Gift ideas for someone being deployed?

[wdwiala]

We have a friend leaving for the Middle East and would love to present him with something meaningful or helpful. Does anyone have any good suggestions?

 

[Lori74]

our nephew recently joined. I made him a book from shutterfly. we had a party for him and had everyone sign it and then gave it to him. im not sure if this is along the lines you were thinking.

 

[cabanafrau]

I would check with him or perhaps his parents. He may have been given some recommendations from his unit, he may not want or be able to accommodate much. DH's cousin's son was deployed earlier this year and DH helped gather up lots of digital media to load on a hard drive so that he could have loads of movies, music and books to use with his laptop.

When my friend's son was deployed to Afghanistan a couple years ago I was eventually able to send some phone cards and some Amazon cards. I know a lot of things he received before he left he had to leave here, as much as he appreciated them. Too much stuff, lots didn't suit what he would need.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

What about a cheap e-reader and a giftcard for books. DH always reads a lot when he's overseas. It was probably one of the best purchases we made. Amazon has delivered to every place DH(and friends) have gone but phone cards haven't really been needed the last few times.
It's hard to think of real "gifty" type things for deployment because they A-Don't have a lot of room and B-Don't want to schlep a bunch of non-essential things around.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

DSoIL#2 had a deployment last year, and he took DD#2's Kindle (attached to my Amazon account). Much easier for him to store/keep track of than a bunch of books.

DD#2 made him a pocket sized photo album of her, his family, and their doggies to take.

Socks and underwear. DSoIL#2 was asking for more 2 months into deployment. Guess he didn't like washing his stuff on ship. LOL (or he got spoiled with DD doing his laundry, and forgot how to do his own)

 

[Thing 1]

Food. We have a military family and that is the most requested item. We do it in the form of care packages and that is easier than taking it with him. Most of the time, there is no refrigeration so that can be an issue. We send the individual packs of jelly and the individual packs of peanut butter and he can usually get bread in the dining hall. He also likes to get little debbie cakes and candy. He shares so we send a ton. They also like to get cheap fun toys. Balls, inflatable swards, nerf guns, yo-yos etc. I also send parties in a box for holidays. They love it, themed paper products, food, and even a few decorations.

 

[teller80]

This reminds me of the most useless gift someone gave my brother (a Marine) for his deployment to the first Gulf War (1990) - an ashtray. Actually, two people gave him one.

"Excuse me while I get my ashtray out of my backpack while I'm in the middle of a desert..."



When my daughter went out of the country for several years I wrote letters to her (snail mail). Can you do something like that regularly and maybe send care packages? I don't think postage would be any more expensive than sending w/in the US (you'd send it to a FPO or APO address).

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Food. We have a military family and that is the most requested item. We do it in the form of care packages and that is easier than taking it with him. Most of the time, there is no refrigeration so that can be an issue. We send the individual packs of jelly and the individual packs of peanut butter and he can usually get bread in the dining hall. He also likes to get little debbie cakes and candy. He shares so we send a ton. They also like to get cheap fun toys. Balls, inflatable swards, nerf guns, yo-yos etc. I also send parties in a box for holidays. They love it, themed paper products, food, and even a few decorations.

I LOVE sending people snack packages LOL! Especially around the holidays when the seasonal foods are out like the wacky Oreos. The last couple years I made them boxes of Lays and Doritoes chips when they were doing those flavor challenges.

Your Nerf Guns reminded me of sending water guns. Thtose were a hit too.

 

[wdwiala]

What about a cheap e-reader and a giftcard for books. DH always reads a lot when he's overseas. It was probably one of the best purchases we made. Amazon has delivered to every place DH(and friends) have gone but phone cards haven't really been needed the last few times.
It's hard to think of real "gifty" type things for deployment because they A-Don't have a lot of room and B-Don't want to schlep a bunch of non-essential things around.

This is an interesting idea. I was thinking of maybe an e-reader as well.

 

[lifesavacation]

What about some "open when" letters. It might be nice for him to have a few letters from his friends that he can open and read on different occasions.

 

[powellrj]

we gave our ds a subscription to our local paper when he was in Iraq. He really enjoyed it and he said the other guys would read them.

 

[damskipi13]

A lot depends on where the person will be. One of the long term bases with well established infrastructure (and sometimes the ability to go into town) or a more remote/austere location? An e-reader was a good suggestion. If they have a nice room with plenty of plugs, an electronic picture frame loaded with pics can be nice. One guy I know had a mini-projector he attached his phone to that would project movies on the wall. In an austere place, food is king. Homemade cookies (something that will last), peanut butter, candy (watch out for chocolate, it's a big hot desert), etc. If the person has a preferred razor or toiletries, sending those creature comforts always goes over well.

 

[CookieGVB]

We have a friend leaving for the Middle East and would love to present him with something meaningful or helpful. Does anyone have any good suggestions?

Is there going to be a deployment party? When my son was going into the Navy, I left a bunch of index cards and asked all of the guests to write something funny or loving or inspirational. I stuck a few of them into each letter I wrote while he was in boot camp and he still has them saved.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Is there going to be a deployment party? When my son was going into the Navy, I left a bunch of index cards and asked all of the guests to write something funny or loving or inspirational. I stuck a few of them into each letter I wrote while he was in boot camp and he still has them saved.

That really is a great idea.

 

[JaxDad]

When I was deployed my friend sent me a pair of running shoes, each one stuffed with several airline bottles of booze!

 

[Pamlur]

When a friend's son was deployed, several of us sent various care packages. I put everything I sent in various sized zip-lock bags, and she said he was so happy to get the bags because of the sand. Every time I send something now, I make sure to tuck in zip-lock bags.

 

[wdwiala]

Is there going to be a deployment party? When my son was going into the Navy, I left a bunch of index cards and asked all of the guests to write something funny or loving or inspirational. I stuck a few of them into each letter I wrote while he was in boot camp and he still has them saved.

There is! I know that there will be time for us each to share during the evening.