Here are some great care package ideas from a fabulous reader, and Facebook fan, Heather E. Sosa!

Let an overseas serviceperson know you care on Valentine’s Day. Bring in a Valentine to a participating The UPS Store location, and we’ll pay for the first-class postage. It’s one small way we can show our appreciation.

Many of The UPS Store locations have Sunday hours. Last day to ship is Monday, January 31st!

Rather than letting your excess Halloween Candy go to your hips, send it to the troops. If you have young kids or you did not get as many trick-or-treaters as you hoped, you may have a lot of candy hanging around.

So, donate it!

Show our troops (and vets) some love on Valentine’s Day!

Veterans

To send Valentines to Veterans, you can locate a facility through the VA Home Page. This is a great project to do with kids! If you have a facility nearby, you can call and ask if you can deliver them in person. And I also found this site for sending Valentines to Canadian Veterans.

Stars and Stripes Valentines

The deadline for printed Valentines in Stars and Stripes is January 26; if you miss it, you can still get in the online Valentine’s section. I sent one a few years ago for the print version for DH and he loved it…

Veterans
To send Valentines to Veterans, you can locate a facility through the VA Home Page. This is a great project to do with kids! If you have a facility nearby, you can call and ask if you can deliver them in person.
Stars and Stripes Valentines
The deadline (late January) for printed Valentines in Stars and Stripes has passed, but you can still get in the online Valentine’s section. I sent one two years ago for the print version for DH and he loved it.
Care Packages
Here’s the care package I …

Since the platoon, minus DH, came home for Valentine’s Day, I sent them a St. Patrick’s Care Package.
There is not much around here. I guess the Irish did not make it this far inland.
I baked some cookies. I tried to make shamrocks, but I put them too close together and did not make them thick enough. Since I figured they still tasted fine, I included them. I added some chocolate chips and some M&M cookies. I vacuum sealed individual packs of these three types for each of the soldiers and …

UPDATE: I’m putting this post on top because I’d really like some votes, people! Thanks!
There are some great sites out there with Care Package Themes. Here are some more CARE Package ideas that I’ve come up with.
As an FRG, we’ve already sent out the cookies and we are getting a combo Movie/Game Night package ready. “Work it Out” was DH’s idea.
Let me know which ones you like the best and if you have other items you’d add to these packages or additional themes your soldier has enjoyed!
1. Work …

Friends and family often ask what they can do for me and DH. We appreciate their thoughts and prayers and are thankful that we are blessed with a wonderful support network.
While there are always things that might make DH’s deployment easier and more comfortable, both of us want for very little.
So, these offers of help always makes me think of the soldiers who do not have such a large, loving group of family and friends.
Remember that our troops are adults who volunteered (or at least re-enlisted or continued their commitment) …

Today I felt a sharp pain in my tummy. That scared me a little because I had heard sharp pain = bad. But it was very quick and I have a tendency to overreact to these things so I decided to call the women’s clinic rather than go in.
No answer.
Called again later. Someone picked up after two rings (WOW!) and put me through to a nurse. The nurse said this is normal… if the pain is severe and sustained and/or is accompanied by bleeding, that is a problem.
So, I went …