Need some creative ideas...

[nikkiARNGwife]

for care packages for DH.

As this is our 3rd go round it's getting very hard to come up with things that are different than the norm. And factor in the fact that we aren't mushy-gushy people..I mean stuff like scrapbook pages and things like that are totally lost on DH..he's just not into it. He gets most of his basic toiletries and stuff issued to him..he has plenty of snacky kinds of food...I've sent him tons and then they have a place there that provides stuff. I'm sending him enough DVDs and entertainment type things. I just want to think of something that he'll really like but I'm at a loss at this point.

Any ideas?

[digideb]

a boudoir album of yourself!

[nikkiARNGwife]

Originally Posted by digideb

a boudoir album of yourself!

hahaha! Maybe after another 20 lbs is gone..right now no way lol

[Nettio]

I am no help because I think I sent a total of 3, maybe 4 care packages the entire year Adam was gone. He just never needed anything so other than sending his fave foods when he asked for them, I didn't worry about it. I mean, they had lobster in their dining facility! They weren't starving on MRE's like people assume, haha. Plus his parents sent him like 11 boxes or something ridiculous at one point - he didn't need anything else from me.

Honestly, if it's not that big a deal to him, I wouldn't stress yourself out over it. We aren't overly mushy people either and it worked out fine for us. All he really wanted was to come home and it's not like I could send him that in box. Talking on the phone was a lot more helpful for us.

[nikkiARNGwife]

I think I'm at that point Lynnette...I've only sent him 2 packages..one was a big one full of stuff he'd left on purpose for me to send later and another was just a box of dvds and snack food. He's told me not to bother with snacks and stuff anymore..and he's only requested things like k-cups and powdered drink mixes.

He told me last night he loves to get packages..but he won't tell me anything he needs or wants to put in them so my question to him was well what am I supposed to do with that? lol

Did it kind of irk you when your inlaws sent lots of stuff? It does me for some reason..only b/c I feel kind of like she's stealing my thunder or something. Crazy I know and she IS is his mother..but I kind of wish she'd check with me first to see what all I've sent and plan to send..I just feel wife trumps mother in this situation lol

[taracotta7]

Something that I was told my an army wife that helped her............she bough a couples devotional for them to do together. Sent him the book and bought one for herself. She said they struggled to find stuff to talk about after awhile and the day to day stuff was boring at times. She liked knowing they were reading the same thing on the same day. It helped her feel connected plus gave them something to talk about. So if you think he would read with you and be up for discussion every so often, that may be a good item to put in a box.

AND.....Your DH thinks you are sexy no matter what size you are. He is with you and loves you. I would totally throw in a couple of pictures. It is ALL about position, not about size. That would be the best gift ever for him. Heck, it doesn't have to be a full body shot.....just saying.

[*Celeste*]

maybe you could have the kids make him some artwork or something? i like the idea of reading the same thing together too!

[Nettio]

Originally Posted by nikkiARNGwife

I think I'm at that point Lynnette...I've only sent him 2 packages..one was a big one full of stuff he'd left on purpose for me to send later and another was just a box of dvds and snack food. He's told me not to bother with snacks and stuff anymore..and he's only requested things like k-cups and powdered drink mixes.

He told me last night he loves to get packages..but he won't tell me anything he needs or wants to put in them so my question to him was well what am I supposed to do with that? lol

Did it kind of irk you when your inlaws sent lots of stuff? It does me for some reason..only b/c I feel kind of like she's stealing my thunder or something. Crazy I know and she IS is his mother..but I kind of wish she'd check with me first to see what all I've sent and plan to send..I just feel wife trumps mother in this situation lol

Yeah, that's pretty much where we ended up, especially since he was working to lose weight since we were going to Hawaii after he returned, so he didn't really want any snack foods or baked goods after awhile. I did send downloaded versions of his favorite shows off our Tivo in the beginning but he was so busy that he didn't have time to watch them so I stopped. Really outside of food, that was always the problem since he barely had time for anything other than work so books, magazines, etc, weren't really any better. Makes it tough!

And yeah, the in-law thing, always tricky. In this case I knew they were sending stuff and I was fine with that. His dad is retired Army, president of their local VA and really just adorably proud of Adam so he was really the one behind the 11 boxes since he got a ton of people to donate stuff to send to the troops. Which was fine but I'll admit, it made me feel a little inadequate since I was already struggling with what to send him in the first place! But Adam said the nice thing about my packages was they included exactly what he wanted so small victory there, haha. Really my MIL wanting to "surprise" Adam at the homecoming ceremony was much more of an issue.

[aggiefamily]

I know you said he has plenty of snacks and such but there is bound to be some type of Easter or seasonal candy he likes? Ohhhh Birthday Cake Oreos! Mine would go crazy over those.

What about a pillowcase that you have sprayed with your perfume or scent? I would think if you put it in a ziplock the scent would last the trip over?

Tons of pictures. He probably sees pics on facebook or via email but I know being able to hold a picture is different.

Puzzle books? Crosswords, word search or sudoku.

Have Avery record one of those Hallmark books for him. Or do this http://www.hallmark.com/online/produ...dable-artwork/

[YepBrook]

What about a cool piece of equipment, like a new pocket knife?

[jacinda]

Send him some videos of the kids on a flash drive. On DH's first deployment I did like a video diary of a day in our life. It was mostly about Brooke who was I think a year old at the time. I took little video snapshots of our entire day and then sent it to him. He loved it. He got to see her make a mess at breakfast, sing a song, read a book, go for a walk and feed the ducks, do some painting, go to baby gym, nap, help me in the kitchen, ride her bike, say prayers etc. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it helped include him in our day.

I'm sure he'd appreciate a care package for the kids. Let the kids decide what they want to put in it. It'll be a whole lot of random stuff, but you could attach little notes to each item explaining in the kids words why they wanted to send it to him. Include new photos of the kids/family, and some of their artwork for him.

How about sending him a local newspaper to read?

[nikkiARNGwife]

Great ideas thanks! I'm jotting some down...I've done the video thing in past deployments but hadn't gotten around to it this time. He did enjoy that so I'll have to get on it lol.

[hollybirdy]

I made my husband a small mini album in an altered Altoids can one time for our anniversary. He takes it suitcase when he is away on business trips. Maybe something like that with recent pics of you and/or kids.

[Jengerbread88]

Omg. I just finished typing a long post and accidentally navigated away. When I had a pen pal in the military (family friend), I sent a lot of themed boxes.

Sports theme: Taped some of his favorite teams during march madness, sent those tapes (I made sure he had something to play them on) plus sports snacks (tortilla chips and canned cheese, etc), a mini basketball and hoop (one of those funny dorm room sort of things that you hang over a door or something), a mini sports handheld game, some gatorade mixes...

Camping theme: Beef jerky, hot hands (it was winter and he would do night patrols- got pretty cold), flashlight, chocolate frosting, graham crackers, and marshmallows (the frosting didn't melt as much in transit as actual chocolate bars tended to), insect repellant (wipes and spray)

Movie theme: New releases on DVD, microwave popcorn, movie candy

Beach theme: Sunscreen, a beach ball, towel, goldfish crackers, Swedish fish, crystal light lemonade and tea, sunglasses (his favorite shades got broken, so I sent him a new pair), cards to play "Go Fish." A handheld fishing game, water balloons.

Hotel-in-a-box: Anything I could send that was like in a mini bar- small packages of gourmet coffees, candy bars, things like that, new towels and washcloths, travel sized toiletries (these were handy because he could give them to pals who weren't getting boxes from anyone, or could give to anyone who ran out or something).

I just tried to keep it simple. He and his friends seemed to like the snacky stuff like the nacho items quite a bit (it was something different than what they'd usually find there- they had a microwave), and they liked the fun games and stuff. He had one friend who was also getting a few fun hand-held games, so they would swap when they'd get bored with one. They always were looking forward to whatever the next theme would be, and it was fun because sometimes the boxes were something they could make an evening of- for example, watching the game and having some sports snacks, then shooting some hoops with the mini basket, or watching a new release with the traditional movie snacks.

[Jengerbread88]

Oh, and I did do a birthday box once-- I sent those microwaveable betty crocker cakes (where you just add water), some frosting, a package of candles, some streamer-type things, a small wrapped gift for him, and some balloons. Actually, I sent it to his buddy, who then set it all up for him (inflated the balloons, lit the candle, etc). It was a nice surprise for him.

[KimberlyMorris]

This might fall into the category of mushy but you could get a calendar marking off the days till he comes home.

[maryinaz]

I like the idea of having the kids come up with stuff. For my mom's 90th birthday last year, my brother's kids sent her 90 little gifts that she had to unwrap. So maybe the kids could pick out a few fun things, even if it's totally random.

Or how about your kids coming up with a story? Maybe Avery could write it down and they both could illustrate it - send him a page or 2 at a time.

[kendallt]

Originally Posted by digideb

a boudoir album of yourself!

That is totally the first thing that popped into my head! I like the idea of the devotional. What if you started keeping a mini-journal and just jotting down things like funny stuff the kids are doing/saying, what the weather's like, things that are going on in your town, etc. and then sending it to him?

[sczos911]

Have the kids pick out stuff. As crazy as they may be, they'll like doing that. And then have Avery write why he and Ella picked out the things they did. I mean - gosh only knows what they'll pick out - but at least it is from them.

[lovely1m]

When the guys from work deploy and I stay home station, I like to send something I have baked wrapped individually so they can pass it out and share the wealth with everyone. Even though he can buy snacks there, you know getting it in a package from your wife is a lot more fun then going to the Shopette and buying it yourself. Even if its what you would have boughten.