These are care package ideas submitted by fellow colorarmy.com users.
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Just recently it was my fiance's bday, so we sent him a birthday party in a box...a card, cake in mason jars(they seal so it doesn't go bad), frosting, candles, party blowers, confetti, bday plates and napkins. For Christmas we sent 'christmas in a box' for his platoon- a small fake christmas tree, ornaments, lights, garland, stockings, stocking stuffers of candy and games. They all loved it and apparently keep asking my fiance if they could marry me instead lol!! For valentines day I'm planning on sending over some valentines for all the guys, and a little coupon book of stuff like 'good for a back massage' or 'good for a kiss' for my guy, as well as chocolates for them and candy conversation hearts. I think that sending over something with a theme, like a holiday, really makes it a little easier for them and not feel so alone at those tough times, that they are missed and being thought about...not to mention it's fun for me to find all the little things to go over there!! Hope this helps!! AmyBeth T. California Army Fiance


During my husbands last deployment I sent a lot of canned tuna, candy, magazines, toothpaste and photos. I tried to send something, big or small, once a week. They really enjoy getting mail and packages. Hope it helps. Katie Peugh Army Wife Ft. Hood, TX.


You can always send over little snacks because i dont know about your guys/girls my husband usually is out on missions and doesnt make it back in time for chow. For Valentines Day you can get some white boxers and put handprints on the butt and lip prints all over them. Also the best thing that my husband says I have done for him is I went on to Walmart.com in their photo section and made a little calender with mine and our sons pictures on them for every month. You can only do 12 months but hey you can always go and do another one. They ranged from 18-26 dollars. And they were soooo cute! He really loved it! Mandy


When my husband was deployed I would send baby wipes, anti bacterial hand sanitizer, sun screen, lotion, hard candy, those big kool aid mixes with the sugar already added, razors for shaving, and lots of pictures from home. If you send home made goodies, peanut brittle is easy to make, and ships really well. I would also go to one of the local meat shops here, they make the best beef jerky around, they would pack it up for me and use a food saver and suck the air out, so it would ship and stay fresh. Most places will do that for you if you buy from them.Oh... and the best way to ship things over there is to get the flat rate boxes at the post office, you can take as many as you want, and it cost a flat rate to mail them, no matter what the weight is. You can stuff those boxes pretty full. They are the perfect size for care packages. Mary


while my husband is on deployment he likes getting..games for his xbox, babywipes, Magazines , movies, i even put pictures on a cd that can be played in is dvd player..also we do small videos so he can watch them too, cards from everyone.. for valentines one time we go one of those dogs u sign on..my entire family signed a message to him..playing cards, coloring book and crayons he would color pages for my daughter..as my daughter would do the same for him..any hygiene product that he needed..also my brother baked cookies and did the vaccum seal package for him so they where fresh when he got them..bags of hard candy , gum, pictures in a album for him..he like getting noodles to eat..tuna to go packages, oreos , poptarts.. Panzy Virginia beach, VA Navy


My husband is currently deployed to Kuwait and this is our second deployment apart. We have been very fortunate and have a lot of friends, family, and community sending him packages full of candy, snacks, Axe body stuff, and necessities which is great but it has made it tough for me to send anything that he has not gotten from other sources. My husband is a goofball so some of the things I have send that have gone over incredibly well were an air horn which he used to scare his buddies and got a kick out of it. He also really loves when i send him home made cookies. I send a lot of gum to keep him from smoking over there, and of course, lots of pictures from home! We have 2 dogs (no kids yet) and I've sent him cards with their paw prints on them which he thought was funny. Basically, the key is to keep them smiling and laughing so anything that can accomplish that is great! OH yeah, chap stick is always needed too with that dry desert air!


90 second rice (put out by Uncle Bens), ramen noodles, soups (with a pop top), microwave mac & cheese, microwave hamburger helper, tuna fish, chicken salad (found by the tuna fish), canned ham, canned chicken, spices, they do have "tv dinners" that just have to be suck in the microwave... they are NOT frozen but can be found at ALL grocery stores. Packaged/canned fruit, drink mixes (propel, gatorade, crystal lite, etc..) Disposable camera, disposable video camera, pictures and picture album, books, magazines, word puzzles, hand held games, and last but not least... dont forget to send some snacks that can they can grab and run with.. it needs to be small enough to go in their pocket too. I hope this all helps! Jana. Ft Campbell, KY U.S. Army (3rd Deployment)


Recently, I had a friend take some cute pictures of me and I made a calendar for him. If you go to Staples.com you can make a 12 or 18 month calendar and it's only $10! You can pick it up at your nearest Staples store. I also sent him his favorite snacks, a football, a book that reminded me so much of him (I even wrote little notes in it for him)...HE LOVED IT! He is actually highlighting his favorite parts of the book along the way and is going to send it back to me :) We love getting mushy cards for each other too...and you can't forget PICTURES! I've read a lot of good ideas on here that I haven't thought of! Thanks guys! Stay strong...


When a good friend of mine (Marine) was deployed he constantly asked for chapstick and clean socks. So I would send enough pairs of socks for his entire platoon and I would stick chapstick in each pair of socks. I would also send powdered gatorade. When my cousin (Marine) was gone for christmas my family and I stuffed an oversized stocking full of a bunch of goodies and we sent battery powered lights for them to put up. Also when his son was born we got a shirt made and we sent him the video, and a CD of his son crying so he could hear. We also sent pictures small enough that he could stick em in his hat or vest. My husband is in the navy and something he asked for was earplugs for when he sleeps. While the ship is out they work really odd hours and its loud in the berthing and on the ship. He loved having some silence and basically anything that he missed from home like his favorite blanket or a favorite pillow or something. and of course pictures b.c computer time is limited and he says at night he liked to fall alsleep "next to me" i got a mini shirt made w.a pic of us and put it on a bear. I also know everyone asks for deodarant-magazines and snacks! and if its near a holiday send things that have to do w.the holiday!! It makes it fun and if you have kids let them help too!! Daddy will love that! Kelli Stephenson Navy Wife Florida


I sent a lot of the same stuff as ya'll, baby wipes, food, but my husband has enjoyed getting his Dallas Cowboys t-shirts and sweatshirts! (or whatever your home team may be) It's nice for the days they don't have to wear their uniforms. Hope that helps too. Victoria DC Navy


Believe it or not when my hubby was deployed he and his soldiers loved getting toilet paper- the really good, soft kind! (For the obvious reasons) Another thing my hubby like was when I sent him an egg crate matress (cheap @ walmart), sheets, a nice pillow and bath towel. If your hubby goes out on missons more he might like a small travel sized pillow and a home made pillow case. They also appreciate fun things to pass the time like a video poker/sports game. Raid the travel toys section!! Major decisions in my husbands squad were made with an over the door basketball goal! Of course they love pictures from home (risque ones if you're up to it), and lots of letters! I always added something to letters- confetti, glitter, perfume on it, puzzle pieces for him to do once he had them all.... Just have fun with it and know that your SO is counting on and looking forward to getting those little boxes and fun surprises! Send him all your love everytime and make it different and exciting! Good luck! ~Eryn Fort Bragg, NC Proud Army Wifely Unit


The kids and i lived back home while my husband was deployed. Some of the teachers had the kids write him letters and draw him pictures. I also sent misc. bathroom things... body wash, shampoo, RAZORS, lotion, toothpaste and toothbrushes... anything they dont use, someone else will!When it was my husbands birthday I had each member of his family write a little note, I took a ton of pictures, and put them together in a scrapbook. He said everytime he looked at it he felt like we were all there with him.


When my daughter's dad was in Iraq he wanted those gloves that you wear in the shower to wash with, so I sent him some. Soldiers get pretty much everything they need when they are deployed, so the nicer luxuries from home is nice. Like homemade cookies (make sure you freeze the night before and put in a piece of bread to maintain freshness until it reaches your loved one), his favorite soaps and shampoos, maybe even a blanket you make for him (tie blankets) as the ones they are given are kind of itchy, their favorite snacks that they do not have access to, pictures from home, Kool Aid singles, Tylenol (very useful b/c they constantly hear F-16s flying above), one of those lint rollers to get the sand off their sheets at night, Dr. Scholls foot inserts for their boots (preferably the gel kind), Dr. Scholls foot powder for their boots, lots of undies b/c they don't get to wash their laundry everyday, shorts and tank tops to wear to bed as it is very hot in Iraq, baby powder to put on their waist b/c with the belts and hot weather the sweat can cause a rash.... Heather TN Army


A big thing our guys said they wanted was school supplies for the Iraqi kids. They said it was almost like Christmas to the kids. We sent anywhere from notebooks, rulers, pencils, paper etc...anything we could think of. The kids LOVED it. Another big hit was candy. They took the candy and passed it out to the kids in the different neighborhoods.our kids within my husbands company made pillowcase and sent them over for their dads to have. They used the fabric pens and the iron on patches to decorate them and from what I heard the pillowcases were a big hit. My son just scribbled on his and we ironed on an Army patch and I wrote I LOVE YOU DADDY on the front and my husband loved it. We have to keep that on our bed everynight now. We will be doing this again on his next deployment so my daughter can make on (with my help of course). Just a thought for anyone who has kids or the adults could do them to. Rebecca North Carolina Army


Well I will say from personal experience. I just got out of the military (husband is still in) and I was deployed in 2006. This is what my family/friends sent me; shampoo/conditioner, baby wipes, toothpaste, towels, shower shoes (flip flops), deoderant, beef jerky, snacks, WATER bottles, games, books, computer games, PICTURES, letter writing tools, and of course pictures of themselves. It alwas helps to write a little note letting them know what's going on. My poppie used to send me news articles telling me what is going on in my town and the world. So that always helped too. Katie Andrews Army Wife


I have a cousin that was in Afghanistan for a while. He's a captain in the army and wrote back to us saying that his men all needed morale boosters. They were seeing a lot of kids dying of diseases that quite literally a bar of soap could prevent. My family and our church families got together hygiene kits (soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, etc. and little coloring books and crayons) and sent them to my cousin and his troops. They handed them out to kids they came across...the excitement of the kids gave the soldiers a much needed lift, even if the care packages weren't for them. It gave them a chance to do something happy. Penni Bellen Army


I always sent a package to my husband at least every week or two so that he would always have something to look forward to. If anyone doesn't know already, the post office had flat rate boxes so you can pack them as full and as heavy as you want and they always cost the same. One thing i sent that he really appreciated was Boot Insoles...i know those boots cannot be comfortable all the time. Other than that, i would just send magazines, snacks, a cute card once in a while, kleenex/wipes, gum, flavor packets for water (he really liked those too since they drink a LOT of water), batteries for handheld games or other small electronics, etc. Hope this info helps some! Shonda C Army Wife Arkansas




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