Other than Christmas, I found Valentine’s Day to be the toughest time during the deployment. After all, it isn’t much fun to spend Valentine’s Day when you’re engaged… completely by yourself.
John had recently gone back to Afghanistan after his R&R and I was feeling glum, sitting alone in my apartment with my family and close friends in different states than me. I won’t say that I was throwing a pity party, but I definitely was missing my best friend and love of my life.
As I did so often throughout that deployment, I found that creating a heart-felt care package for John made me feel better because I was able to channel my efforts into doing something nice for him. Whether this is your first Valentine’s Day during a deployment or the fifth, whether you have kiddos or not, whether this is the very first care package or the hundredth you’ve made, care packages are a perfect gift and a fun way to share loved treats, useful items, and reminders of you with your loved one.
Help Cupid find your loved one with a great gift… and you can start with these themed care packages. I combed through Pinterest to discover the best real care packages and recipes and gifts made by real people for you.
Craving more care package PINspiration? Follow my care package ideas board and featured care packages board.
Care Packages:
- Chocolate Lover’s
- Date Night
- Heart Attack
- Another Heart Attack
- The Longer the Wait
- Valentine’s Day
- Like a Fat Kid Loves Cake
- I Can’t Wait to Make Out With You
- Punny Valentine’s Package
- Sweet, Spicy, & Savory: 3 Great Valentine’s Care Package Ideas
- Pink
- True
- Heart-Themed
- XOXO
- Valentine’s Day Care Package Ideas
- Reasons Why I Love You
- Mwah!
- Conversation Heart
- Be Mine?
- Check One
- Hey Soldier of Mine
- Photo
- Will You Be My Valentine?
- Long Distance Love
- Red Hot
- Minions!
Gifts & Recipes:
- 5 Sexy Things to Send Your Military Man for Valentine’s Day
- Valentine Scrabblegrams Printable
- Heart Garland DIY
- Printable Coffee Cup Wrapper
- 18 Free Valentines Printables
- Candy Topper Printables
- You Complete Me Puzzle Card
- Gigantic Rice Krispie Hershey Kiss
- Pop-Up I <3 You Card Template
- Heart-shaped Hand Warmers DIY
- Doughnuts and Coffee Saying Cup Sleeve Printable
- Valentine’s Pretzel Bites Recipe
- 10 Things I Love About You
- Heart Treat Packaging
- I Want to Nail You Card
- Lord of the Rings Valentines
- This is a Stick Up! Card
- Love Nutrition Label Printable
- Heart Envelope DIY
- Minion Valentine
- Harry Potter Valentines Printable
- Woven Heart Treat Basket DIY
- Easy Heart Treat Pouches DIY
- 25 Valentines Gift Ideas Under $25
- Teddy Graham Valentines
- White Chocolate Valentine’s Day Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
- Valentine Chex Mix Recipe
- 20+ Non-Candy Valentines Ideas
- Snowman Valentine Printable
- 26 Darling Valentine Ideas Printables
- Sign Language Card
- Pun Valentines (Etsy)
- Army Valentine Printable
- You’re the Write One for Me Printable
- Light Saber Glow Stick Valentines
- Collection of Valentine’s Day Printables
- Hey Smartie! Card Printable
- V-Day Cards Printable
- 50+ Handmade Valentines Ideas
- Valentine’s Stained Glass Cookies
- Love Note Clothespin Wreath Printables and DIY
- Healthy Valentines Day Treats
- 20 More Free Valentine’s Day Printables
- Starburst Pun
- Cupid’s Arrow Pretzels
- Man-Approved Valentines
- Love Language Jar DIY
- All That and a Bag of Chips
- Star Wars Glow Stick Valentine with Printable
- Kiss Print Key Chain (Etsy)
- Mustache and Super Heroes Valentines Printable
- Love Notes Printable
- Nuts About You Snack Container
- Kiss Flip Book DIY
- Conversation Bark Recipe
- Vintage Card Printable
- Hugs and Kisses Brownies Recipe
- Baked With Love Valentine’s Cards Printables
- Valentine’s Day Candy Bar Wrapper Printable
- I Love You Like Cards Printables
- Hugs and Kisses Card Printable
Valentine’s Day care package must-haves
No matter what you include in your care package, it is sure to be appreciated and a delightful memory for years to come. But if you need a few ideas for what you can include, here a few to keep top of mind!
- Red fruit foods like dried strawberries or raspberry-flavored candies, red berry hot cocoa (yes, that’s really a thing!), strawberry mug cake mixes
- Red condiments like hot sauce, jams, or ketchup
- Some sort of homemade food like granola bars or homemade goods like a decorated pillowcase
- Items for your recipient’s specific needs like favorite toiletry items, laundry pods, or items from particular brands or a favorite store
- Chocolate treats with a bit of a twist like strawberry brownies or red velvet crinkle cookies
- Fun decorations (either for the inside of the box or for a room or office space, if your recipient can use them) like window gel decorations or disposable partyware like Valentine’s Day themed high quality paper plates, cups, or napkins
Shipping your care package? Remember this:
If you’re sending to a military address (APO, FPO, DPO), the mailing times that USPS recommends do not apply. Make sure that you’re sending with plenty of time to account for possible delays (especially if your significant other is located in a remote area where delivery might be much, much harder). (And if you’ve run out of time to use snail mail, don’t stress! Consider sending an electronic gift card to your someone special. There are many online retailers that ship directly to APO/FPO/DPO addresses.)
Sending homemade treats? Remember this:
Yes, you absolutely can send sweet treats that you’ve made in the mail. But you’ll need to keep in mind where your recipient is and what their climate is like in February as well as how long it will take your homemade Valentine’s Day treats to get to them. No matter where you’re sending your care package, you’ll want to make sure that your foods are shelf stable and can be shipped. You don’t want to send moldy cupcakes or candy that ends up as a gooey mess. Don’t worry! I’ve got easy tutorials for how to send Valentine’s treats:
More Valentine’s Day On Jo, My Gosh!:
- 38 Deployment Bucket List Goals for Valentine’s Day
- 10 Perfect Valentine’s Day Gifts to Send During Deployment
- To the Military Spouses and Significant Others Missing Their Partners This Valentine’s Day
7 Responses
Great care package ideas!!! My hubby isn’t deployed, but I will keep some of these in mind for next time!
I just tossed a bunch of stuff in a box. I’m mailing it tomorrow. I am just not creative. But by golly, I did remember the chips he asked for!
Dude, whatever gets the job done! :-) What chips did he ask for, btdubs? I was never brave enough to send chips!
I get Pringles. They don’t seem to crush!