How to Make Your Recruit Feel at Home: Military Mail During the Holidays

The holidays are a time for family and friends to come together. Unfortunately, many military families aren’t able to be there with their loved ones on special occasions. Military mail is an excellent way to stay in contact with your family members and make them feel like they’re a part of the festivities no matter where they are stationed or deployed.

We have been in the letter business for years, so we have a few tips to help your recruit feel at home in your military mail during the holiday season.

Stay in touch more often during the holidays.

There’s nothing more heartwarming than receiving a letter from home. And it doesn’t have to be a special holiday card—just a note that says “You’re missed and I love you” can make all the difference in your recruit or service member’s day. For military spouses, especially those who are separated from their husbands or wives on Christmas, sending support is so important. The holidays can be especially hard on your loved one if they don’t get some kind of acknowledgment of how much they mean to their partner at home.

Make your own holiday song

Why not greet your recruit… in song. This is sure to get you in the holiday spirit, and will give your recruit a laugh too. Pick your favorite holiday song and replace the lyrics with things about you, your family, your recruit, anything they might like. Just be sure to tell them which song your are parodying so they can sing along. From “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” to “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” there are so many options!

If you need inspiration, check out this Christmas song lyric generator.

Share your year-in-review

Is your recruit or service member a fan of Spotify Wrapped, or just statistics in general? List out your year-in-review since they’ve been gone in your military mail to really keep them updated. How many times have you watched their favorite movie? Walked their dog? Visited family? Bought Starbucks? It’s just another way to share little pieces of your life with them to help them feel at home. 

Send a Holiday Gift

Just because they are away doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get a gift from Santa. Send them an Exchange gift card in their military mail, they can use it on a variety of items and buy exactly what they need during basic training or while on base. If they’re not expecting anything from you, it will be a nice surprise when they see a Sandboxx envelope with their name on it.

Here are instructions on how to purchase an Exchange gift card

Military Mail Tips from Milspouses

If there’s anyone who knows about military mail during the holidays, it’s Milspouses. Here are three Sandboxx Milspouses who know exactly what you’re going through.

	I ended every letter with “I love you most” which is something we always say to each other. – Annie R
	I always made sure to send a photo in my letters so he could see life outside of training. – Gretchen B.
	I would write a bible verse on the inside flap of the envelope so when he opened it there was always something there. – Nicole U.

Sending military mail during the holiday season is a special way to let someone know you’re thinking of them. It’s important because it’s not just about sending packages or letters; it’s about making sure that the people who are serving our country know they are loved and cared for by those at home.

Read more from Sandboxx

• Boot Camp Letter Examples: Writing Positive Letters
• 15 Inspirational Deployment Quotes to Send Your Service Member
• 31 Days of Ideas to Write to Your Child in Basic Training
• These are some of the best benefits of military service that you rarely hear about