Military living overseas...sigh!!!!!

Debbie,

Cookies travel just fine (place them in freezer bags and surround with bubble wrap or foam peanuts). You could also send dried ingredients for soup, along with the directions. Most cakes will survive a long trip if you wrap them good, again freezerbags are great for this. We lived in Germany for several years and our commissary didn't carry a lot of the brands we grew up with, so my mom would send things like BBQ sauce (Maull's), potato chips, snacks etc. I wouldn't ship anything that would require refridgeration, unless you feel like trying to find dry ice and paying to ship next day (but it can be done).

If you can't send his favorite dishes how about making a cookbook for him and ship that to him, so he can make them for himself? My mom tried to ship us a pumpkin pie one thanksgiving, but the box got crushed and all we got was a pumpkin scented smear.

Coupons would also be good. The commissaries in Europe will except expired coupons from the states (up to 6 months past the expiration date), I'm sure the commissaries in the Pacific have the same policy. My hubby's grandma and her Ma Jong group used to send me a huge envelope of coupons once a month. My neighbors and co-workers benefitted from this, as there were probably 1000+ coupons per shipment. Grandma is still sending them to my girlfriend who's still in Germany.

PX's/BX's overseas are generally pretty limited in what they carry. Once a month I get requests from friends overseas for things I can easily find here, but are non exsistant or in short supply over there (ie..computer paper, stationary, floppy discs, video's, cd's, purses, socks, the list is endless.)

Sorry this post is so long!