Each deployment is different and your man may very well request different care package items than I could suggest from my experience. Nevertheless Jane’s List has been collecting our favorite care package ideas and we’re posting one daily from our list of 101 on our Twitter page (@JanesList). However, what to send isn’t as always as difficult as figuring out how to send your care packages in your busy week. So here are some hard and fast tips to keep the care packages coming while he is away.
• Keep his address written in all your wallets, and in your car. Chance are at least once you will have to go to the post office and you will forget his address.
• Grab a handful of customs forms and address labels at the post office and fill out a bunch in your downtime – like waiting for your oil to be changed.
• Rally the troops! Your family and his will likely want to help. If you know you can’t get to the store and the post office to meet a specific request of your husband’s, don’t be sheepish about asking for help.
• On the same note, be gracious. An office located in the same building as my dad’s bank joined together to send my husband a care package. They didn’t know me, or my Marine, but I can tell you their generosity relieved plenty of pressure on my side and made my husband feel extra special. Be sure you are appreciative for the kindness of strangers. The good karma will likely come back to you again.
• If you’re not a coupon clipper, here’s a good way to get in the habit! Check your Sunday paper for coupons and buy your guy what you can get for a discount. That will keep it interesting and is a good way to add some variety to his packages. Be careful not to go overboard, as I did when I received a call from my husband who sheepishly asked, “Please stop sending me full-fat Pringles. I can’t give them away.”
Photo by: Jayel Aheram
