Readers Helping Readers~Making Christmas Special for the Military
November23
A reader wrote in last week and asked this question:
My dad will be stationed in Guantanamo Bay Cuba as an Air Force Chaplain this Christmas. I am looking for ways to make his Christmas extra special this year since he will be away from our family. Any ideas for things we can do or something that isn’t expensive to ship?
Do you have any advice or tips for her?
My dad was in the military growing up and from my experience with him I would say the classics are the best: pictures, notes, pages colored by little ones. You can get a small album for $1 at wal-mart and it’s light in weight even after adding the pics. (i’ve done this b4) If you have children pics of them @ christmas parties, looking at lights, sitting on santa, reading christmas books, drinking hot chocolate.
For sending “over seas” my mother n law said by far the best she found that the flate rate box was the best. She said it’s $1-$2 more than our US one but that it was still worth it.
Hope I helped some.
Hit the Dollar store for some inexpensive, light-weight decorations for his space – room or office. You know the special foods he may like. Find out what he can’t get that he’d love to have. Wrap each item separately so he has lots to open. Send a video of family and friends if possible. Have friends put in a card or send him an e-mail. You don’t want to send so much that he has to ship it back to you. Do remember that he is limited in the bags he brings back. That’s why food treats are great. Pack in foam peanuts or bubble wrap. Chocolate melts. Hard candy is a hit since they often fight the taste of sand in their mouths. And using the flat-rate box is the perfect idea! Merry Christmas. My hubby was over there at Christmas one year. He’ll love anything you send!
Being a military family stationed overseas and having weathered a few deployments ourselves I have a few ideas. Send your Dad his favorite magazines, CDs, DVDs, a few books, and snacks. Send him candy and treats for him to share. Chaplains are great for that!! And the deployed troops always share boxes from home!! Pick this stuff up at a local thrift shop or enlist family & friends to donate ones they no longer use. You can send smaller inspirational magazines like Guideposts and Reader’s Digest that he can read, watch, enjoy, and then leave behind for the other troops when he returns home. Make sure that any candy you send for sharing is individually wrapped. Keep packaging for homemade treats as “trash-free” as possible. Tins may keeps cookies from crumbling, but would create a disposal problem afterward. Pack them in a smaller box within your shipping box. How about a newspaper from home? As mentioned previously pics of people from home are also a big hit. Fiind the things that are special to your are to send him. I miss the traditional regional foods of home and usually ask family for those kind of things at Christmas. And ask your postmaster about any special rates for packages to deployed military. At one time this summer, our base announced the USPS had a special rate for mail coming from the US overseas to military personnel. I want to thank your family for their sacrifice of being separated this year. It is hard, I know (been there, done that – quiet a few times!), but your Chaplain Dad being there to support other deployed troops during this holiday season can make a huge difference for morale.
I was an Army wife with 3 children at home while my husband was stationed in Bosnia for 7 months–including the holidays. Some wives sent Christmas decorations–he asked me not to, as it would just make him homesick. I think the best things I sent were videos of the children, esp the baby. I taped every few days! Special treats–whatever means the most to him. How about a picture frame with a recordable message like ” We love you” or something along those lines–these were too expensive back then, but I think are reasonable now.
God bless you and your family for your service and sacrifice.