Half Way Home Decorated Care Package Idea for Your Military Service Member

If you have a loved one far from home, you've probably sent him or her a care package or two.  During my son's deployment, I learned that decorated care package boxes are a big thing.  The idea is to decorate the inside of the box before you pack in all the goodies.  Over the past several months, I've decorated a Valentine's Day box and a birthday box.  You can decorate boxes for all sorts of special occasions such as Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  You could decorate a Mother's Day or Father's Day box.  For college students far from home, you can use themes such as first aid or medical supplies theme for a medical student.  If your student enjoys puzzles, you could decorate a puzzle themed box.  Some people like to do a color theme.  The decorate the box in a color like yellow and then fill it with snacks which are all packaged in yellow wrappers.  You get the idea.  If you are like me and you have a loved one who is deployed, a Half Way Home Decorated Care Package is a good way to mark the half way point in your military service member's deployment.

Half Way Home Decorated Care Package Idea for Your Military Service Member

My Half Way Home Decorated Care Package

I decorated the left side of my care package box in a desert camouflage pattern.  The left side of the box represents the months gone by.  I decorated the right side of the box in an American flag theme.  I printed out an image of a house with the word "Home" written inside.  The right side of the box obviously represents the months ahead, the home stretch.

Inside the box, I packed my son's favorite snacks and a few things he needed.  In his boxes, some of the things I have packed are:

Chili Cheese Fritos
Flavor Twist Fritos
A bag of Mixed Chocolate Candy Bars
Gum
Baby Wipes (They need a good quality fragrance free kind.)
Shampoo
Body Wash
Deodorant
Batteries
Small Hand Held Puzzle Games
Electrical Tape
Bed Sheets (Single)
A Blanket

Keep in mind that anything that might spill such as the shampoo and body wash needs to be placed inside a Zip Loc bag.  Those types of items often leak during shipping.

Not everything can be shipped.  If you have any questions about what you can and cannot send overseas in a care package box, ask your local post office clerk.  They have a list.  Most of them ship these packages all the time so they know what they're doing.  Be sure to ask your post office clerk about military care package flat rate boxes.  You can get them from the postal service for free.  They come with labels and packing tape.  You can order the military care package flat rate boxes online here.

Another way to send care packages is to order them and have them shipped by Amazon.  Shipping to APO addresses is free for Amazon Prime members.  Put the items in your cart, plug in the address, pay your bill, and Amazon does the rest. I enjoy decorating and packing care packages for my son, but we have used Amazon a few times for convenience. 

Whatever method you decide to use to ship your care package, your loved one will love it because it came from you. If you have children, get the children involved.  If mommy or daddy is far away, whether it be a military deployment or an extended business trip, allowing the children to decorate and pack a care package box will help them feel closer to the parent they miss so much.

   

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Half Way Home Decorated Care Package Idea for Your Military Service Member

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Full Circle Home is a great resource for military families.

Full Circle Home is a great resource for military families.

It was a few days after Mother's Day when the package arrived.  I was totally surprised.  My son who was serving in Afghanistan had signed up for a Mother's Day care package project organized by Full Circle Home.  Deploying military men and women can opt to have the people at Full Circle Home send a Mother's Day care package for their mothers while they are deployed.

What is Full Circle Home?

Full Circle Home is a not-for-profit organization that helps military men and women connect with their loved ones while they are away.  They help them send holiday care packages and notes during their deployment months.  Since 2007, they have sent more than 21,000 packages and notes to deployed service member's loved ones.  The gifts sent by Full Circle Home help service members express their appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifices military families make while they are away.  Since it is the whole family who is affected by deployment, Full Circle Home helps bridge the gap of between the deployed family member and those eagerly waiting for their return home.

My Personal Experience

I can personally testify to the fact that the gift I received from my Soldier, organized by Full Circle Home, made me feel more connected to him.  Inside the package were several gifts from several different companies.  Those gifts were all so nice, but what brought on the crocodile tears was the personal hand-written note from my Soldier which was included in the package.  Of course, that note will be tucked away in a safe place for as long as I live, but I'll also have several other keepsakes to remind me of the sweet truth that my Soldier thought about my Mother's Day gift even before he deployed.  I'll always be thankful for that and for the people at Full Circle Home who help our military service member connect with their families in such a meaningful way.

What is in the Care Package?

I almost feel guilty for revealing what was inside my care package but there are probably different items each year depending which company sponsors the project.  I want you to see what came inside my package in case you are a service member preparing to deploy.  You might want to take advantage of this project for your mom while you are away.  I recommend contacting with them here to see if they send other packages as well, such as birthday or anniversary packages.  My package was a Mother's Day package.

The item that meant the most to me was the personal note from my son which was written on the back of this card.  Seeing his own handwriting was such a sweet touch. 

Full Circle Home

The soap from Beekman 1802 smelled amazing!  Beekman Soaps was actually founded in 2008, but the company was named for a farm in upstate New York.  The farm's original owner, Judge William Beekman, had been inspired to create something lasting in his community.  You can learn more about Beekman 1802 here.

Beekman Goat Milk Soap

I received Forget Me Not flower seeds to plant at my home.  The flowers serve as a reminder of your military service member every time you see them.  I'm actually terrible with plants, but I thought it was a good idea for them to include them.  The seeds were from Crosman Seed Corporation.  Crosman provides custom seed packets.  You can learn more about those here.  I took note of the phrase printed near the bottom of the package.

Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.

Forget Me Not Flower Seeds

The package of tissues came in handy right away.  I absolutely love the change purse that is now secured to my key chain.  I think of my son every time I reach for my keys.  It also makes it easier to find my keys (because I tend to lose them . . . sometimes).  The tissues were from Kleenex.  The change purse was provided by Vera Bradley.

I really like the bracelet from Luca + Danni.  It's easy to put on and take off.  You just squeezed the bracelet and hook it together.  You simply squeeze it again to unlatch it when you want to take it off.  The charm is set so it doesn't move around.  The home inside the circle has a heart in the middle.  It reminds me of the fact that my son will be coming home and our family circle will be together again.  

Luca + Danni

Each of these products are sweet reminders that my son cared enough to prepare ahead of time to send me a special gift for Mother's Day, a day that would not be the same without him here with us.  My husband and my daughters went above and beyond to make sure I enjoyed a great Mother's Day, but having this package sent from my son, especially since it included his handwritten note, was the next best thing to having him here.  

This Full Circle Home project was sponsored by Vera Bradley.

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One of the things I enjoy doing to pass the time during my son's deployment is to decorate the inside of his care packages.  So far, I've only done two but they were so much fun and I'm looking forward to the next one.

 Military Care Package Box Decorating Ideas

The first one I decorated was his Valentine's Day care package.  I'm using the USPS large flat rate boxes.  You can get those for free at your local post office.  You can order military flat rate box kits at USPS.com.  Those kits come with several different sized boxes, labels, and packaging tape and are also free.  I believe you can order up to 5 kits per day.  This is helpful if you plan to send multiple packages to multiple people.

Since I'm a military mom this time rather than a wife, this is not a romantically themed box.  I wanted my son's box to represent Valentine's Day but also seem a little more masculine.

Image Credit:  Tina Truelove (Abundant Family Living)

  

Image Credit:  Tina Truelove (Abundant Family Living)

Image Credit:  Tina Truelove (Abundant Family Living)

  

Image Credit:  Tina Truelove (Abundant Family Living)

The final result:

Image Credit:  Tina Truelove (Abundant Family Living)

Some of the things I put in the Valentine's Day box included Pringles potato chips, Twix candy bars, Snickers bars, Rice Krispy treats, baby wipes, and hand warmers. 

The second box I decorated was his birthday box. I used wrapping paper, gift bag cutouts, and images I printed from my computer. 

Image Credit:  Tina Truelove (Abundant Family Living)

Image Credit:  Tina Truelove (Abundant Family Living)

I filled his birthday box with similar items but I added brain teaser games.  My son shared with me that the guys have enjoyed the brain teaser games so if you're thinking about sending a fun box for your military family member, you might want to add a few of those into your box.  My daughter created the cute birthday banner which stretches across the box when the box is opened up.

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If you don't want to decorate a box yourself or you don't have the time to decorate and stuff a box, you can order complete care packages on Amazon.com.  You can actually have the pre-made care packages shipped directly to your Soldier from your Amazon account.  Shipping is free with Amazon Prime.

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Image Credit:  skeeze - CCO Public Domain Image - via Pixabay

*Six years ago, I was given the title “Gifts for Military Families” for publication on eHow.  The article was originally published on April 23, 2010.  It is no longer published on eHow or anywhere else so I am free to publish it here.

Military families often find themselves far from home and on the move. They often miss family members and hometowns. When a military relative is deployed, family members left behind often search for items that help them feel closer to the deployed soldier. Military families benefit from gifts that help them deal with homesickness and deployments.

Gifts for Military Families

I highly recommend Daddy Dolls!

Purchase a pillow covered in camouflage fabric or cover a pillow with the fabric. Sew on a pocket. Insert a photo of the military family member. The soldier’s relatives can hold or hug the pillow while he is away. Consider spraying the relative’s favorite cologne or perfume onto the pillow. Children of deployed parents benefit from a pillow shaped like a person, with a photo attached to the pillow's head. The child can easily carry the pillow around, talk to it, sing to it, read to it or sleep with it for added security.

Newspaper Subscription

Give the military family the gift of a newspaper subscription from their hometown. Have the newspaper mailed to their military home address. A hometown newspaper helps the family keep up with current events at home, and they stay connected to friends, relatives, and public figures. They stay informed about their high school and college sports teams, and they won’t miss an article from their favorite section. If the family is deployed to another location, make sure to call the newspaper to provide the new address.

Hometown Shadow Box

Collect memorabilia from the military family’s hometown. Use items from the family’s favorite restaurants, their former high schools or colleges, their favorite movie theater, and other places the family often visited. Trim the items so that they fit nicely into a shadow box. Make sure the shadow box is large enough to accommodate all of the items, but small enough for the family to pack and take with them when they move again.

Military Devotional

Search Christian bookstores for a daily military devotional. Christian military families find comfort in reading daily devotional entries. Daily devotionals provide a source of strength, encouragement and peace for the families of military personnel. Christian bookstores often carry devotionals geared toward military families. These devotionals provide greater insight to the biblical principles associated with military life.

Read more posts about celebrations and gift-giving here.