Care Package Ideas!

Thanks Carla for posting all the GREAT INFO!

You've been hard at work today posting all this great info...I appreciate it and thanks again.

Yep, lots of great info here!
Your welcome Kathryn and I see Kim made it over this way too.

My hubby was a Marine and served in Vietnam also and his SIL is ex-Navy and now a Marine.

Because some packages take a long time to get to the ship I think I would save the baked breads until your sailor returns, Cookies seem to do ok if packed well. We sent a lot of beef jerky that we repacked with a seal a meal. Packaged crackers, cookies worked well. Remember space is slim. The racks don't have much room. As far as the customs form I was always vague....snacks, toiletries, magazines, cards.

Tide Detergent...sounds strange but after so much sea water their clothing gets pretty stinky. We bought a box of powdered Tide with Downey. Fits perfect in a Flat Rate box and even has room for some other goodies in the box.

Now that's one for the books... My son would think I had lost my mind if I sent a washboard. It was bad enough when I sent toilet paper rolls as packing. I know the ships laundry ate clothing and the self serve machines were broken more than they worked. They learn to use clothing economically when deployed.

Suzann, The Purex sheets had not come here yet. I think they are a great idea. Something to put on my list if he deploys again.

Denise... double bag those items in zip locks and list them as toiletries... and send them along! The concern would be if they leak and what that might be... double bagged with zip locks I have never had a problem!

Terrific info!

On the customs forms, I've listed as
- Books
- DVDs
- Personal hygiene items
- Snacks
- Games
..........kept the total to under $50, and not had a problem.

I take everything out of original packaging to save space (but often cut the cover off the package and include), and bag everything in Ziplock bags.

If time isn't an issue, books, CDs and DVDs sent 'media rate' save about 1/2 in postage.

Hi Carla & all! just thought I'd share something I did recently :)
A friend's sailor was deploying to Afgh last month. His mom & I were texting about care packages the day he was leaving, and he kiddingly asked his mom if I could include a certain pretty TV star in the box. Long story short, I found the production company for her show online and sent in a request for a photo with an autograph and personalized message to him. Lo and behold, back it came in a few weeks! I put it in a lightweight frame from the dollar store, gift-wrapped it and included it with my care package that I just mailed Monday. He'll get a kick out it for sure!

Angela...that is fabulous!!

So much better than storebought. And writing out the message too! I can see a new trend coming...;)

Marcy... that is so great! Can't wait to hear his response!

Hey all!!
If you are sending to a FPO address then the postage on the large flat rate box should only be $12.50... and $12 if you pay on line and have the mailman pick it up at home!!

The flat rate is good up to 70 lbs... I pack my boxes full and the heaviest I have sent was 38 lbs... don't know what they are shipping that could be 70 lbs in that size box!!

You can go on line and order flat rate boxes... our post office never stocks them. Be sure to order your custom forms at the same time! They will deliver them right to your house!

Seabees mom...

FPO... Fleet Post Office home or away every sailor has an FPO... it is the address of their command. If stationed with an army unit it would go to an APO... Army Post Office.

For example my sailors FPO is on the west coast... The United States Post Office ships to the Fleet Post Office... then the Navy ships the package to where my sailor is stationed or deployed.

Don't waste your money on insurance or signature requests at the Post Office... it only covers the package until it gets into the hands of the navy. If a valuable package does not arrive check with your homeowners policy it may cover things like computers, etc...

You can also order the boxes online here: http://tinyurl.com/MilitaryPriorityRateBoxes
I can't find anything on the USPS.com website for the Military Pack you mentioned...?

For my son's first boxes I included over the counter medicines, neosporin, bandaids, assortment of baggies, envelopes, stamps, a small sewing kit, small first aid kit, folding scissors, a hackey sac, drink mix packages, assorted microwave foods, jerky, sunflower seeds, microwave popcorn, mug, plastic bowls, set of silverware, powered creamer, instant coffee, top ramen, sunscreen, bug spray, bodywash, chapstick, gummy worms, spray cologne, nail clippers and his bible. I've read some great ideas here and plan to include them as well. I just mailed him a 'random' box and I know he'll be feeling the love! The flat rate is the way to go...the food is heavy and you can roll up clothes to stuff around them. Something he really appreciated was his feather pillow from home :)

Thank you for that! And I am just loving the Night at the Movies theme!

Ah gee...........I'm so jealous you guys get to send all that fun stuff! Are they in school or are they deployed? My son is in "A" school for rescue swimmer - he's been in school since September of last year and he can't have food or meds in his room. I guess it varies from school to school?

I love to theme my boxes... I always ask my son or my adopted sons to guess what the theme is... that gives them an opening line to respond to me about getting a box... sometimes I pick a color, sometimes a sport or activity.

Texas mom... you can still send boxes... the food is usually gone by the time they get back to their room! Or send silly things, whoopee cushions, hacky sacks, frisbees...

Good ideas, Susan - I'll have to hold off on meds cuz they have periodic surprise inspections but I do LOVE the idea on the silly things - thanks!

However it is handled that is by post office... once it reaches the Fleet Post office a whole new set of rules takes over...

just remember when sending to a FPO address your insurance and delivery confirm are only to the Fleet Post Office... that can be a long way away from reaching your sailors hands...

All tracking ends when the package gets to the fleet post office... depending on where they are headed the package may sit in a warehouse until there are enough to be sent to a ship... or if only out for a short cruise they may sit until the ship comes home... then sometimes a package may not make it into the space available heading to the ship and have to wait until the next shipment. All depends on needs of the navy...

Just be careful when sending those to Afghanistan... they have what they call optical brighteners... makes it easier to spot anything washed with them with the night vision... I would have never thought of that until I was told that some of the soaps moms send have to be dumped...

Mine was at A school for corpsman. He was allowed his cellphone, laptop, and personal clothes. My mom also sent cookies on a regular basis ;)

Mine also had laptop, tv, cell phone, internet hookup, clothes...

how do skittles send do you guys know?

skittles make it fine!! I send them all the time!!

thanks susan :)

Madonna, So happy to hear your sons packages made it to him!

It is frustrating to learn all the ins and outs... I have learned tons on how to pack a package and what to send where over the years. Sending packages with the Molly's Adopt a Sailor project really helped... join us on that group!!

Please forgive me... where is your son?? ship or shore?? in usa or away??

got it... I would send along a pie or cake in a jar... or one of the moms sent brownies in a tin... see the above discussion... I understand there are companies that send cakes to deployed also... my son doesnt' like cake... he loves the pie in the jar...

If you click on the 'view all' button that is to the right side just under the list of discussions... lots of discussions will pop up! There is one with the link to the pie in a jar! They are sooooo good!! They will last up to six months or until they reach the recipient... whichever is shorter!! tehehe When I ship mine I pack white socks around them! They can always use socks while deployed!!

thank you 2 in the service... appropriate comment... that day I was all about tears in my eyes!

Me too!

WOW Lisa, Thank you very much!! I sent out a package today and some of the stuff on your list I never even thought of. Time to go shopping again! Thanks again!! :)

Yes I'm new to all this. My son has only been in since last July. This is his first deployment. He is aboard the USS Harry S Truman. I have seen and read some very cool things on this and the Truman site. I thank all of you for some fantastic ideas and its nice to commiserate with others in the same "boat".

Lisa, thank you for the time you spent on this and for sharing! many ideas I hadn't thought of...... I had read a while back about the Purex but for the life of me, I can't find in the stores. :o(

Lisa...what a great list...I would suggest that you put it up in the discussion forum so it doesn't get lost with the comments and end up clear back on page ?????. That way down the road when someone else comes along looking for idea for care packages it will be available to them.

I can only speak for the IKE carrier but the only thing that gets dumped is biodegradables...Each department has trash recepticles divided by plastic, paper, Even in the galley they make you clean your trays off in this way so nothing makes it the food slop....They compact plastics and metals into hockey puck shaped pieces and stored then when they reach port they take it off and it goes to a recycling center. The IKE just got a award for being a "green" ship. The only way I know this I went on a tiger cruise last year and saw how they handle things. It would be nice to know if more or all ships are doing this in the Navy.

Don't forget that a few pages back there was a caution - Comment by Susan mom to Niko on June 1, 2010 at 12:08pm
Just be careful when sending those to Afghanistan... they have what they call optical brighteners... makes it easier to spot anything washed with them with the night vision... I would have never thought of that until I was told that some of the soaps moms send have to be dumped..."
Should be fine for ships though? You can order them online at Amazon.com (costs more); free sample http://www.trypurex.com/Purex_3-in-1_Free_Sample/

Carla, I started looking into it and there is no definitive answer that I can find - yet, but I"ll keep at it.

Lisa...That was a wonderful list that you put together. Is that for sending a care package to a ship or over seas ( Sandbox) as well ?

I pack them into a box as tight as possible... with socks and undershirts tucked in around them! You can never have enough socks and undershirts!!

You also can use bags of candy like gummy worms etc. to put around the jars

I have used the mini tootsie rolls. They have them at Walmart in bags of 400. It is the one chocolate that makes it through the heat and is easily shared with buddies. They are the same size as packing peanuts and work well.

test any candy by putting in the oven on a cookie sheet... you will be surprised at just how quickly it can melt! remember the temps are over 100 degrees where these packages are going and sitting in a closed box in the sun it gets even warmer!!

Hello, I'm brand new here. What about rice krispy treats sealed in the seal-a-meal bags? Will they keep them fresh long enough to reach the other side of the world? 8))

I don't think freshness right now is the issue, it's the heat! Living here in AZ I compare it to leaving something in the car for a few hours when it's 112 outside - NOT a good thing to do, everything melts :)