SendingtoSoldiers.com - Sending gifts and items to BFPO

Bubblewrap Keychain - a cheap little bit of fun

This is a nice product to while away the hours waiting for something to happen.  Everyone knows how much fun it is popping the bubbles on bubblewrap; now you can do so permanently with this keychain.

On sale for £7.95 here; for details of their BFPO delivery times click here.

Happy popping!

SupportOurSoldiers (SOS) products available to order through their ebay store

Just a note that the good folk at SupportOurSoldiers now have a wide range of products available to buy via ebay.

You can view the full range of products here; it includes fridge magnets, caps, mugs, keyrings and more.

By ordering these products you are helping Support Our Soldiers raise funds which go directly towards putting together care parcels to send to British troops posted overseas in operational areas.

Fathers Day gift ideas for serving soldiers at BFPO addresses

Fathers Day this year falls on Sunday 15th June.  We like this My Father Calendar, which is personalised with any name and runs for a full 12 months.

You provide the father's name and Getting Personal create 12 amazing photographs which cleverly include his name.  The calendar starts in any month - perfect for him to count down the days until the end of his tour!

Available here - they don't deliver directly to BFPO addresses, but the item is quite small and light if you want to post it on to a BFPO address yourself.

Boots deliver toiletries to BFPO addresses

We posted on this a year or so ago, but a reminder that Boots deliver to BFPO addresses.

Feedback from people stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan is that items like wet wipes and chapsticks are still always appreciated out there.

So if you are interested in sending sun creams, wipes or anything else go to boots.com or click here to visit their site. 

E-bluey User Guide available online

We still get regular emails asking us about the e-bluey service.  Whilst we are always happy to try and help, there is an excellent and well detailed help guide available online for people who are not familiar with the e-bluey service.

The E-bluey Online Booklet is available to read and download here and it includes all the latest updates to the service; so it has information on how to use the Fax Bluey and Photo Bluey services too.

10% Off gadgets and boys toys

Our sister site providing voucher codes and discount codes has an excellent new 10% off code for leading boys toys website Boysstuff.  The details are here.

They don't deliver direct to BFPO, but there are plenty of compact little gifts and gadgets that you can order for yourself and post out; like this Backpacker card game available for £4.95 here.

Ross Kemp in Afghanistan out on DVD

Not having Sky One we ended up watching most of this series on YouTube! 

Fortunately the full series of 5 episodes is soon out on DVD with Play.com and is available for just £12.99 here.

An egg cup for your little soldier

Want to buy a little treat for your soldier.  We thought that this Soldier Egg Cup was good for a laugh!

Available for £9.99 from Firebox here.  Remember; Firebox do deliver to BFPO addresses directly if required.

A rather good roll-up board game to send to a BFPO address

We have been having fun with the Dao Deluxe game for a few weeks now.  It's like noughts and crosses but quite a bit more demanding and each game lasts rather longer.

We know how much the guys in Iraq and Afghanistan like the old classics like Chess and Chequers.  The good things about this game are that it's easy to learn, fun to play and easy to pack up and stick in the backpack.

For full details of the game take a look at the Firebox website here.  Its currently available for £19.95.

Sending Football tops to a BFPO address - using Toffs.com

Pleased to see another big online retailer delivering to BFPO addresses and not charging too much for delivery either.

Toffs specialise in retro football tops; so you can buy the footie shirt of your favourite team from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

On the delivery page their site says: "BFPO orders are welcomed and charged at £2.95.  Ensure the BFPO number is in the postcode section and the UK is the destination country".

Send Easter Eggs and Easter gifts to a BFPO address

Over at Boxhappy.com they have added some cool new boxes for Easter.

The Eggy One and The Good Egg both contain the usual staples, such as crisps, cookies and boiled sweets, but also contain some Easter treats such as Cream Eggs and Cadburys Mini Chocolate Eggs.

No-one else really seems to have any Easter hampers or gifts for sale yet really; and certainly not anyone that can deliver to BFPO addresses.  On the boxhappy website go to the Military section here, and once you have selected your product go to the special BFPO checkout when prompted.  It's pretty straightforward.

Power Monkey Chargers - solar and mains powered - perfect to charge mobile phones, cameras, Ipods and almost anything else

We've come across this handy little gadget, just perfect if you are (or know someone) serving overseas for extended periods.

Mobile phones, PSPs, iPods and digital cameras all require power and the PowerMonkey is a small gadget that provides hours of extra power for portable devices. Its basically a back-up battery that, once charged, holds its power without leakage for up to a year.There are two kinds of PowerMonkey, one solar-powered and one mains-powered and both models come complete with all kinds of adapters, so you can recharge virtually any device imaginable.

You can view full details on the Firebox website here (they do deliver to BFPO addresses) and they are available from £29.95.  Great for service personnel, or anyone that spends a lot of time in the great outdoors or overseas.

Sending Easter eggs and Easter gifts to BFPO

Easter is very early this year, falling on March 21st 2008.

Remember that Cadburys deliver their chocolate and hamper gifts direct to BFPO addresses.  You can visit their website and view their Easter selection here.

Have you been incorrectly charged for delivery to a BFPO address by the Post Office?

Since the FREEPOST to selected BFPO addresses began last August (see its announcement on our blog here) there has been ongoing confusion within the Post Office Network with regard to exactly who is included and how long it lasts.  It seems that many people with loved ones serving in operational areas are being told that the FREEPOST period has ended.  It has not.

If you have been told this by your Post Office, and been incorrectly charged, you can reclaim your money.  To do this you should get a form P58 from your post office, and send this to:

BFPO Enquiries
BFPO HQ
West End Road
Ruislip
Middlesex
HA4 6DK

enclose your proof of posting and they will arrange a refund by claiming back from the Royal Mail (subject of course to your item being incorrectly charged for in the first place).

New Voucher Code & Discount Offer Site Launched - discounts for forces families and UK residents

In the run up to Christmas last year many of you may have read about discount code and voucher code websites offering customers special codes with which to get discounts with leading UK retailers.

We are delighted to announce the launch of a new site in our portfolio of websites; welovediscounts.tv

On the site you will find the latest discounts available from a wide range of retailers.  Many of these discount offers have been given to us by the retailers for the exclusive use of our visitors.  All you need do is make a note of the discount code and enter it when prompted at the checkout of the relevant website.

The site already has exclusive 10% off discounts with leading retailers such as Figleaves, The Early Learning Centre, Getting Personal and The Body Shop. New discount offers are being added daily so be sure to check back whenever you are looking to shop online.  To visit the site click here.

Ross Kemp in Afghanistan - available to view online

If like me, you don't have access to Sky One, you will be pleased to hear that you can catch up with episodes of Ross Kemp in Afghanistan on You Tube.

Lots of people have been posting the episodes that have aired so far; you can take a look by following this link here.

For anyone who wasn't aware, in the programme the former EastEnders actor accompanies frontline troops in Helmand province in Afghanistan.  It's really rather good and well worth a look.

Send a Valentines Card to your loved one at a BFPO address

A reminder that Moonpig Cards deliver to BFPO addresses.  Their range of Valentines cards has been added to their site; and there is a massive variety of cards and prices.  I particularly like to personalise the cards - you can do pretty much anything on their website and it is very easy to use.  To visit Moonpig you can simply click on the link here or the banner below:

By way of BFPO delivery instructions, their website provided the following information:

'If you wish to send a card to someone stationed with the British Forces in an overseas destination, you can do so using the BFPO format. When entering the postal address into the site, select 'BFPO' from the drop-down country box and fill in the relevant fields that appear (you can then continue to order as normal). The card will be delivered to the British Forces Post Office in the UK, who then despatch the card to the correct destination on your behalf. Bear in mind that if you select the country, such as 'Iraq' instead of BFPO your card will be despatched to that countries individual postal system and may not arrive with the intended recipient.'

More Valentines Day gifts to send to BFPO (or back home!)

We like these Momiji Dolls beautifully crafted in heavyweight resin. Most importantly, hidden inside every 8cm doll there is a tiny folded card for your own secret message.  It's almost like sending your man/woman their own little Geisha Girl.

Another romantic gift we found from the same site (who deliver to BFPO addresses) is this I'm Nuts About You Gift Box. It's a perfect pressie for potential partners, long-term lovers, girlfriends, boyfriends, wives, husbands and anyone in between, a discreet yet constant reminder of the romantic soul who gave it. Aaaahhhh...

Romantic gift ideas to send to a BFPO address this Valentines Day

Well, Christmas has only just left us and already Valentines Day (February 14th for those of you who don't do romance!) is just around the corner.  We have been scouring the net for some nice little tokens of romance to send out to your loved one.

Getting Personal have some nice little products available to view and purchase here.  We like the Love Token currently available for £5.95, because it's a nice little memento for him/her to carry around with them.

Another romantic gift idea along a similar theme (albeit more expensive) is the Sterling Silver Love Heart, available for £22.95 and pictured below. 

 

Getting Personal do not deliver directly to BFPO addresses, but items such as those above are light and easy to send to someone serving at a BFPO address.

Harry Lamin's letters become a First World War Blog

If you haven't yet done so, please do have a look at the excellent Harry Lamin Letters Blog

Private Harry Lamin served in the 9th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment during the First World War. His letters, which were sent home to his worried family as he fought on the Western Front, have been turned into a blog by his grandson, IT teacher Bill Lamin.

The bulletins have been published in real time because he wanted to recreate the tension felt by families waiting to hear if their loved one had survived or died in battle. The blog has received a lot of excellent media coverage, including this piece in the Daily Mail here.