Missionary Ideas

Lip balm, you say?

First of all, it’s not just any lip balm, it’s Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm. This is a product suitable for men AND women, don’t worry. Plus, there are a ton of different skin care products to try, and they are all quality.

(And don’t bees make a cute addition to any Spring-themed care package?)

Check out the Men’s section of the Burt’s Bees website, or head to amazon for a Head to Toe Starter Kit.

For missionaries serving in a foreign country, audio-translations from General Conference are a cool idea. I  first learned about this when one of my cousins requested some LDS material that would help her with the new language.

You can easily burn a CD of General Conference talks that have been translated into other languages, and this is a great way to help your missionary with the language he is trying to learn.

For instructions on how to do this, click here:      CD Instructions

*Note: these instructions are for a Mac (that’s what I use), so it’ll be a little different if you’re using a PC.

As I’ve said before, if you purchase subtle pieces, seasonal jewelry can be used all year round. I recently found this site:

The Irish Jewelry Company

There are several beautiful necklaces — and gifts for men, too!

A necklace is inexpensive to mail, which is great news if your missionary is serving overseas, but beware of investing in an expensive gift is there’s a chance the package won’t arrive.

Get creative with your Valentines this year. There are so many options available that are a little more artistic than your average greeting card. You can buy online at www.papercrave.com, or use the photos as inspiration for your own creation! Your missionary will appreciate the extra effort.

Do-it-yourself

For messages accompanying packages, or for everyday letters to your missionary, homemade stationary is a simple, inexpensive way to keep things fun. Check out the “Stationery Printables” section of this site for a few designs I put together, or do an image search on google to find a design you really love.

http://www.missionaryideas.com/stationery-printables

Halloween is getting close — let the themed packages begin!

Different versions of this “recipe” for the classic Halloween treat can be found at the following websites:

http://erikhomemade.typepad.com/erik_homemade/2008/10/halloween-ghost-lollipop-favors-project.html

http://www.toppartyideas.com/halloween-ghost-lollipop/

After literally years of tediously hand-writing customs forms, usually in line at the post office, trying to write while saving my place in line, running out of room for my boyfriend’s hugely long address in Brazil, etc…  I discovered a few days ago that you can fill out customs forms online and print them out ahead of time. If you’re like me, this will save you quite the headache!

http://webapps.usps.com/customsforms/sender_recipient.jsp

I encountered two difficulties while using this:

1. You need to be able to identify the parts of an address. Don’t know which numbers are the postal code and which are street numbers (it can sometimes be very hard to tell)? Try using this site:

http://www.bitboost.com/ref/international-address-formats.html

.

2. It asks for the weight of your package. I didn’t know the weight, so I just put in “1 pound, 0 ounces,” and then had the postal worker weigh the package when I got to the post office, and he wrote the value in with a pen.

If you can handle those two tricky things, this is a great way to spend less time at the post office, and more time focusing on your missionary!