Dear ELDER Valentine's Day PACKAGE

I just sent out my brother's Valentine's Day package. I filled it full of love and a bit of rushed exhaustion. In the end I am surprised I was able to make it out on time and in one piece. I was so proud of my stuffing abilities, because honestly after looking at everything that was supposed to go in, I kinda laughed at myself. But in the end I made it work!

I saw lots of heart ideas on Pinterest. Everything from conversation-like hearts, or heart attack heart packages, scripture hearts, count down hearts and on and on. I decided to do a scripture based heart countdown idea, although he will get this package with little time to countdown, I think the idea is still fun. If I had time managed better I would have done cute designs on each heart with the countdown number, instead I just let my little ones scribble and draw on them. I would have loved to draw cute little arrow heart designs or an x's and o's border or something similar.

I used these scriptures,

1. Deuteronomy 6:5
2. 1 John 3:18
3. 3 Nephi 12:44
4. Moroni 10:32
5. John 15:13
6. 1 Chronicles 16:34
7. Ephesians 4:2
8. Moroni 7:47
9. John 3:16
10. Romans 12:10
11. 1 Peter 4:8
12. 1 John 4:7
13. Moroni 8:17
14. Jacob 3:2 

You could easily search the word "love" on lds.org and find your favorites, scriptures or quotes alike.

I found this Top 5 Things I Love About You Printable HERE, and wrapped the Nutty Bars (one of my brother's most loved treats) in the printable. And then I used the bottom portion of the printable, with the cute arrows, to wrap his Butterfinger candy bar up with.

I found the LOVE printable HERE, and printed it on cardstock, then I took a regular piece of paper and cut both pieces in a heart and stapled them around the edges (you could also sew or tape). I left a hole at the top and inserted the candy and stapled it up. I like having little pieces of the candy sticking out, and it makes for a fun present opening like experience for the missionary.

My little ones loved making valentines for our missionary. My son helped make a paper airplane valentine, which I found the free printable HERE. And my daughter helped (in spirit ;)) making the "Eye Heart You!" Valentine. I've seen the googly eye inspired cards everywhere so I made my own version with a googly eye, yarn and some scraps of red paper. In theory I was hoping to have my daughter do the glue work and help stick on the scraps of paper as the center of the heart, but she was far from interested.
For the hands and footprint valentine, I had my daughters on one side and my sons on the other. I stumbled onto this idea via Pinterest, and there is a link to the picture I originally found HERE.

After I did the creating I laid out the insides of my package and started stuffing. With a little trial and error I got everything almost everything inside :)

Here is a full list: 

Valentine's from the kids

14 Scripture Hearts

Classic Candy Filled Valentine Heart

Sweethearts, and mini boxes of the candied hearts (for him to share with other Elders or investigators)

Love Printable Heart, filled with candy

Lindor Truffle Heart

Peanut Butter Cookie Mix

Butterfinger Candy Bar, wrapped in arrows printable

Little Debbie Nutty Bars, wrapped in Top 5 Things I Love About You Printable

Bear Favor Box filled with candy (most of the candy made it in, but the Bear Box was a little too big)

Although it was a bit rushed I was happy to get my Valentine Package off to our Elder AND very relieved :) Sometimes it is too much work, especially if you cram it all into one day with only a couple hours till the post office closes!

If you would rather fill your package up with some non-candy items as well you can find all sorts of themed items this time of year that would fit your package, anything like: A Scarf, Lotion, Old Spice Deodorant, Themed Tie, Mug w/pink marshmallow hearts inside, Photo Album (I've seen some done where everyone is making kissy faces or hearts with their hands), or for Sister's in particular lip gloss/lip balm, nail polish, jewelry, a wallet, or even some red and pink hair accessories. 

Please share what you would or did put in your Valentine packages!

VDAY

It is the month of cupids, and hearts, and kisses, and love.
Send your missionary some love from home too.

Valentine's Heart Attack
See Here

Wouldn't these hearts be cute with scriptures on them about love and care.

 Or even quotes. Or messages from your missionaries loved ones. 

Toddler Heart Notes

See Here

I know these say Thank You Notes but they are too perfect for Valentines. 

Just think Red Card stock instead of white with a little white insert with their drawing. 

Mailed Kisses

See Here

Valentine Kisses

See Here

This is not just for kids either, I can totally see pictures of the family making 

goofy kissy faces. Your missionary is sure to love and laugh over it. 

Heart Wreath

See Here

I could see a mini version of this tucked in a package for Valentine's Day. 

Eye Heart You Cards

See Here

God's Conversation Hearts
See Here

10 Gifts Gained from a Mission, Package

I just sent my brother a package.

My package theme was based on this New Era Article
The Message: Gifts to Bring Home from the Mission Field by President Gordon B. Hinkley.

I twisted it a little and called it the
10 Gifts You Gain From A Mission

 

I found something for each of the 10 gifts, albeit some are a little stretched. I wrote the gift on the front side of the envelope a little explananation on the back of the envelope and the excerpt from the talk on the gift in the envelope.

My penmanship is rushed and a little silly, so don't critique me on that :)

For the introducer I labeled the envelope and put this excerpt from the talk inside "These are 10 gifts that I would hope every missionary would bring home with him or her—not a lot of tinsel, not a lot of dolls, not a lot of rugs or furs or dresses or plates, but these great, enduring, wonderful things. God bless you to keep the faith, and while doing so, enjoy with great happiness that which you are called to do."
Back of the envelope said "We love you Honey!" -Thats how the Honey Buns come into play. Considering our missionary loves them I wanted to send them in the package and they were a great filler for all the left over spots.

 

1. Excerpt inside “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). There is no greater gift that comes to anyone in this world than a certain, reassuring conviction that God, our Eternal Father, lives and that Jesus is the Christ. I believe that. I think it is so very, very important."
Back of the envelope "Let the Love of our Heavnely Father surrond you like these big hugs." The hugs were from my little ones. They were cut their arms length, like real hugs.

I found this Mail a Hug idea here. I put my own spin on it and decided to do put "I love you SO much!" kind of like the "I love you THIS much!" idea.

2. Excerpt inside "As a missionary, I read each evening before going to bed a few chapters of the Book of Mormon, and there came into my heart a conviction which has never left: that this is the word of God, restored to the earth by the power of the Almighty, translated by the gift and power of God to the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. I thank the Lord for the testimony which I have of the truth of the word of God as found in these sacred revealed books. And I would hope that every missionary would leave his or her field of labor with a conviction in his or her heart that these things are true."
Back of the envelope "We know your working hard to be a scripture smarty."

 

3. Excerpt inside "I have attended hundreds of missionary meetings over the years. I love to hear missionaries speak of their love for the Lord, but I also love to hear them speak with great appreciation and love concerning their parents. Boys who had been careless and indifferent stand on their feet and with tears in their eyes thank the Lord for their fathers and their mothers. In these days, what a salutary and wonderful thing it is to hear a strong young man stand up and speak with great feeling concerning his father and his mother, saying things he would never have said before in all of his life. Every boy and girl ought to come home with an increased love for parents."
Back of the envelope "We all know your itching to give Mom and Dad some Hugs and Kisses!"

 

4. Excerpt inside "I love the English people. No one can sell the English short in my mind because I labored with them, I lived with them, I was in their homes at their firesides, I learned to know their hearts, and I learned to love them.

I have learned to love the people of Asia. I spent 11 years among them, and I love them. To me, I love them as much as I love anybody because of the experience I have had as a missionary, as it were, among them.

There’s something wrong if a missionary doesn’t come back with a great love for the people among whom he labored."

Back of the envelope "A fisher of men = Missionary"

 

5. Excerpt inside "Every missionary ought to come to realize that work, work, work is the key to getting things done, the key to success in life. There is no substitute for work, for getting up in the morning and getting at it and staying with it to get the job done. I don’t know of a greater asset for whatever lies ahead in life than the capacity to discipline oneself to work."
Back of the envelope "For all that hard work, your reward will be much greater than money."

 This youtube video teaches you how to make a dollar bill into this ... shirt and tie. I am no secret oragami master and it really was fairly easy with a little adjusting here and there I was more than happy with the results. And bragged about my skills, but to be honest the video is pretty easy to follow. I just paused it at each step and it worked great.

 

6. Excerpt inside "The availability of inspiration—each of us, if we live for it, if we cultivate it, can have it. I love these great words of revelation, these words of promise: “God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost” (D&C 121:26). What a precious gift to bring home—the assurance, the certainty that if we live for it, we have available to us that which comes by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Back of the envelope "Listen to the Holy Spirit (o-mint) he will guide you, comfort you, and strengthen you."

 

7. Excerpt inside "No one can do this work alone. We work in pairs. “In the mouth of two or more witnesses shall [all things] be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1). We work together. There is no place for prima donnas in the mission field. Our efforts are largely team efforts, and what a marvelous thing it is to learn to work with other people."
Back of the envelope "Is there any better team then a sweet and salty pair?"

 

8. Excerpt inside "I think there is no greater thing concerning future integrity that a missionary can learn than the value of personal virtue. I think there are fewer words greater than the promise given under the inspiration of the Lord as set forth by the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.” That’s the commandment. And then the promise: “Thy confidence [shall] wax strong in the presence of God” (D&C 121:45). That’s the promise to those who walk in virtue."
Back of the envelope "For a personal boost remember your biggest fans, looking up to you."

I found these Missionary Tag Printables Here and instead of writing their names I wrote Elder _____ Biggest Fan. I just saved the image and wrote my own text in on publisher.

 

9. Excerpt inside "'I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way … that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth' (1 Nephi 3:7).

We ask tremendous things of missionaries. It is so hard for shy and diffident young people to do the things we sometimes ask them to do. But what a marvelous thing that they try. They have the faith to do, the faith to act, the faith to go forward and make the effort. And what a marvelous gift that is to bring home."

Back of the envelope "Faith dip, to remind you to dip into your faith when spirits are low."

 

10. Excerpt inside "Recognize that there is a power greater than ours, that no matter how good a man is, he is not good enough, that no matter how wise he is, he is not wise enough, that no matter how strong he is, he is not strong enough for all of the things which he will face in life, and that there is a source of power to which he can go with the assurance that he will be listened to and that there will be a response."
Back of the envelope "Especially for the days where your tired and sore and seem to be stuck in a rut, just remember that prayer can help you get back up."

My son kind of hijacked the prayer rock and scribbled all over it, so I decided to just go with that and wrote Pray and Prayer all over it. The poem and other cute (more sophisticated) prayer rock ideas are found here.  My favorite is the modge podged heart for Sisters.

 

Small "I love you so much" Hands

Thinking of something your little one could slip into your package, or something to send in the mail.

I love sending my missionary brother something from little ones, even if it is a scribbled picture or recent photo of them. 

Tip Junkie had this sweet idea, she uses it for Father's Day, but I think it is a perfect easy craft for our missionaries. 

Missionary Bank

I want a missionary bank for my little boy. Something that he can actively put change into or that he can drop notes into (or that I can drop notes into about sweet things he says about his future mission).

I love all the ideas I have been checking out on Pinterest . . .

Round Tin Banks

Missionary Fund Bank (not a valid link on pinterest)

Missionary Bank
Go to their blog to learn to teach your child the 10 /20/ 70 Principle.

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission

Inspiring your children to be missionaries in the home, is an essential part of being an LDS Mother. With all of the activities and stories and ideas at our fingertips via the internet, it gives us such an advantage in today's world.

I love this idea to put vinyl lettering on a map in your child's room.
I Hope They Call Me On A Mission

Or what about this adorable idea for a quiet book in sacrament meeting, with our littles. 

“I Hope They Call Me on a Mission ” Mini Quiet Book

By: Shiloah Baker

A mission is a big deal in our home.  It does not matter if our son is only eight years old, we are teaching him the importance of going on a mission, marrying in the temple, and raising a righteous family.  In the scripture Proverbs 22:6 it says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Because I want him to keep his focus on things of the future, I made this key ring book.  The purpose of it is to remind him of the necessary steps to being worthy to go on a mission and I include the Twelve Articles of Faith for his memorization purposes.

And for those of us who are looking to bring a missionary lesson into our Family Home Evening night, there is a great idea here, 

FHE Idea: Missionaries

which shares this sweet video from The Mormon Channel

Don't be BLUE we LOVE YOU

We are really lucky because our missionary is really optimistic and never voices his hardships or his bouts or distress. So we try and just guess when he may be feeling blue and give him a pick me up. I enjoyed putting this package together with my two littles. They colored on blue hearts and are both not old enough to write so they signed their hearts with traced hand prints. And I wrote their names in the middle. I also sent a few extra blue hearts to go along with the theme, DON"T BE BLUE WE LOVE YOU! One heart had a special note from me. 

I sent a whole bunch of blue fun. BUT was short on time and forgot to take pictures because of the rush. SO here area few items you could send that I bought for my package but didn't have room enough to send.

This is what actually made it in my package (remember it was a small package)...

• Chapstick
• Jolly Rancher Crunch and Chews
• Baby Ruth (Not quite ALL blue but they are my brother's favorties... and yes they are chocolate so he will have to refrigerate)
• Kool Aid
• Jello- Chocolate Pudding
• Ring Pop- Blue Raspberry
• Blue Pens
• The blue hearts I made
• Blue tissue paper to top the package off

And here is an idea from Pinterest with some more package ideas, entitled "Blue without You"

katherinemariephotography.com
I tried to follow the link and couldn't find the post
 so it may need some searching if your interested. 

For a small International Flat Rate Package to Brazil it costs me around $15.00 for more information or an estimated price go to the USPS site.