To Make Deployment Easier

Deployments are hard…

I have been very open about Chris’ deployment over the last several months. I want to share the raw side of military life, as well as the good parts, like homecomings! I’ve been reading through the dm’s and comments that soooo many of my followers have sent me, and several have shared helpful tips on how they’ve made the time seem to go by more quickly.

Check out my long distance blog post

I posted a blog a few weeks ago about items you can use when you’re long-distance from your loved ones, to help you stay connected. You can check that blog post out here!

Counting down the deployment days

One of the ideas that someone sent me to help count down the days is a paper chain for every day. This idea is great for little ones, because they can write sweet messages for their hero to read when they get home! You can explain that every time they add a link with these paper chain strips, it means that is one less day you have to wait. It’s a great to give your little ones something to look forward to every day.

Another visual countdown idea that is great for little ones is a Kisses Jar. You can buy the candy here, as well as the jar! Again, this is a great way for them to SEE that they are one day closer to seeing their hero. It’s also a great incentive to encourage kindness and obedience every day. It’s like a mini celebration at the end of the day!!!

Speaking of celebrations, you can start a monthly celebration countdown timeline, too! Grab some index cards, and think of an idea that your family would like to do together! Go get ice cream, take them to the zoo, bake cookies or a cupcakes, ANYTHING that would be a fun activity to do with your kids! Get a cork board, you can add each card to it like a timeline.

If you don’t have the energy for crafts

If you have older kids in the house, or you’d just like to see the countdown grow smaller yourself, you can grab a countdown calendar or countdown clock! These are a fun way to count down the days. It gives everyone something to look forward to changing every day. Countdown apps are another great resource that you can download onto your phone or your children’s iPads and tablets.

Deployment gifts

If you’d like to send your loved one some items that will help connect you through the distance, you can visit operationgratitude.com. They have lists of items that you can collect and send to your hero while they are away. This is a great resource to help those that are away know that they are loved. You can also request care packages for military children, as well as other service members here!

There is also a service where you can request free quilts for your children that are struggling with big feelings during the deployment. It’s so hard on little ones when they miss someone that has to be gone for long periods of time, and this is a great way to help them feel comforted during difficult times. I think this would be great for both of my kids, but specifically Hunter, because he’s been missing his dad so much!

Before they leave

Long distance scratch-off messages are a great gift for the spouses and loved ones that will be waiting for their hero to return. If you are being deployed, and you’re looking for a gift to give your loved one, this would be a great idea!

United We Stand

If you’re looking for gift ideas for deployments, you can check out the idea list on my Amazon store front to see some of the things I’ve gathered to make deployment easier for us! I really feel that it’s important that families like mine share the hard stuff about their journey. It’s hard to understand the sacrifices our heroes make, but it’s equally as hard for their families, as well. I’m here to do what I can to support those families, and let them know there is someone out there that can relate to them.