Missionary Ideas

I love this album. My mother-in-law, who sings in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, gave this album to me for Christmas last year, and I have listened to it hundreds of times since then. I will never tire of hearing it! For those of you unfamiliar with the artist Sissel, you can get a taste of her voice, and of the album itself at the deseret bookstore site:

Deseret Book

Be sure to play track 11, “Like An Angel Passing Through My Room.” When my grandma heard this song, she made me promise I’d sing it at her funeral!

My sister and I are sending this album to my brother this Christmas. It is the CD that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir recorded with the King’s Singers, an AMAZING choral group, which you can read more about at the following website:

http://www.kingssingers.com

This has a very bright and classical tone to it, very upbeat and jolly. You can listen to some clips at the Deseret Book website:

“Rejoice and Be Merry” Album

The King’s Singers are phenomenal, and combined with the Tabernacle Choir, this compilation is completely awesome.

A nativity set is a wonderful Christmas gift for any missionary. It works as a decoration, but reminds the viewer that Christ is the center of Christmas — something very important to remember, even though we may ship lots of fun or silly things to our missionary during the Christmas season. There are many simple nativity sets, without breakable parts. My sister and I found an inexpensive set at Walmart (not the classiest place, but undoubtedly useful), pictured here. The figurines look like ceramic, but they are of a sturdier material, and are fastened to the wooden frame of the stable. This is perfect, because not only will my brother not have to set up lots of pieces, but nothing will be damaged during shipping — at least not the figurines. I have wrapped this already, but am going to ask that it be wrapped in bubble-wrap before it goes in the shipping box. I’m sure you could even find smaller sets if you looked around a little bit.

There are so many inexpensive decorations you can ship to your missionary this time of year. My sister and I found these window stickers — kind of silly, I know, but still festive and fun!

Colored or White -- You Choose!

I picked up a set of Christmas lights at Walmart for $2.00, and the extension cord was less than a dollar. This is a very inexpensive idea, which will spread a lot of cheer! I included the ruler in the photo that I took, so that viewers can get an idea of size. There were several different color options, and each box is lightweight. You could send more than one, if you like.

It seems like it’s always harder to think of presents to ship to missionaries serving in warmer climates. My sister and I searched hard to find things for our brother (who is leaving for Honduras today). One of our ideas was a lightweight, battery-operated fan. I know that when I lived in the Dominican Republic, it was so nice to have a little breeze when trying to fall asleep — the rooms were usually sweltering. When I asked my husband if a fan would have been nice in Brazil, where he served his mission he said he would have loved it, and added that the smaller hand-fans work out very nicely, too. This is a picture of the fan we bought for my brother. I included the batteries in the photo to show the size of the fan (they are D batteries), but my sister and I decided not to send them — way too heavy! You be the judge.

Make Christmas Special

It’s my brother’s first Christmas on his mission! Our family is all together this year (my sister and her husband, my little family), so we’ll feel his absence even more. We decided to try to make Christmas feel special for him, so my sister and I put together a larger package with 12 wrapped presents inside, and instructions for when to open each. I’ll definitely post all our ideas, but don’t be afraid to branch out. Your missionary will definitely feel the love.

Courtesy Danilo Alfaro

Nothing says Autumn like freshly-baked cornbread, drizzled with honey. Delicious! And while I’m sure our grandmothers made this treat from scratch, our generation can cheat a little with store-bought mixes. My personal favorite is Marie Calendar’s — just add water. This is a fun treat to send to your missionary when the weather gets a little chilly. Just be careful: though some box mixes are light (like Jiffy), others may be more expensive to ship. You be the judge. And don’t forget a little bottle of honey — carefully sealed, and non-breakable, of course.

Fleece blankets are very easy to make–

–there is absolutely NO sewing involved!

What’s more, you can pick any pattern you like from your local fabric store. Fleece is usually inexpensive, but depending on the size of the blanket, it may get

expensive to ship, so think twice before mailing your missionary a new comforter for his king-size bed. Best to keep the size modest, but still warm.

In case you’ve never made a fleece blanket, I found step-by-step instructions at the following blog:

http://abigcupoftea.blogspot.com/2008/09/cozy-tie-fleece-blanket.html

The Postal System is coming out with new 44-cent stamps. I just found this really fun design: the Thanksgiving Day Parade!

You can order them online by clicking on the following link:

USPS Stamps