This package was the birthday party edition – of sorts.

We could have ordered a cake or pie from various Web sites, but those are around $25 for an eight-inch pastry plus shipping of at least an equal amount. Dad would have killed me for spending that much.

I’d read about the “cake in a jar” trick, where you bake in a Mason jar then seal it quickly – but most experts say that method is prone to develop botulism and other Mr. Yuck-type germs.

So we opted for brownies covered with a copious amount of sprinkles. We added half a package of birthday napkins and half a package of party blow-outs – the rest we kept here so we could celebrate with Dad via Skype.

We wound up celebrating late, though. Packages are taking well over a week to arrive at Dad’s base. Part of the problems no doubt is the fact that it takes things an extra day to get off-post here.

The rest of the package:

Quaker chewy granola bars: These are the perfect size to slip into little nooks and crannies in a box, plus they’re soft enough to act as padding.

Trail mix: Three mini packs that included M&Ms, supplementing his chocolate fix from the brownies.

Starkist Lunch-To-Go: The amount of packaging in this kit is annoying, and I kept thinking how much more I could have fit in the shipping box if not for the chunk of clamshell plastic. Next time, I think I might break the kit down and wrap each in a plastic bag. It would save space.

Payday: These are mandatory.

Monster Slim Jim: Jalapeno flavor. I have a few more meaty snacks that I’ve already bought, but after that I’m not sending anymore. Dad says he can stuff his pockets with beef jerky any day at the dining hall.

“Crash”: The movie, which Dad already has seen and loves, but I found for a good price so I sent it anyway. He has no problem watching the same movie repeatedly. If I ever find “Urban Cowboy” or “Pulp Fiction” on sale, they’re definitely headed overseas.

Dum-Dums: I had a few spaces left in the medium-size Priority Mail box I used, so I stuck these in.

The guys’ weekly journals: I wound up packing in a hurry and forgot his stash of Word Jumbles, though.

Copyright 2010 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.

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