What to Send Your Missionary for Christmas: A Countdown Package Guide

Christmas can be one of the tenderest times of a mission, for your missionary and for you. A countdown package turns one box into something they can open a little at a time, so they feel remembered all month long instead of just on Christmas morning.

Here’s how to plan one, what to put in it, and how to get it there on time.

Mail it early

Holiday mail is slow, and international mail is slower. Plan to mail your package well before December, and earlier still if your missionary is serving outside the country.

• Check the address first. Many missions ask families to send packages to the mission office rather than to the missionary directly. Confirm the right address with your missionary or the mission office.
• Check the carrier’s holiday deadlines. USPS, UPS, and FedEx post their holiday shipping dates each year.
• Foreign missions: Look up the destination country’s customs rules. Some items, like food or batteries, may be restricted, and a large package can come with fees your missionary has to pay.

The countdown idea

Pack 12 or 24 small wrapped items, each numbered or tagged with a date. Your missionary opens one a day, so the package keeps giving all month.

Tuck in a tag for each day: a scripture, a family memory, or a short note. The small things are what they’ll remember.

What to pack

Notes from home

• A letter from each family member, one for each opening day
• Notes from ward members, cousins, or friends (ask them early)
• A few printed family photos

Small, practical gifts

• Warm socks or gloves, if they’re serving somewhere cold
• Lip balm, hand lotion, or a favorite toiletry from home
• A new tie or scarf
• A small notebook or nice pen for their study journal

A taste of home

• A favorite candy or snack that travels well (check customs rules for international missions)
• A family recipe card for something they’ll make when they get home

Something to share

• A treat for their companion
• A few extra small gifts they can give to people they’re teaching

What to skip

• Heavy or bulky items that drive up postage
• Anything fragile
• Anything they’d have trouble carrying when they transfer
• Expensive electronics or valuables
• Anything their mission rules don’t allow (when in doubt, ask)

How to use the printable guide

1. Print the planning pages and the countdown tags.
2. Use the checklist to gather and wrap each day’s item.
3. Write a note on each tag and attach it.
4. Use the shipping checklist before you seal the box.

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

— Luke 2:10