Care Packages

I've been picking up on some tips and tricks for sending care packages overseas to deployed individuals. I'm no expert, and I'm not going to pretend that I am. This is my first go at it, so there's a bit of a learning curve. I think it took me 10 minutes to fill out my customs form last week at the post office, and I asked a million questions while I was doing it. I didn't want to do it wrong and then him not get his box! I would have been so mad!!!! I didn't put all that effort into buying, making, filling, shipping the box for it to be stuck somewhere - not in Lane's hands!

Here are some of the things I've learned:

ALWAYS ship priority mail - It should get to them within 10-14 days.

Use flat rate boxes! They're much cheaper and you can pack them full of all kinds of things because the weight of the box doesn't matter. It should only be just over $13 to send a large flat rate box

Take forms home with you. You can have them already filled out when you get to the post office. Supposedly you can also then pay online and they will pick it up off your doorstep and you don't have to step foot into the post office to ship it. {I don't like letting go of that much control. I'd rather hand the box over myself, but that's just me and my personality type - control freak!!!!!}

Order the flat rate boxes online. It's free and they will drop them off with your mail. You can pick to have it sent to you in bundles of either 10 or 25 I believe.

Address the box exactly as it was given to you. Supposedly if you don't include the - #### after the zip code the package won't be delivered

If you want to decorate the inside of the box, use the large flat rate box. The box is 12x12x5.5. If you use scrapbook paper to decorate, they make a 12x12 size and you don't even have to cut it {except in half as you put it on the flaps.}

Protect the stuff in the box. We shop on Amazon often {diapers come every month} so we have a lot of the packing air bags. After I stuff the boxes with goodies, I make sure to include some of those if I need to.