About two weeks after Christmas and New Year’s, Sarah, a fellow adoptee who moved in with me, began fretting about the Valentine’s Day care package she wanted to send her Air Force boyfriend stationed in Japan.
 
I naively asked why she was stressing about it when you simply put things in a box and mail it. Sarah showed me Pinterest photos and Facebook posts from her fellow military girlfriends and wives, and I realized quickly that plain care packages don’t cut it anymore. Who knew?
 
As someone who has sent care packages and received them, I had no idea how much time, energy and glitter can go into creating the perfect care package. In addition to the stuff going into the box, decorating the inside of the box is just as important as what goes inside.
 
If you have a niece or nephew serving in the military here or overseas, away in college, or if you’re a Long-Distance Auntie like me, you can send a special care package from their favorite Savvy Auntie.
 
The Box
 
First, choose the box. Using the Post Office’s priority-rate boxes are a great value. Since the boxes are sent via a flat rate, it doesn’t matter how heavy they are, so you can really stuff them full. I like to use the medium square boxes.
 
The Theme
 
Second, select a theme—like Valentine’s Day—and decorate the inside of the box. Use less expensive materials, such as construction paper, old cards, contact paper, or wrapping paper. Fasten the decorations with either glue or tape.
 
The Contents
 
Finally, my favorite step is filling the box. In addition to sending cards, letters, and photos, care packages are about the food or the personal items.
 
One thing I learned from sending numerous care packages to soldiers from AnySoldier.com is to send either personal care items or food items, depending on what they are. If you mix them up, then cookies will taste like deodorant, and nobody wants that.
 
AnySoldier and other formal websites discourage homemade goods. If you bake for your loved ones, packaging is key to receiving cookies or a pile of crumbs. Based on suggestions from the web, Sarah and her friends used Pringle cans (after eating the chips inside) to package cookies. The cans, of course, were covered in construction paper or contact paper to decorate them.
 
If you’re sending pre-packaged cookies and snacks, you can wrap them in bubble wrap to keep them even more secure. Just a side note: It is Girl Scout cookie time, and everyone has their favorites.
 
Care packages don’t have to include just cookies. You can include other items, such as dried fruit, nuts/trail mix, protein bars, powdered drink mixes, instant soup, tuna with the pull-up tops, snack crackers, and candy.
 
The College Care Packages
 
For your favorite college student, add in a gift card or two with those Ramen noodles. The Visa, Mastercard, and American Express cards give them extra spending money wherever they choose. Gift cards for specific stores, restaurants, websites, and services are great too.
 
The Deployment Care Packages
 
The AnySoldier website asks units to list items they need. Slipping in black or brown socks and paperback books are always a good thing for soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. For personal care packages, baby wipes, new toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, body wash, and razors are always great items to include.
 
Packages with APO addresses (these are addresses used to military overseas) will require a customs form. On the customs form, you have to list the items in the box and their value.
 
My living room floor was covered with cards, construction paper, glue, scissors, and glitter while I watched Sarah and her friend spend hours making their care packages. Obviously, the most important ingredient in a care package is love.

Photo: Phaitoon
Published: February 12, 2013