eating MREs. Sending their favorite hot sauces, spices, and even taco mix can give their meals a kick. Just make sure you send plastic bottles to reduce the risk of something breaking along the way.

Another thing you might not think about- when sending canned goods, pop-tops are the way to go. Most soldiers don’t have can openers.

You could also send some snacks to your soldier- individually wrapped ones usually keep longer and are convenient for grab-and-go situations. Stuff like granola bars, crackers, Pop Tarts…

Before you send any food that needs to be cooked, ask what your soldier has access to. Do they have a microwave? A hot plate? Bowls? Utensils?

This kind of oatmeal is perfect for sending overseas. You can make it on a hot plate, in a microwave, or with hot water. And you can do it in the pouch, so no bowls necessary.

Sending chili it good because it can be made in almost any cooking manner, too- microwave, hot plate, whatever.

Now for the sweet stuff

Sending candy can be tricky because of the high temps in the desert.

Almost any chocolate is off limits because of melting messes. You can send chocolate syrup if your soldier is desperate.

Try to send stuff that is individually wrapped or has a hard coating. And we also recommend sending a few items that can spruce up what your soldier drinks. Anything that can dissolve in water works great- lemonade, KoolAid, instant coffee.

Now, keep in mind all this stuff can get warm from the weather and the smells can permeate other items in the box. If you’re not careful, everything can taste like the coffee you packed, or everything can taste minty from the candy you packed. So your best bet is to pack it all in tightly sealed Ziploc bags.

We recommend you start a new separate box for health and beauty items. Some of the essentials your soldier will appreciate are over-the-counter meds. Ibuprofen for sore muscles, Tums, Icy Hot and allergy medication.

More basic items that could come in handy are Bandaids- regular ones and ones with a lot of cushion for blisters and foot sores.

The most requested item from almost any soldier- baby wipes. They work as napkins, quick showers, face wipes, quick cleanups, anything. You almost never want to send a care package without these.

As far as entertainment goes, send your soldier sports magazines, movies, cards, handheld games, board games. Batteries are another good item to send because there’s almost always a need for them- double A’s and D batteries.

Some people may have never played crossword puzzles and word searches when they were home, but actually enjoy getting them during a deployment.

Remember, all this stuff is pretty standard. Feel free to add/subtract whatever you want to make your package more personal for your loved one.

For more care package ideas and tips check out our Military Family channel.

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.

What is your homemade specialty? Leave us a comment and let us know!

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

Remember that medium size packages (under 15 lbs) typically ship in about 14 days, but it can take up to 30 days, so plan accordingly. With Valentine’s Day less than a month away, now is the time to get those love-themed packages together and out the door.

Hot and Spicy

An awesome place to buy spicy, burn-your-face-off food is from Gourmet Mike’s, but you can find most of these items at your grocery store.

A “Burning Hot” Love Letter

Spicy candy: Red Hots, Hot Tamales, Atomic Fire Balls, Big Red gum, mints.

Salty: Spicy Nacho Doritos, Spicy Chipotle Chex Mix, Flaming Hot Cheetos,  jalapeno chips or pretzels, spiced nuts.

Condiments: Hot sauce, spicy mustard, hot barbecue sauce, wasabi, salsa, spicy nacho cheese.

Canned peppers: jalepenos, chili peppers, banana peppers, tomatoes with peppers.

Meats: Canned chili, peppered beef jerky, hot summer sausage

Spices: Chili powder, Mrs Dash spice mixes, taco seasoning, cinnamon, “Jamaican jerk” seasoning, black pepper, red pepper, curry.

Hot drinks: coffee, hot cocoa, tea, spiced tea, cider.

Other items: coffee mug, heat wrap for sore muscles, decorations or party favors that have fire or chilies on them, singing & dancing plush with a hot/fire/burning love theme.

Don’t forget a hot and spicy card or letter.

(Perhaps some Tums would be smart to send with this package also.)

You Complete Me

You are the Ying to my Yang

The theme of this package is that you two belong together and compliment each other. The opportunities and ideas for this are endless, and it is best when customized for your spouse and you specifically, but here are a few ideas to get you started.

Puzzle: the pieces fit together. You can even order custom puzzles from most photo places with your own pictures.

You are the sauce to my spaghetti: Microwavable spaghetti meal, Spaghetti O’s.

You are the ping to my pong: Ping pong paddle and ping pong balls.

You are the cheese to my mac: Easy Mac.

You are the cream to my coffee: Coffee and creamer.

You are the laces to my shoes: Shoe laces.

You are the Harry to my Sally: Customize for your favorite movie characters and send a movie with these characters, pick one of their favorite movies or a romantic comedy.

Complimentary pillow cases: Try making these, and take a picture of both. Send one pillow case to your spouse with the picture, you keep the other half.

CD: Consider including Nat King Cole Song “You’re the Cream in my Coffee” or other songs with similar theme.

Don’t forget the letter that talks about how you both compliment each other.

Bringing Home to You

This theme is good anytime, but especially for Valentine’s Day. If you have a spouse who is not overly mushy and you want to stay away from sending a frilly pink package, this might work better. This theme is focused around your state, hometown and favorite places.

Food specialty from the area:Kansas City might be barbecue sauce, Tennessee could send moon pies, Massachuchettes baked beans. You will know what to send because it should represent your area.

Sending you a piece of home

State outline: Send coasters, t-shirts or other items with your state outline. You can pick up these items around town, but any touristy locations will be bursting at the seams with trinkets that represents the area.

Local sports: Hats, shirts, banners, pennants of a favorite local sports team are great reminders. Also consider taping some games that are on TV and sending those.

Newspaper: Local newspaper, sports sections and comics are universally enjoyed.

Local restaurants: Many restaurants now sell their most famous sauces, spices and non-perishables, some even have souvenirs!

Pictures and postcards: Be sure to include local scenes and places that are important to you.

Don’t forget a letter talking about plans for when your spouse comes home.

What are your favorite themes or items to send in care packages?

Photos courtesy Nina Matthews Photography, Michael Tienzo and the herald post

But there are ways to keep your deployed spouse involved in your holiday traditions and make the season family-oriented. Here’s a look at five options:

Care Packages

Sometimes the best way to keep your deployed spouse involved in your holiday tradition is to send the season’s cheer in a care package. Whether you’re sending decorations, a favorite holiday film, music or some cookies, care packages are a great holiday tradition for military families. Not only will they enjoy it overseas, but you and your family can have a lot of fun getting into the spirit putting the package together.

Skype & Videos

Although your family may be thousands of miles apart during deployment, technology can help bridge the gap. Skyping while you are putting up the Christmas tree can make it seem like everyone is involved.

Unfortunately, Internet access may be limited to only certain parts of the day, but don’t let that stop you from recording a video of your family sending off the care package or even opening presents. The priceless look on your children’s faces on Christmas morning is the best gift you can give a deployed spouse.

Decorating

Not only can you send pictures and videos of yourself decorating the tree, but you can also include your spouse in the decorating process with your family.

Decorate a picture frame or make an ornament as a holiday craft and include pictures of the entire family. Many children love to make holiday-related art. You can have them draw a picture of the family around the tree and send it in a care package or even scan it into an email for fast delivery.

Letters from Santa 

One of the best ways to keep your spouse involved is to have them write letters from Santa to your children asking what they would like, responding to their Christmas list or even as a check-up to see if they’ve been naughty or nice.

This is a great way to hear about the children from their perspective as well as be involved in some holiday fun even though they can’t be there to pick out gifts.

Christmas In July

Another great way for deployed service members to enjoy the holiday season with their family is to celebrate when they return. You can still decorate the house and everything in December, but also do something small once they have returned.

You can set up the tree together, make hot chocolate and exchange a few gifts so everyone can enjoy their favorite traditions as a family.

These are just a few ways to make sure everyone enjoys the holiday season even during a deployment, so don’t let the business of the military lifestyle detract from this special season.

Photo thanks to jarek69 & evelyn via Flickr Creative Commons

In addition to restrictions and guidelines, USPS recommends “send by” dates to get packages to military members on time. Most dates are before December 10, so see if these ideas can get your mind cranking quickly:

• Tree: You can send a mini Christmas tree with decorations and battery operated lights (with plenty of batteries). This way your service member and his/her unit can decorate it together.
• Classic Movies/Cartoons: What’s Christmas without Rudolph, the Grinch and twenty-four hours of A Christmas Story? Pick out some holiday favorites and send them over.
• Stuffed Stockings: Send a stocking with goodies including essentials like Chapstick, toothpaste, etc. but also send some candy canes and toys. In an AllMilitary.com forum, it was mentioned that deployed members enjoyed playing with toy soldiers, parachute men and squirt guns. Most dollar stores carry these items.
• Christmas Carols: You can buy or make your own play-list set of Christmas carols. If you really want to personalize it, record your family singing tunes together for your service member.
• Church Sermon: Many people make it a tradition to attend church for the special Christmas sermon. With the Internet it’s easy to get archives of past sermons. Snag one from the previous year and send your member a copy.
• Gingerbread House Kit: Many grocery stores will stock winter-themed gingerbread kits during the holidays. It may be a fun activity for your service member and unit to play around with.
• Decorations: Get kids involved and send homemade paper snowflakes, snowmen or Santa himself
• And don’t forget New Year’s: You may be an ocean or two apart, but you can help your member welcome in the New Year by sending some confetti, blowers, hats and plastic champagne glasses to toast at midnight. You can also share your New Year’s resolutions and ways your deployed service member can be a part of them upon their return.

Photo thanks to anna gutermuth via Flickr Creative Commons

I tend to send tons of letters  and get the first few care packages off without a hitch… then I am at a loss of what else to send. While my spouse assured me repeated packages with the same favorite items are still loved and appreciated, I still wanted some new ideas.

We asked our community of military spouses and they came up with some tips and ideas for care packages that you can look forward to making, and your spouse can look forward to receiving.

Here are some fun ideas and tips:

Try Themes

You can get creative with your packages by having a central theme for each item. Here are some theme ideas to get you started:

A Day with You

For this package, you should make a camera your sidekick. Take pictures of you doing typical activities throughout the day, and then pair a gift with each. Snap a photo of you getting out of bed in the morning and send a new pillowcase with your scent.
Doing yard work? Some spouses will send a bag of lawn clippings for a simple reminder of home. Other ideas are watching a movie and sending the DVD; eating a meal and sending a vacuum-sealed version; and throwing a Frisbee around with the dog/kids/friends and sending a Frisbee. Get creative with your day and help your military member feel a bit at home.

Movies are one of the most requested items.

Send a Showtime

You can’t send a movie theatre, but you can send the goodies that go along with one. Send your spouse a favorite movie or a new-release DVD to enjoy with his buddies along with some snacks. You can pop popcorn and vacuum seal it for the shipping as well as send theater candies and nacho supplies. As a bonus, you can make a picture of you into a movie poster or create a ticket stub.

Fun in the Sun

With much of our military stationed in the Middle East, your spouse may have plenty of sun. Your job is to send the fun. You can send your spouse dollar-store squirt guns and beach balls to play with. Also when temperatures head towards triple digits, a Popsicle is always a treat. Send your spouse the flavor ice pops, and for fun, individualize each pop with a fun message.

Other Gestures:

Date Reservation

You can send your spouse a date card with a specific time for you two to be together in thought under the sky or wherever you decide. It’ll be a long distance connection and a reminder of your love for each other.

Personalized Items

Spouses have gotten creative with things to personalize. Some ideas include pillowcases, T-shirts, blankets, mugs, calendars and even soaps. See what you can come up with!

Newspapers, Magazines and Books

Depending on what your spouse likes, you can send a series of books or a favorite magazine subscription. Some wives like to pre-read newspapers and circle items that stand out. It’s almost as if they’re discussing the news together.

Practical Package Tips

Check items with FRG or your soldier before sending anything unusual, units often have individual rules on what can be sent in packages.

Do

• Invest in a vacuum sealer. You can send baked treats like cookies or protect the glass in picture frames from breaking.
• Take into account the resources your spouse has. If there isn’t time for your spouse to brew coffee, or they are without a microwave for tea or hot cocoa, consider sending alternate resources like an electric kettle.
• Remember that all packages are inspected, don’t send anything dangerous, sharp, flammable OR anything your spouse wouldn’t be ok with his commander seeing (that means some soldiers would prefer it to stay PG, check with your spouse first before sending any items that may be too “personal”)
• Send several smaller packages rather than one huge package. The smaller the package, the faster it arrives. USPS recommends under 6 pounds.
• Send in advance. If you are trying to get it by a certain date, send it plenty of time in advance, seriously, up to 30 days in advance.

Don’t

• Send glass jars without ample protection. Your packages made have a lot of love and care put into them, but it doesn’t mean the couriers will treat it with such.
• Send too many well-supplied items. Service members often get a large supply of toothpaste and toothbrushes, but not enough socks. Talk to your spouse about specific needs of the group and try to stick to those. For the rest of the package, send some fun.
• Send anything that melts. Many soldiers love chocolate and may even request it but after travelling through the 120 degree weather in Iraq or Afghanistan it will be gross, I promise! Think about each item and how heat and travel time will affect them.
• Send hygiene products and food products next to each other. Use ziplock bags, in fact, double bag. You do not want your soldier’s favorite food to taste like Old Spice deodorant.

Photo thanks to The U.S. Army and Luodani via Flickr Creative Commons