After receiving a message from Maggie Mae on my Facebook fan page (and sending her a novel for a reply), I decided to write a blog about the question she asked:
Most of my ideas come from my husband, he just doesn't know it. The things he says, asks for or does.. I just go with it. For example:
My Zombie box idea spiraled from my husband's love of the show, The Walking Dead (awesome show!). When the stories of the "Bath Salt Zombies" started popping up, my twisted little mind went to, "Care Package!". With the help of amazon.com and neatoshop.com, the box was a huge success! I pretty much got the "bad ass" award for that one (AND Duck brand duct tape sent me an email about it! Totally cool!).
The Pickle box, totally came from him as well. He's obsessed with Pickles. He asked me to send him some Pickle flavored sun flower seeds and I decided an entire box of Pickles was perfect!
Again, the Super Hero box idea came from him as well. He and his buddies were able to watch The Avengers on the ship. I guess they had a discussion about costumes or something, and he requested pictures of him as child in a Captain America costume (I blogged about that too). He would be missing our anniversary, and I thought "You're my Hero" was PERFECT for an anniversary box. He has yet to receive it, but I KNOW it will be a HUGE hit with him.
The Ducktape idea came from sheer laziness but the need to be creative and make things, "Pretty". Duck brand made that too easy for me last deployment, so I continued it and will do so in the future as we have 16+ years of more deployments.
You get the idea.
Best advice I have, Listen to your service member. Think of things they like and make it fun. Yes, it is expensive, but honestly, their reaction is always worth it. It's another way I keep my husband and I connected (communication). They will always say something, ask for something, like something.. etc, that can be turned into a fun box.
Look on Pinterest.com, the ideas are endless. I even have an album where I occasionally pin general military ideas, posts, etc (All Things Military).
Follow other military family bloggers or talk to others who are sending packages as well. We all have unique ideas and you can learn and get ideas from others.
Saddest part of deployment ending? I can't send Care Packages to my husband. I might have to adopt a deployed service member!
If you ever have any questions, feel free to Facebook message me on my fan page or via Formspring (Facebook might be faster!).
