Vtleogal,

 

The beach idea is great. A frisbee would be a perfect addition. Maybe sunscreen, watermelon gum/candy, a beach towel, good book, water balloons, bag of chips or prezels, lemonade packets.

 

momof6 

Oh my goodness!  What a great list of ideas!  Thanks for sharing!

WOW!  It must have taken you all day to type that!  It never even crossed my mind to give my packages a theme!  Those are some GREAT ideas.  Now all I need to do is get a raise so I can afford them all.  =)

Glad all of you guys liked my list of care package ideas! 

What great ideas! You have really come up with some unique ways to make a day over there a bit more pleasant! thanks for the inspiration. I also do a NEW ENGLAND theme-lobster lollipops. canned clam chowdah, red sox peanuts, boston baked beans, FIG NEWTONS ( my home town), local coffees, etc. And of course a local newspaper,

Think about sending one from your area,

 

I am originally from New Mexico (yes, that IS a state, located just west of Texas - you'd be surprised how many people don't know we are part of the U.S.!)

I sent a New Mexcio themed box to a unit from there.  I included cans of Hatch green chiles, Sadie's Hot salsa (from my favorite restaurant in Albuquerque), and tortilla chips.  They were a big hit!  The NM soldiers shared with some soldiers from Fort Bliss (El Paso, TX) and they were all in hot salsa heaven.  I recently sent another box with cans of green chile stew and a package of flour tortillas, haven't heard back on that one yet.  It really was a taste of home to these guys!

Oh my goodness that is crazy they don't know New Mexico is part of the US.  I love your New Mexico Care package idea. I did something similar for local Las Vegas Soldiers it was a big hit to bring a touch of home to them. 

Lilly:

I am originally from New Mexico (yes, that IS a state, located just west of Texas - you'd be surprised how many people don't know we are part of the U.S.!)

I sent a New Mexcio themed box to a unit from there.  I included cans of Hatch green chiles, Sadie's Hot salsa (from my favorite restaurant in Albuquerque), and tortilla chips.  They were a big hit!  The NM soldiers shared with some soldiers from Fort Bliss (El Paso, TX) and they were all in hot salsa heaven.  I recently sent another box with cans of green chile stew and a package of flour tortillas, haven't heard back on that one yet.  It really was a taste of home to these guys!

I've done that as well.  I am from Cincinnati, OH and we recently found a soldier that is from  just across the river in KY.  We sent him a box of things that could only be found in Cincinnati - Skyline Chili, LaRosa's pizza sauce, Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce, Frisches Tarter Sauce, Cincinnati Reds pull chew, Grippo's chips...

Anyway...I think I made a friend for life!!  The Skyline Chili was such a HUGE hit that Michael (the guy from KY) barely got any!  I think that a themed box from your area to ANY soldier, is a very cool idea. 

 

Just made up a Halloween care package! I'm sending it out tomorrow! I love Halloween so this was a joy to make. Also my next package is for my good friend over there. It's a two theme thing...Halloween and Birthday! I'm excited. His birthday is Halloween. I need to come up with some ideas. I might by thats microwavable brownie thing as a "cake". Also i'm baking him homemade cookies! He loves them. But what else should i include???

My favorite is "The Sunday Morning Package."  In one of the flat flat-rate boxes, I start with a Sunday paper.  Then I fill the remainder with breakfast bars, coffee, creamer, and other breakfast items.  I make a point of sending the entire newspaper, just like they would get it on their doorstep at home.  After all, part of the Sunday routine is to sort through the paper and prioritize things.

Holy Mackerel!

I think I have found a list of how to never repeat a box for my soldiers!  That's amazing.  I wish I had that two years ago when I got started.  The frustration I used to feel over sending some variation of the same thing would have been non-existent.

Thanks for sharing! 

 

Thanks for sharing so many ideas!  I have a question though.  Do you tell them what the theme was so they "catch on" and enjoy it even more or just send the box?  With the idea about the Sunday paper and breakfast items...it's a nice idea but if I didn't know "the theme" I might have wondered "why did they send the ads?" but knowing, I think "how cute" instead.

  Some of you all may already have seen these, but my local Dollar Tree has plastic containers that look like the cardboard theater popcorn boxes. They have two sizes; one large one for a group and the smaller individual ones. I thought they would be great to send with popcorn and dvd's. The small ones come 2 in a pack for a dollar. I'm going to go get some more of them today for future packages.

Karen

 

That's a great idea.  I'm putting together a movie box now and those would be perfect.

DonnaC:

That's a great idea.  I'm putting together a movie box now and those would be perfect.

 
They also have them at Target in the $1 bins at the front of the store (the smaller popcorn buckets at least).  The bigger ones you can also find at a party supply store (Party City, etc) but they're more expensive there.  They're classic looking... red/white striped and say "Popcorn" on them.  Good luck!