Top Ten Gifts for Your Sailor

With a half-million members serving on active or reserve duty right now, there’s a pretty good chance that a family has someone they love serving in the United States Navy. And with deployments for sailors getting more frequent and longer, there’s a good chance that that sailor of yours will be out to sea right now, or will be expecting to go in the near future.

That makes it especially hard at holiday time to buy him or her the perfect gift. You can’t do a lot of the family things; the standard sweater is useless to someone stationed in the tropics. And shipping sometimes costs as much as the gift – not to mention that, because the sailor can’t return it, the gift has to be perfect!

A lot of families and friends opt for gift cards. But you don’t have to do that. Try these ideas on for size.

Homemade cookies, candies, or anything homemade your sailor loves is a perfect choice. Sailors don’t have access to stoves and can’t bake those goodies for themselves; besides, there’s something especially comforting about being fed by someone you love. And here’s another hint: send a lot of whatever you make. These homemade goodies have great trade value, so when your sailor shares or swaps he or she can get even more out of your gift. Don’t send a dozen cookies; send six dozen. They won’t go to waste.

Wargames, either board games or video games, are fantastic for your sailor. They exercise the mind and help pass long boring stretches of time. Good ones can be the basics, like Risk or Axis and Allies (board or digital), or the really intensive ones like Wooden Ships and Iron Men (board game) or anything by Sid Meiers (computer games).

Waterproof watches – you’d be surprised how often things get dropped into the bilge of ships and subs. A collapsible magnet that can be used to fish out metal objects is also a great idea; you can find these at most auto parts shops. Tell them what it’s for, and they’ll be sure to get you a high-powered magnet to pick up those heavy items.

Before the next batch here, you need to know something very important. If you send valuable items overseas – even through APO/IPO addresses – like video games, DVDs, iPods, Xbox, computers, etc., you do run a risk that someone might steal them. Always, always insure anything you send that carries monetary, rather than or in addition to, sentimental value, and never send anything that you could not bear to lose. It’s also a good idea to send multiple packages, not one big package, when you have several items to ship. With that in mind:

An Xbox or other video game system is often a welcome addition to a sailor’s possessions. Look for something slimline, like some of the later-generation PS2s; sailors don’t have a lot of room in their bunking areas, and anything they own needs to be locked up. If you send games or movies, send them sans packaging, as just a cardboard-protected DVD, and save the case for when they get home. Anything that minimizes space occupied will help.

If you can afford it, an iPod, particularly a preloaded iPod with favorite music, audio books, and messages from home, can make a fantastic gift. This MUST be insured; they are hot items in many overseas locations, and very prone to theft.

If you can afford it, a laptop, even an older used laptop, is going to be welcome company. Look for these things: should be wi-fi capable, should be capable of playing current DVDs (not all older laptops play newer DVDs, so be careful), and should be preloaded with games and software. Again, insurance is a must.

If you can’t quite afford these things but you want to send something nice, a small portable DVD player is great, particularly if you enclose some favorite movies in a little DVD case. Never send the most current movies; he or she can borrow them from companions or from the ship’s library. Instead, send obscure stuff he or she would love to have.

Messages from home in a big package, to a deployed or overseas sailor, can be remarkable. But a better idea is to take the 12 Days of Christmas approach: post one item every day. Do Advent cards, one every day of December. Or send little gifts every day. Messages, letters, and packages from home are incredibly important to military members living away from home.

A DVD or two with new family pictures and video can make a sailor’s day. Even better, send something sentimental, used, and memorable: your baby’s first lost tooth with a smiling picture to prove it; a toy or gift picked out by a son, daughter, young sibling, young niece, or other very young relative just for the sailor; ribbons, flowers, or other memorabilia from special events your sailor can’t attend. Packaged with a box of homemade cookies, your sailor will feel mushy all day.

Send something patriotic yet useful: a U.S. Navy logo blanket, classy pens with flags or appropriate logos and insignia, or subscriptions to the Navy Times or other military publications.