Yesterday while at the commissary B said he needed some of the new 3 in 1 laundry sheets for his ‘trip’ overseas. He said that sometimes they don’t have access to laundry service over there and when they do their stuff is basically just washed in super hot water with no detergent….um….
gross!
FYI: I’ll be buying every box the commissary has on the shelf.
So we picked him up some and I made a mental note adding it to the list of ‘basic’ care package items along with beef jerky, twizzlers, oreos, gummy bears, drink mixes, baby wipes, etc. yes, Sam’s loves us!
This also got me to thinking more about the ‘other’ care packages I would be sending…the ones that help his time over there go by faster and make him feel a little more connected to home.
I’ll admit though that sometimes I’ve been stuck in a rut of sending only the things on his ‘basic’ list and including a card or letter from home. After so many deployments I felt that sending the same rotation of themed stuff was probably getting too ‘expected’.
….. and let’s face it Borrrrrring!
Normally we are far from boring. So I felt awful sending them knowing I could have put more thought into it.
So I’ve challenged myself for this deployment to do more of the unexpected and UN-boring. Sure I’ll probably send some of the same stuff I’ve sent in the past that were fun distractions for his free time, like… themed boxes to coincide with the holidays, etc. The Mardi Gras box was a favorite, and the Halloween and Luau ones have gone over pretty well too. So I’ll be sending those again too, only kick’em up a notch.
Because they don’t have to cost a ton of money either, The ‘Dollar” stores are great places to get items to add to care packages. Most of the time after it’s used they have to dispose of some if not all of the things because of space restrictions or not being able to bring back a ton of stuff with them. If possible B has always left things behind for incoming troops ie: Christmas decorations, etc.
AND… Guess what?….. I want to include you guys in on this…
Here is the idea I’ve come up with: I want YOU to challenge me too!
Since I plan on sending at least 3 boxes a month, one being a ‘basics’ box with a few goodies thrown in and the others being themed boxes; I want you guys to suggest a theme for one of them. It could be anything from a color, holiday, super hero, sports… you get the idea. Once the ‘theme of the month’ has been chosen we’ll get busy. We’ll even ‘up’ the challenge factor and give ourselves 3 days to fill it*. I’ll even give you an opportunity to include a personal note with it if you’d like and I’ll make sure that once he’s received the box I will post pictures of what was included. Since he reads this, hi Hunny 😉I don’t want to ruin some of the ‘surprise’ element for him.
So, are you up for the challenge? Do you think you can come up with some ideas to help us think outside the box? Leave your idea in a comment and next Thursday the girls and I will randomly pick a suggestion and announce it on Friday morning.
p.s. this weeks Selfish Sunday is going to be UN-selfish…..I have a HUGE announcement…to say I’m excited is an understatement!
*Even though I don’t have his address yet I’m going to get started on filling these boxes. I want to have plenty of stuff to send him so he’ll know he’s loved and missed. I already miss him; just knowing he’s leaving soon has made the missing part set in. The first few ideas will be mailed as soon as possible.
I love this idea!!! I will put my creative thinking cap on and come back with some ideas. Can you post the months he’ll be gone? I know you’ll have the obvious holidays covered, but there’s a day for everything so maybe I can find some inspiration there 🙂
Caroline, I’ll send you an email with a timeframe that way I don’t get put in time out 😉