The holidays are busy times for the Postal Service, and the in-boxes for U.S. soldiers are full. Many of us want to send a token of appreciation for those soldiers serving for us, but do we know how? Sending gifts and cards to support our soldiers are a great way to cheer them up during the holidays and throughout the year. The Postal Service has offered some sound advice if you want to ship gifts to soldiers overseas, especially for soldiers in special care.
If you want to ship a gift to a soldier, make sure your package does not contain a vague name and address. For instances, “Soldier in War, or “A recovering American Soldier” addressee will return to you undelivered. In addition, an address to “Wounded Soldier at Reed Army Medical Center” will come back returned as well. The postal system only delivers to a specified soldier, to a specified address and unit.
The Postal Service offers a care kit for shipping gifts overseas. This kit has eight priority mail boxes, eight labels, one roll of tape, and eight customs forms with envelopes. This kit includes the supplies and the cost of shipping, for only $8.95, regardless of the package weight or destination.
For those who don’t have a particular soldier to send holiday mail to, there are a couple of ways to support our soldiers and their families during the holidays.
Homefront groups donate gifts and other items to soldiers overseas. Donations like used computers and printers are some of the things these homefront groups can send to soldiers. Unlike the Postal Service, the do not need a specific soldier in mind, because the homefront group specializes in getting these items to them.
America Supports You is a program offered by the Defense Department. The website gives detailed instructions for sending messages (snail and email), frequent flier miles, phone cards, holiday, and other donations and gifts. You can visit www.americasupportsyou.mil for more information or use the following to get in touch with a soldier overseas.
Messages http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/Message.aspx?SectionID=5
Cards and letters http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/AmericaSupportsYou/letters_messages.html
The deadline for shipping Christmas gifts to soldiers overseas by the Postal Service is November 27th. Parcel airlift mail should ship by Dec. 4 and priority mail should ship by Dec. 11.
Three to four weeks before a holiday any time of the year is the approximate deadline to ship to a soldier. If your package, card, or email does not get to them on time, it’s ok because the soldiers will receive those items as soon as they arrive.
Soldiers also need to know that their families will be cheered at Christmas, and they don’t need to ship toys or gifts to their families. Homefront groups accept toys and other donations during the Christmas season and offer gifts to soldiers children.
On a last note, there isn’t ever a deadline to ship a gift to a soldier, because that gift will arrive even if it is not on time. Continue to ship gifts throughout the month of December, regardless of the deadlines to ship those items.
