Ideas on What to Send Relative Stationed in Iraq

I have also heard they they like to get DVD's. Travel mugs are handy as it keeps the dirt out of their coffee when they leave their living space. Calf high socks, and slippers and things that they can give to kids they meet, maybe some stuffed toys that are in great shape and small. Was he into any sports back home, maybe a baseball and glove(make it 2 so he has someone to catch with) or a football to toss. A more personalized would be a photo cd of his friends and family. Just some thoughts. I know that the travel mugs and socks and slippers have been specific requests by troops in teh past couple of years.

My friends did a troop party for a guy in their neighborhood. They invited people over and had drinks and snacks and collected items to send to their friend and his work mates. You could take pictures of the party and put that on a cd or just put them in the box. If you do this, you may want to forgo your own gift because the shipping cost will be a big enough donation, and you will be helping several troops some of which may not have a concerned family member like yourself.

People will come to a party like this even if they don't know the person, just because they want to help the troops, it may be just the thing.

My coworkers son is there and says it's almost more stuff they "need" than want. Sometimes he spends 10 days in the field at a time with no running water and loves getting baby wipes to clean up with. Also the C. light packets that you add to bottled water are great to break up the water they drink and it's also super light to ship!

I've heard that the sunscreen that the military gives them isn't the greatest, not sure if it's the smell or what. So I've heard that they like getting sunscreen.

My cousin also liked getting iced tea packettes.

How about music, either a download card for an mp3 player if he has one or CD's of his favorite groups. When my nephew was in Iraq he asked for new music.

H.,
I'm not sure how much you want to spend on this. Our son is a loadmaster in the Air Force and has spent several 3-4 month tours in Iraq. Last year he was in Iraq on his birthday. We purchased one of those small Ipods (like a Nano, I think) and loaded it with a dozen or so patriotic songs ("I'm Proud to be an American", etc.) We already had a few CD's from which we could pick & choose songs to load, but you can also purchase them fairly inexpensively from the internet. And there is still room for him to load more songs of his own.

We pray for our men & women who keep us safe.
G. (mom of one & grandmother of one)

How about a hand held battery operated fan, my neighbor who has hot flashes loves hers. You now it's HOT there. Include a note to let him know you love and miss him, we will all be praying for his safe return. :)