i want to send my husband some stuff to Iraq...but?

Question

Ok I want to send my hubby some baked goods but the thing is I dont know what to send him that will make it over there without going bad. It takes 1 week and a half to get there. Also what can I use to wrap it in, Please help me out.

Answer 1

My son has been in Iraq twice now and i know how tough it can be on the home front. God bless you and your family, and Thank You for all that you are sacrificing for us.
Beings it is after the 13th of Nov. {the date we are supposed to get things mailed for Christmas } it might take longer than the expected week and a half. You might be better off sending packaged goodies, the commercial preservatives are better than what we can use at home. Here are some things i have mailed and had good results with...Oatmeal, or chocolate chip cookies do really well in the mail if you put them inside of a pringles can. Those "disposable" tupperware bowls are inexpensive and work to keep things airtight and fresh too. Divinity, and homemade fudge keep very well if airtight, so will rice krispie treats. Put layers of waxed paper in between, or individually wrap each piece. Carmel corn is always a winner too, and can be sent in a ziplock baggie. Make sure that the box you send everything is packed tight so things don't end up breaking to pieces in the mail, i use dry popcorn, or new socks to fill the spaces. Hope that this is helpful for you.

Answer 2

I am going through the same thing as you trying to decide what to send to my son. I think that oatmeal cookies will hold up fine even though they may get a little hard. I know I have had them last 3 weeks before. (my son loves my late grandma's recipe so I will make those.) I would not send chocolate chip cookies as they will melt. Peanut butter cookies should keep also. The very best thing to keep them fresh is Tupperware as it seals really tightly and can survive almost anything. (I used to be a Tupperware Consultant.) However it is rather expensive for something that will probably be thrown away. A good alternative would be a ziplock bag put inside of a tin.
I know a lot of people have suggested sending prepackaged goods, but sometimes there is just something therapeutic about making something with your own hands for your loved one that is away from you. Of course, whatever you send will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 3

Zip lock bags work well.... put cookies into empty Pringles cans, and that will help keep them from crushing.

Put food in some type of metal tin/box or container. That way if it's exposed to rats (ick, I know!) they can't get to the food.

I sent banana bread, brownies, cookies, and all kinds of home baked things...... all sent in flat rate boxes so I didn't pay by the pound! LOL, that added up fast the first time!

Answer 4

It is ALWAYS best to be cordial to the other party during divorce proceedings lest something should come back to haunt you. There will be ways that both of you have the upper hand but go ahead and let him come get his stuff. You can have a sheriff's deputy escort him and be present when this takes place. It is probably a wise decision. Divorce is hard on the filer and the filee. Parting ways amicably saves a lot of unecessary heartache, pain, and stress. I have been through it twice and have had it both ways.

Answer 5

Personally, I wouldn't send any baked items. I'd send prepackaged items. It can take well over 15 days depending on where he's located. Maybe Oreo cookies or something. Just remember not to send any pork products in case you were thinking of sending jerky or something.

Answer 6

you can bake cookies and stuff and they will get there fine, but you need to put them either in a tin container or even a pringles can to keep them from breaking to pieces. here's a recipe that's gotten there every time.
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c margarine-room temp (not low fat)
1 c packed brown sugar
1 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 c m&ms
1 c chopped pecans
combine flour, salt, soda-set aside
combine both sugars & cream well; add eggs, honey & vanilla-beat until mixed. stir in flour mixture. add m&m's and pecans. put in greased 9x15 jellyroll pan. bake at 350 for about 30 min or until golden brown. cut into bars (makes 24)

Answer 7

I send my hubby sugar cookies. I sent all kinds during his 1st deployment but he told me that the others don't stay as fresh (as long) as the sugar cookies do. I don't have a vacuum seal either, I just use ziplocks.

Answer 8

This will be a helpful site for you:
http://www.anysoldier.com/HowToSend.cfm

============================

A note about the above-mentioned dog collars >> It has been asked that these not be sent:

http://www.dix.army.mil/PAO/post03/post041803/Fleacollars.htm
"Our skin is different from that of dogs, and the pesticides tend to burn our skin...If you put them on a human, the fleas and ticks won't go near the collar, but they will go everywhere else..."

Such warnings are also mentioned elsewhere:

http://www.greens.org/s-r/28/28-22.html
"...Some soldiers in the Gulf War wore flea collars meant for pets, exposing them to toxic levels of pesticides. In 1997, Dr. Robert Haley, UT Southwestern chief of epidemiology and lead author of the study, and his colleagues defined three Gulf War syndromes. Syndrome 1, commonly found in veterans who wore pesticide containing flea collars, is characterized by impaired cognition..."

http://www.pbase.com/stuartkpeterson/image/30216777
"...Flea and Tick collars - when soldiers first went to Iraq, they experienced a horrible sand flea problem - they found that putting the flea/tick collars around their ankles kept the sand fleas away. The only bad thing was that flea/tick collars aren't meant for humans - so they gave many soldiers bad rashes from allergic reactions..."

http://sulcus.berkeley.edu/mcb/165_001/papers/manuscripts/_456.html
"...Flea collars contain a pesticide that is absorbed percutaneously and inhibits AChE, BuChE, and NTE. Hence the OPIDP associated with the use of flea collars has the following symptoms: fatigue, short-term memory loss, word-finding difficulties, reduced cognitive and intellectual function, impaired school performance, and peripheral neuropathy (Haley et al. 1997c)..."

Answer 9

I sent oatmeal raisin cookies in plastic bag wrapped in foil. Nobody got sick and I was sent thank you letters from fellows I didn't even know. Other family members sent other kinds of cookies as well.

Answer 10

just send cookies in zip bags in a zip dish, plus you can send other things beef jerky peanuts movies video games i even send little microwavable raviolis and canned fruit just make sure the cans are the peel tops. you can send fruit snacks and candy bars, you can even buy a meat and cheese set(check in x-mas gift packs) merry christmas and god bless you both