The Perfect Military Christmas Care Package

WIVES OF FAITH 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS BLOG CARNIVAL DAY 11.

I would have to say that the perfect care package for Christmas is one that is packed with the intention of bringing Christmas to the soldier, the way that he wants it. For some men that means mini trees and lights to put in their barracks rooms, or Santa hats for all their platoon buddies.

For Russ, he just wanted another package filled with love. I sent him some goodies (Christmas cookies of course!) and snacks, as well as some gifts…gifts with the intention of helping him through the next 6 months of his deployment. I sent him a cheap foreign-made mp3 player (otherwise known as the “liepod”) filled with some of his/our favorite songs and some photos of me. I also sent him some dvds, a Wall*e storybook and rubix cube, and hmmm….I’m not sure what else really! I know I had to divide all the stuff up into two boxes though!

I did read the following story in Chicken Soup for the Military Wife’s Soul that I thought I’d share:

I decided to send him a care package labeled, “The 25 days of Christmas.” There would be twenty-five gifts, each a reminder of our treasured holiday. However, there was a rule for the package: He could only open one gift each day until Christmas….

My excitement built as I began putting together his package full of Christmas touches: a pine-tree-scented air-freshener so he could have the small of Christmas, a candy cane so he could have the taste of Christmas, a Christmas music CD so he could have the sounds of Christmas, some cotton balls so he could have some snow for Christmas, hot cocoas so he could have a sip of Christmas….And, of course, the mistletoe, with instructions pending his arrival home.

Putting together this package put the spirit of Christmas in my heart. When Shawn finally receive the package and called to thank me, I could hear it in his voice, too. And I guess you could say Christmas for us was what it was supposed to be–full of joy and full of love.” (Chanda Stetler)