Military Care Packages: Part II

[Venus193]

Waterguns sound like an excellent idea.  How expensive are the "assault rifle" types?  Considering the size, those might actually be expensive to ship.

I sent some hard candies last weekend; I will e-mail the person and ask her to let me know about their arrival condition.  Since she's in an air-conditioned building that might help.  I also think she's the first stop on the plane's route because she gets the stuff so quickly.

[Belle]

Waterguns sound like an excellent idea.  How expensive are the "assault rifle" types?  Considering the size, those might actually be expensive to ship.

I actually bought the small, very inexpensive water pistols, because they were easier to fit in the box and send. I think I paid maybe $2 for a bag of 4.

[Lisbeth]

Well, tonight I bought some office supplies, and I'll pick a soldier and send them out this week.

My package will be fairly small, but it'll contain a box of pencils, a box of erasers, a package of pens, some Post-its, packages of AA and AAA batteries, one pad of paper (small legal size), one package of Wite-out, and a package of CD-RWs.  Not too heavy, and hopefully all things that the person who receives them (or their unit mates) can use.

[Venus193]

Believe me, Jen, they will find these things useful!

[Lisbeth]

Tonight I picked a nurse in the Army who is serving in Afghanistan and will send the supplies tomorrow.

[Wonderflonium]

i just wanted to thank you all for posting this stuff and letting me know about anysoldier.com. i was really inspired by all the support people here are sending. my friends who were overseas have returned home safely (thankfully), and i was looking for a way to continue to support the troops. last night after work i went to the dollar store and spent $67 on various personal hygiene products and snack foods (i found not only pringles but also fritos, cheetos, and doritoes in cardboard cans, which i think will be great for shipping). i can't wait to send it all out!

[Venus193]

That's great.  I've become famous at two post offices for my packages; this can become an addiction, but it's a good addiction for a shopaholic who normally buys more than she needs herself.

I'm about to ship three boxes today, two of them to two new names.  I have a project that I will tell you guys more about when the results come in.

In the meantime, my Baghdad contact told me that the hard candy arrived intact, so she might be the first stop on the way.

[ItZWhoUKnow]

We have finally been given the green light to start sending mail, so yesterday I sent out my first (well, first this time around) box to my hubby.
I sent him an alarm clock, extra batteries to run the darn thing, a movie, two containers of drink mix and a towel to cushion all of the stuff.
One can never have too many towels.


loriega~ I put this in the other thread but if you want a good way for things to get there and not be crushed go to a thrift store and get old cookie tins or the plastic shoe boxes from the dollar store. It's also a nice way to divide hygiene and food items....

[Venus193]

Containers for cookies and similar food items are essential.  Also, make sure nothing moves inside the box, but don't pack it so tight the box bulges!

[Lisbeth]

I finally sent my package out today!  It is going to an Air Force nurse in Afghanistan.  (My father and uncle are Air Force veterans.)

[Venus193]

I'm about to update my package records.  Sometime this summer I will have to go through all my postal receipts to marry them to the packages they refer to.  I don't want to have to wait until April to do this.

The thank-you cards are pouring in from the Baghdad group for the Bath and Body Works packages (For anyone concerned about flies, I've been sending fly ribbons on a regular basis!).  I can't stay out of those stores, so I have more stuff to send yet again.  I've been trying to send matched sets of things even though they didn't expect me to (It's a Libra thing, like even numbers) and I've gotten very fond of the #7 priority boxes.

Yesterday I found a huge bargain in hard candy:  Rolls of Life Savers essentially for 10 cents each.

I'm sure they will be very happy with the Crystal Light on the Go shipment I sent this evening.  I wonder if they have to drink everything at room temperature?

[jamiescudder]

I'm thrilled to have found this thread. Right now I have a cousin in Afghanistan and his brother is in Djibouti. I want to send each of them care packages as a surprise, but I wasn't sure what to send. My grandma sends homemade cookies overseas regularly which inspired me to do something. (Although probably not on the same scale as her. She sends enough cookies for everybody that the recipient knows to have at least two.) Thanks for all the good ideas!

[Venus193]

Did you see the earlier one?  That has even more ideas in it:

http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=2403.0

This morning I posted 20 bottles of mint shower gel to my group in Baghdad.  I don't know how helpful that is when it's 116 in the shade, but I always feel refreshed after using it myself.

[jamiescudder]

Thanks!

[Wonderflonium]

I just got my boxes today (finally) and I'm packaging stuff to send. I tried to fill out a customs form online, but it's asking for a phone number for the recipient. Anyone know what I should do?