Who here has done something unique to their SO on deployments? I am thinking about writing her a letter on christmas wrapping paper and on post-it notes. My mother in law would write letters backwards and that thpe of thing to my dad in law. Any ideas or things you have done to your SO's while deployed???

I used to hose down the inside of the boxes with my dh's favorite perfume of mine...he'd tear pieces of the box off and put them in his rack...:teehee

I used to hose down the inside of the boxes with my dh's favorite perfume of mine...he'd tear pieces of the box off and put them in his rack...:teehee

that is sooo cute !!!

LOL! I used to do some pretty silly things. I'd throw in totally random things from home just to make dh laugh. Like I threw in the dogs chewed up stringy toy! I put an ice cube in a ziplock baggie once KNOWING that it would just be water in a bag by the time he got it! A condom with the instructions from the box, etc...silly silly things mixed in with what I intended to send. His friends thought I was nuts!
Our oldest ds wanted to "play" too, so he sent his Luke Skywalker action figure. Dh took that lil Luke with him everywhere & sent us pictures. I have pis of Luke at Stonhenge, Luke with the guards In London, Luke at the Eiffle Tower etc. Luke even attended dh's re-enlistment while they were deployed, I have a pic of Luke stuck in the cake!

This may seem kind of weird. I wore a shirt to bed for 5 days and I sprayed it with perfume that dh loves. I put it in a ziplock bag and sealed it. He liked it because it smelled like me :). I also painted a pillowcase for him.

This may seem kind of weird. I wore a shirt to bed for 5 days and I sprayed it with perfume that dh loves. I put it in a ziplock bag and sealed it. He liked it because it smelled like me :). I also painted a pillowcase for him.

No that wearing the shirt with perfume, in my case cologne, is not weird because I actually did that for her before they left, lol. she has a body pillow that she puts between her knees and that has her scent on it and I tell you what, I curl up with that at night and it is as if I am holding her even though I am not. I mean like I said I curl up with that and I fall right to sleep. Works like a charm. Also, another thing I am going to do is write her a letter on some extra christmas wrapping paper, of course on the back. :teehee :teehee

Who here has done something unique to their SO on deployments? I am thinking about writing her a letter on christmas wrapping paper and on post-it notes. My mother in law would write letters backwards and that thpe of thing to my dad in law. Any ideas or things you have done to your SO's while deployed???
This took some time, but, one time I wrote a whole bunch of individual cards and letters for specific occasions. Like..."open for a day your feeling down" and in that card or note would be a quote to perk him up and a personal message or memory.

This took some time, but, one time I wrote a whole bunch of individual cards and letters for specific occasions. Like..."open for a day your feeling down" and in that card or note would be a quote to perk him up and a personal message or memory.

Thats a real good idea with the cards. I know my wife will LOVE that.

that is sooo cute !!!

I know I was sitting here say awwww....lol.

I made my DH a "countdown calendar" on post-it notes.. that way each day, he could wake up, and tear a day off the calendar and know that he was one day closer to being home with us.

I sent him a themed care package when he was gone on the 6 monther.. it had some soil from our place, sealed in a ziploc, with instructions to place it under his pillow in his rack (so he'd be on the same ground we are when we sleep).. sent him some string, for when he's at the end of his rope, a hershey's kiss and hug, a penny for his thoughts along with paper, pens and stamped envelopes, a roll of livesavers, a paperclip (for holding it all together..) there was a ton more stuff, but I can't remember it all off the top of my head right now..

If you guys have a pet, maybe send her a card with a "note" from the dog/cat.. signed with a paw print done with ink or paint.

Im in the process of making a care package for my DH. Im sending him a voice recorder so he can hear my voice along with some other things like some of his favorite candy. My DH is on a 6 months deployment and we only have almost 2 months left of it. I know whatever you decide to put in there for her, she will love. Hope it works out for you. It does get easier.:hugs

I'm liking these ideas! Keep 'em coming. I have no clue what to send to dh. hehe

Im in the process of making a care package for my DH. Im sending him a voice recorder so he can hear my voice along with some other things like some of his favorite candy. My DH is on a 6 months deployment and we only have almost 2 months left of it. I know whatever you decide to put in there for her, she will love. Hope it works out for you. It does get easier.:hugs


:thumbsup Great idea with the recorder! Congrats on being 2/3 of the way through!
Since DH was gone for Christmas while on the 6 monther, I sent him talking photo frames.. (they make small ones that fold open and closed, about the size of a compact) 1 from me, and one from our daughter (then 4 months old... I recorded her cooing and "talking") He loved them, and listened to them A LOT. I got them at Radioshack. The ones I bought held a 2x2 passport sized photo. You can have sheets of the 2x2 photos printed on those little Kodak photo printer kiosk things at walmart and grocery stores.

I like these idea's as well ! we were just talking about this last nite !

Yup, I agree, all are good ideas keep em coming. I am trying to do something like the lifesavers but on a bigger scale, like 5,000 rolls sent to her to give 1 to each onboard the ship. it is a thing my MIL did for my FIL when he was in Nam. I guess it is supposed to symbolize saving the persons life or something, I am not sure.

I was going to take a picture of me sleeping in the bed (like a pic of my head on a pillow) and hopefully find one of those magnet frames to send along with it...So my db'd have a pic of me sleepin next to him to put in his rack. :D

Yup, I agree, all are good ideas keep em coming. I am trying to do something like the lifesavers but on a bigger scale, like 5,000 rolls sent to her to give 1 to each onboard the ship. it is a thing my MIL did for my FIL when he was in Nam. I guess it is supposed to symbolize saving the persons life or something, I am not sure.


To save yourself some money and postage, why not by the bags of single individually wrapped ones? That way you could purchase and ship 5,000 of them without costing you an arm and a leg, plus everyone on the ship would have at least one. Either that or ask if your FRG would like to send a "general purpose" care package addressed to all personnel on board, then each person could bring in so much of each item, and maybe use FRG funds for shipping. Keep in mind that there are usually single sailors on each ship who recieve nothing from home during deployments. It's sad, but it happens.

If you bring up the care package idea at the meeting, there may be someone who's got a child in a non profit organization (4H or girl/boy scouts) who'd like to help out as a community service project. My aunt led a 4H group when DH was on the 6 monther, and her group adopted the ship. They sent care packages and each child was assigned a sailor pen pal. It worked out great, and when they returned, my DH went to one of their meetings in his uniform and personally thanked them for all they did.

I was going to take a picture of me sleeping in the bed (like a pic of my head on a pillow) and hopefully find one of those magnet frames to send along with it...So my db'd have a pic of me sleepin next to him to put in his rack. :D

I made a magnetic frame for DH. Places like office max sell magnetic printable paper.. I bought some of the crayola brand (holographic patterned) stuff and cut out a frame. It works and doesn't take up too much space in racks or lockers. :wink

To save yourself some money and postage, why not by the bags of single individually wrapped ones? That way you could purchase and ship 5,000 of them without costing you an arm and a leg, plus everyone on the ship would have at least one. Either that or ask if your FRG would like to send a "general purpose" care package addressed to all personnel on board, then each person could bring in so much of each item, and maybe use FRG funds for shipping. Keep in mind that there are usually single sailors on each ship who recieve nothing from home during deployments. It's sad, but it happens.

If you bring up the care package idea at the meeting, there may be someone who's got a child in a non profit organization (4H or girl/boy scouts) who'd like to help out as a community service project. My aunt led a 4H group when DH was on the 6 monther, and her group adopted the ship. They sent care packages and each child was assigned a sailor pen pal. It worked out great, and when they returned, my DH went to one of their meetings in his uniform and personally thanked them for all they did.

Very good idea with the bags of lifesavers and the FRG as well.

Very good idea with the bags of lifesavers and the FRG as well.

No problem.. I try and remind everyone that the FRG is there to help and offer support to BOTH families and sailors. I served as FRG president for DH's last command, up until he detached last month, and it was a very neat experience. :D

Good luck! I'm sure your wife will enjoy anything you send her!

No problem.. I try and remind everyone that the FRG is there to help and offer support to BOTH families and sailors. I served as FRG president for DH's last command, up until he detached last month, and it was a very neat experience. :D

Good luck! I'm sure your wife will enjoy anything you send her!

Oh yeah she would enjoy anything and as we are talking about it, she e-mailed me the other day giving me a list of things, lol. So, I guess I have my work cut out for me, lol. :lmao

Oh yeah she would enjoy anything and as we are talking about it, she e-mailed me the other day giving me a list of things, lol. So, I guess I have my work cut out for me, lol. :lmao

LOL.. gotta love when they give you a list.. On the 6 monther DH wanted a memory card for the PS2, and other misc. stuff.. He'd even give me a list of what goodies to buy/make and send... :teehee

LOL.. gotta love when they give you a list.. On the 6 monther DH wanted a memory card for the PS2, and other misc. stuff.. He'd even give me a list of what goodies to buy/make and send... :teehee

Well my list just got longer. Desk fans that clip on to stuff, portable dvd player with dvd's from home, extension cord, I mean why dont I just ship the whole house to her? LMAO!! :lmao :lmao :lmao She says its hot as all hell on the ship right now, well maybe in her berthing, lol.

Well my list just got longer. Desk fans that clip on to stuff, portable dvd player with dvd's from home, extension cord, I mean why dont I just ship the whole house to her? LMAO!! :lmao :lmao :lmao She says its hot as all hell on the ship right now, well maybe in her berthing, lol.

LOL... I sent DH a camping fan.. it was battery operated, and had a flourescent light on one end.. found it at walmart, and he said it worked GREAT, and didn't take up that much space.. it's kinda flat. I also sent him industrial strength velcro to attach it to his rack.

LOL... I sent DH a camping fan.. it was battery operated, and had a flourescent light on one end.. found it at walmart, and he said it worked GREAT, and didn't take up that much space.. it's kinda flat. I also sent him industrial strength velcro to attach it to his rack.

Industrial strength velcro??? Didn't know that existed. Where did you find that?

Industrial strength velcro??? Didn't know that existed. Where did you find that?

Ace Hardware.. LOL.. it's stronger than the stuff walmart sells in their craft dept. anyway.. DH said the fan never budged once he got it hung up.. :teehee

What I send to people isn't really special STUFF... but I like to wrap each thing individually and attach a note to each thing.
Like, if it's chapstick, "To keep your lips soft for me."
or ibuprofin might be "Since I'm not there to give you a massage, relax your muscles with this."

Homemade cookies or muffins are easy to mail too...just make sure they're well-wrapped in a mostly-airtight arrangement. haha.

cute ideas!