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What to send a deployed spouse?

hvnlyhrpst

New Member
So I was wondering if anyone has some great ideas on what to send in care packages?
Especially for special occasions....I know my spouse is set when it comes to toothbrushes, soap, power bars, etc....I'm looking for something that every guy wishes he had out there but doesn't think to ask home for it....if that makes sense
 

villanelle

Nihongo dame desu
Contributor
Beef jerky
Sunflower seeds
Porn
Starburst or other similar candy

Is in on a ship? Big or small? if he's on a small boy, I'd also send food he can prepare and make on his own (easy mac, canned stews, etc.). Husband always had issues with flying during galley hours and not being able to get a real meal, so he liked to have that kind of stuff around.
 

Brett327

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Seriously, the best thing to send is current magazines - Outdoors, Vanity Fair, Men's Health, The Economist, Foreign Affairs, etc. Guys get starved for new reading material fast out there and nobody needs ANOTHER shipment of junk food. There's already plenty of that.

Brett
 

Kathy

Reservist Wife
Contributor
My husband says he can get all of the usual store bought snacks over there so the only food he ever wants in care packages is beef jerky from local places, not the grocery store stuff. I also record new episodes of shows he likes and burn them to DVDs for him. I've sent newly released DVDs. My husband mainly wants stuff from the kids (pictures, crafts, etc.).
 

llnick2001

it’s just malfeasance for malfeasance’s sake
pilot
TV and new reading material (I'm including porn in that) are great suggestions. Anything that will keep him a little "connected" to the "real" world is good. Food (for me) can be pretty hit or miss.
 

KBayDog

Well-Known Member
I'll echo the reading material suggestion. Magazines, paperback books, and "other" materials are always well-received. Many towns have a used book store - you can find out what kind of books he likes and stock up for cheap. Even though he'll have the ability to watch the news on TV, the reception is often non-existent, and when the satellites actually do line up, it's AFN News. (Want to find a cheap alternative to waterboarding? Have the guys at Club Gitmo watch AFN 24/7. They'll talk!)

Food isn't really a good idea, as there is no shortage of junk food in other people's mail. It's so bad at times that you can't even give away food! Also, a lot can happen in the weeks to months it'll take the care package to get to him. Chocolate/sugar doesn't handle the 120+ degree flight lines and ship decks that the mail will be sitting on awaiting transportation...plus, if Otto's delivering the mail, you can count on 90% of the mail's contents being shattered upon receipt.

Speaking of shipping, the flat-rate boxes from USPS seem to be pretty standard - and much cheaper than paying by weight, though don't waste your money on the extra tracking features (the packages will be "received" by the FPO or APO, even though they've only started the long journey to your husband). The best thing you can do is make sure to write his address exactly as he gave it to you, and write clearly/legibly in black marker. Mail call is a hectic time, mail that is not easily identifiable might not be sorted as quickly or accurately as the rest.

Finally, like Kathy said, I'll make a pitch for handmade stuff. He'll never get enough of hand-made things from his family: Hand-written letters, crafts, etc. Look at it this way - the hand-written letters you guys write to each other will last decades. E-mail? Unless you print them all out, they won't last quite that long.

Hope some of this helps.
 

FlyBoyd

Out to Pasture
pilot
I really enjoyed getting a hand written letter. She never told me she sent it and I was surprised at how just getting a letter made me feel. I keep them in a stack and review them. It is way different than rereading an e-mail.

My wife sent me a small picture album that pretty much had a picture from every major milestone in our lives i.e. dating, marriage, kid at different ages, dog, etc. That thing is priceless to me and I look at it often.

FWIW, I am so tired of toiletries and candy. I usually just open those packages and give it to the junior Sailors.

FYI...

My wife signed me up for books here...http://www.operationpaperback.org/. She selected catagories I like and they mailed me boxes and boxes of books. I read some and past out the others. I don't know if they will mail to a ship.
 

villanelle

Nihongo dame desu
Contributor
If he's into books on tape, I once read an entire novel to cassette (yes, cassette, though if you had a way to burn CDs that would be better) and sent it, along with a cassette player, to Husband. He loved it.
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Depends on what he's into. I read a lot, so wife and family sent me at least a book a week (Amazon works pretty well for this, and you can buy used books through them).

Ditto the above on food, unless there's something you make that he really loves and it's semi-non-perishable. Mama Fester makes a really good pound cake, and she wrapped it up thoroughly in padding and Press-n-Seal (really good stuff - cakes arrived on the boat still moist). Once our Boat was established in the NAG and the supply system had stabilized, mail was getting to us from the east coast in ten days or so. When we were in transit, it could be up to three weeks.
 

helolumpy

Apprentice School Principal
pilot
Contributor
Good coffee if he drinks it.
If he's partial to a particular brand of toothpaste, deodorant, etc, that always makes for a good think to get.
Photos of family were good
Chewing tobacco is a great commodity to trade with, even if he doesn't "dip"
If he likes any particular show, a box set of episodes is great to give
 

HAL Pilot

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
If he's into books on tape, I once read an entire novel to cassette (yes, cassette, though if you had a way to burn CDs that would be better) and sent it, along with a cassette player, to Husband. He loved it.
Please tell me it a porn novel and you made appropriate sounds.....
 

villanelle

Nihongo dame desu
Contributor
Please tell me it a porn novel and you made appropriate sounds.....

I hate so much to disappoint you. Damn. Why didn't I think of this? Do I get back any credit at all for also sending trashy naked photos of myself, printed on magnetic paper so he could hang them in his rack and be hands-free if necessary?
 
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