my husband is being deployed for 12-15 months this february. im a nervous wreck as i've never been through this before. i was wondering if there are any special little things you can do for a spouse who is deployed. i already am planning a photo cd set to music with pictures of us, my 4 year old son (his step son) and our daughter, who is due this tuesday. i know ill write to him and email him but im already thinking of things to do to make his time while he's gone a little easier. he also has mentioned wanting something with all of our names on it, to keep close to him while he's gone. any ideas??
2007-10-10 08:14:43 · 7 answers · asked by ? 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Before he leaves, I would go to Build a bear and have him get one for each of the kids and do a short recording. Also either tape him or video him reading stories. That way your son will see him and his daughter will "get" to know him a bit. Another thing you can do is get a flat daddy. One of our group had one and took him out to dinner for his birthday and family parties.
http://www.imalreadyhome.com/flatdaddy.htm
Now, what to send him. You can send him free subscriptions: https://store.primediamags.com/
Someone else posted these suggestions:
Themed Care Packages
"Surviving the Sandstorms"- Eye wash; Nasal spray; Chapstick; Bandana; goggles/sun glasses; etc
"Laundry Load"- Laundry soap ('sample size' or Tide tablets kind) to pack in with their clothes….in case there are no washer/dryers; Fabric softener sheets; clean socks and undershirts; Febreeze
"Lotta Java"- Tea; Cocoa; Coffee singles; creamer; sugar; International Coffee tins; cookies for dunking in coffee
"Thanks a Million!!"- Things that may "seem" expensive. Ex: Grey Poupon; electronic game of "Who wants to be a Millionaire?"; .
"Hang in There!"- Stuffed animal monkey; Banana bread; Banana chips; Banana pudding (the kind that doesn't have to be refrigerated); Monkey's in a Barrel game; card with a monkey on it.
"A Day at the Beach!"- sunscreen; beach towel; beach snacks; flip flop sandals (shower shoes); aloe vera gel;
"Medicine Cabinet"- aspirin; band-aids; Neosporin cream; A&D ointment; cold medicine; alka seltzer; Rolaids; etc.
"Staying Healthy"- nutrition/health bars (ex: Powerbar; Tigers Milk; Myoplex); vitamins; Nutri-grain bars; Gatorade or other sports drink (to stay hydrated);
"MRE/Mess Hall Survival Kit"- restaurant size condiment packs of: bbq sauce, mustard, ketchup, mayo, relish, salt. Pepper, taco sauce, ranch, cheese in a can dip, etc
"Correspondence Carton"- notebook paper; stationery; pens; pencils; stickers (who knows they may even play with these!!); envelopes, address book (filled out already of course); camera (with a note to send back once it is full);
"Action Hero's"- Powerbars; squirt guns; Red Bull drinks; small Army figurines; comic books; Gatorade; Red Bull drinks; etc
"To Be A Kid Again"- silly string; bubbles; small bouncy balls; hacky sacks; brain teaser toys (rubix cube, etc); deck of cards; dominoes; slinky, Frisbee's; Pez w/ dispenser; Nerf balls; sand box toys (pail, small shovel, etc);
"Bathroom in a Box"- TOILET PAPER!!! (the soft stuff); razor refills; foot powder; bars of soap; fresh, clean, soft washcloth; travel size shampoo/conditioner; toothpaste; toothbrush; etc
"Ruck Sack Snack Pack"- packed full of your loved one's favorite snacks….possibilities endless. Doritos; M&M's; nuts; chips; dips; crackers; jelly beans; beef jerky; gum; etc.
"Breakfast on the GO"- mutrigrain bars; instant oatmeal cups; small boxes of cereal; pop tarts; Hostess donuts: Otis Spunk Meyer muffins; cocoa; coffee; Tang;
"Tube O Tasties"- Just as something different…send a package in a tube instead of a square box. Make sure the parameters are acceptable though.
"Stress Reliever"- back scratcher; bubble wrap; yo-yo's; bubbles; squeezy tension ball;
"Sloppy Kisses"- since we know chocolate melts over there….send a bunch of Hershey's kisses. Bound to be "sloppy kisses!"
"I'm Nuts About You"- peanuts; cashews; pistachios; peanut butter cookies; any candy or cookies with nuts in them; Nutter Butter's; Peanut Lover's Chex mix; Fiddle Faddle with peanuts
"Rock On" or "Charlie ROCK"- pop rocks; music cd's
"Chili Today, Hot Tamale"- hot tamales (candy); small cans of chili; red pepper flakes (like the ones at pizza parlors); salsa sunflower seeds; Cajun flavor Pringles; Spicy chex mix; Boston red hots; peppered beef jerky; taco bell hot sauce packets; Extreme Doritos; chili powder; nacho cheese sauce in a can; Tums/Rolaids, Jalapeño Ritz
"And this little piggy went to the sandbox"- (foot care kit)- foot powder; Dr, Scholl's boot inserts; foot lotion; foot file; fresh, clean socks; toe nail clippers; scrub brush; odor eaters for shoes/boots; foot soaks (either include a small bucket or large Ziploc bags to soak feet it)
"How do you eat your OREOS??!!"- regular Oreos; peanut butter Oreos; double stuff Oreos; low fat Oreos; chocolate filled Oreos; chocolate covered Oreos; holiday Oreos
"Muchas Gracias…Nachos Supreme"- Doritos &/or Fritos &/or any corn tortilla chips; Mexican Velveeta; salsa (wrapped in bubble wrap); small can of olives (don't forget the can opener); bean dip; nacho cheese dip; small can of green chilies; jar of jalapenos (wrapped in bubble wrap); taco seasoning; small paper plates or bowls (so they can make their nachos); taco sauce (especially easy are those condiment packets from Taco Bell); You could also send the sauces from the various Mexican dinner kits (they also have tortilla's in those dinner kits that are sealed so they would probably get there without molding or drying out); Taco Bell Nacho Supreme kit
"Sweet Tooth"- Nerds; Gummy Bears; Laffy Taffy; Bubble Gum; Tootsie Rolls; Lolli pops; (any candy that won't melt)
"Pamper Party" (for females)- Feminine hygiene products; shampoo/conditioner; hair barrettes and scrunchies (same color as their hair); facial scrub &/or soap; facial mask; lotion; shower gel; razors; facial moisturizer; tweezers; nail care kit; toner; special facial products (alpha hydroxy; eye cream; etc);
"Congrats on your promotion"- congratulation party favors; all your loved ones favorites snacks; sparkled cider (wrapped in bubble wrap of course); etc.
"For the Fisherman"- Goldfish crackers; tuna pouches; canned smoked salmon; cans of sardines; gummy worms; Go Fish card game; Field & Stream magazine; electronic fishing rod game; Sponge Bob Square Pants stuffed toy; fishing game toy (made by several different toy companies. Has a small fishing pole with a magnet on the end. Fish have magnets on their mouths);
"Say CHEEEESE!"- disposable cameras; cheese dip; Doritos; Cheetos; Cheese nips; Better Cheddars; Velveeta;
"Kick Back & Relax"- Dominoes; playing cards; magazines; books; music cd's; crossword puzzles; jigsaw puzzles; word searches; hand held electronic games; squirt guns; water balloons; bubbles; hacky sacks; Nerf balls; board games (Axis & Allies, Clue, Trivial Pursuit, etc);
"Christmas in July"- wrap everything in Christmas wrapping paper; peppermint flavored hard candies;
"Italian Stallion"- Italian cheese Ghardetto's; Pizza-licious Pringles; Pepperoni pizza Combo's; small Boboli pizza bread; pizza sauce (for dipping Boboli); canned Ravioli, spaghetti, lasagna, etc;
"American Classics"- Pez with dispensers; Cracker Jacks; Lifesavers; Necco Wafers; Pop Rocks; Nerds; Good & Plenty; Candy Necklaces; Candy cigarettes
"Deployed on Thanksgiving"- canned turkey; instant mashed potato cups; hard breadsticks; gravy in a jar (wrapped in bubble wrap); Hostess apple pies; small can of corn (or other veggie); something special to cheer them up on
**Thanksgiving (pictures from home; magazines; tape recorded tape; small scrapbook
2007-10-10 11:00:13 · answer #1 · answered by Diane 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First of all ... ((Hugs)) to you .... I have been where you are right now and am currently on our 8Th major deployment. When my hubby is deployed, I buy up a bunch of silly cards and then pop one in the mail for him about 2x a week on top of the letters I send him. Have your son write letters and send on his own. Being he is only 4, they may not say much, but they will speak loudly to his daddy's heart. Create theme packages when you send him his care boxes. I always toss in a jar of Hershey hugs and kisses for him so that when he is lonely he can unwrap one and have a hug/kiss from home. It is silly, but he loves it. As for something with your names on it ... try for something that he can carry with him all the time. Maybe have a handkerchief stiched with all your names on it. There are some places that will laser a photo of you all on it too. This is something that he can put in his boot or in his pack and carry with him all the time. It is small and easy to transport, no matter where he goes. Another thing that we like to do, granted you will have to check on regs for his unit, is we both have the mini-cassette recorders and we will send cassettes back and forth to each other. This would be great for you having kids too. Especially since he will be gone for the newest additions first year of life. He can hear the goos and giggles and maybe even the first word. To save on space, we only have 3 total and we just tape over them and send them back and forth.
God bless you and your family!
2007-10-10 08:36:30 · answer #2 · answered by squidsgirl97 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think the most special thing you can do outside of writing to him often is to keep a film documentary of that little boy if you can. He is going to miss a lot and this way he could see diffences, either day to day, or week to week.
I think just keeping in touch with letters and cards from home some goodies, care packages with whatever you can put in to remind him of love and home too, would be great.
God Bless you and your husband and all of our troops wherever they may be
2007-10-10 08:36:15 · answer #3 · answered by Moody Red 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My boyfriend isn't back from Iraq yet but this is what I plan to do for him...I'm going to be there when he steps off the bus (I think this is SUPER important, imagine if you had been away from home for close to a year and no one welcomed you back...that would suck) I'm going to make him a HUGE sign that says "WELCOME HOME MY MARINE" and I'll be wearing my shirt that says proud girlfriend of a US Marine! I'll probably take him out to dinner, let him take a long hot shower, give him a full body massage (I'm a massage therapist) then if he's feeling a little frisky (ahem you know lol) and then send him to bed :) I've talked to my boyfriend quite extensively about what he would like and he says he doesn't want a huge party or anything super crazy or overly planned...he just wants me and his family and to relax :)
2016-05-21 00:20:10 · answer #4 · answered by mica 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Find him one of those Happy Face Buttons.
Send him a Care Package from home. Put in it all sorts of silly things. A funny pair of underware, a comic book like Archie (nothing serious), a piece of paper with all your hand-prints on them, a GI Joe doll, and lots and lots and lots of chocolate chip cookies (He may get to eat some if the other guys do not smell them first).
Mail him lots of funny I miss you cards. Just let him know you are still there for him, love him, and cannot wait for him to get back.
2007-10-10 08:33:49 · answer #5 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pictures of you and the family, home made cookies or things you made for him before he left. A little perfume on the letter you send him. How about one of those metal bracelets that you can have engraved with your picture and names?
I hope this helps. May god bless you and your family.
2007-10-10 08:27:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
okay here goes . do you have a flat stone in your yard or know of where you can get one ? paint it a pretty color and paint all your names on it and send it to him . prefable to use a river rock cause those are kind of flat . I did that for my brother who was deployed for a while . He loved it . Just a thought that is unique . good luck and I know this is a hard time for you and your kids .god bless you and your family .
2007-10-10 08:21:33 · answer #7 · answered by Kate T. 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋