Image Credit:  skeeze - CCO Public Domain Image - via Pixabay

*Six years ago, I was given the title “Gifts for Military Families” for publication on eHow.  The article was originally published on April 23, 2010.  It is no longer published on eHow or anywhere else so I am free to publish it here.

Military families often find themselves far from home and on the move. They often miss family members and hometowns. When a military relative is deployed, family members left behind often search for items that help them feel closer to the deployed soldier. Military families benefit from gifts that help them deal with homesickness and deployments.

Gifts for Military Families

Huggable Pillow (Update - I highly recommend Daddy Dolls!)

Purchase a pillow covered in camouflage fabric or cover a pillow with the fabric. Sew on a pocket. Insert a photo of the military family member. The soldier’s relatives can hold or hug the pillow while he is away. Consider spraying the relative’s favorite cologne or perfume onto the pillow. Children of deployed parents benefit from a pillow made into the shape of a person with a photo attached to the head of the pillow. The child can easily carry the pillow around, talk to it, sing to it, read to it or sleep with it for added security.

Newspaper Subscription

Give the military family the gift of a newspaper subscription from their hometown. Have the newspaper mailed to their military home address. A hometown newspaper helps the family keep up with current events at home and they stay connected to friends, relatives and public figures. They stay informed about their high school and college sports teams and they won’t miss an article from their favorite section. If the family is deployed to another location, make sure to call the newspaper to provide the new address.

Hometown Shadow Box

Collect memorabilia from the military family’s hometown. Use items from the family’s favorite restaurants, their former high schools or colleges, their favorite movie theater and other places the family often visited. Trim the items so that they fit nicely into a shadow box. Make sure the shadow box is large enough to accommodate all of the items, but small enough for the family to pack and take with them when they move again.

Military Devotional

 Search Christian bookstores for a daily military devotional. Christian military families find comfort in reading daily devotional entries. Daily devotionals provide a source of strength, encouragement and peace for the families of military personnel. Christian bookstores often carry devotionals geared toward military families. These devotionals provide greater insight to the biblical principles associated with military life.

Read more posts about celebrations and gift giving here.