Bloggers around the World Supporting the Troops is a Deployment Care Package Program sponsored by Betsy Eves of JavaCupcake.com, the wife of SGT David Eves.  Each month, a blogger from the either the USA or Europe will create a care package with 2^nd Platoon in mind.  It will be decorated with a fun theme and will be filled with lots of goodies!

TRICK OR TREAT, SMELL MY FEET,
GIVE US SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT!
We choose one of our favorite times of the year to participate in this program; October. With Halloween almost here, our care package was designed with the childhood chant of “Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet, Give Us Something Good to Eat” in mind. Our theme was for soldiers with a sweet tooth, a love for cozy toes and for the kid in all of us who adores this Spook-tacular holiday. We enclosed goodie bags for each soldier filled with candy and toys, brand new white socks, popcorn balls (see popcorn ball recipe below) and more.

Take a peek inside the package:
-       Goodie Bags with candy, pencils and toys
(including glow in the dark spiders, parachuting skeletons and
vampire fangs for a little dress up fun).
–       Popcorn Balls
–       White Ankle Socks
– Peanut Butter Taffy (sealed in zip lock in case of allergies)

The package was easy to make with a trip to our local party supply store and Target. We picked up festive bags to fill with the goodies and a variety of candies that wouldn’t melt in transit. It can take approximately 3 weeks to get to the troops so we wanted to ensure we sent items that could sustain the journey. We found jolly ranchers, gummy lifesavers, laffy taffy, nerds, skittles and more.

We also thought some fun little toys would be good to add so we found some spooky glow in the dark spiders and vampire fangs. But our favorite were the little parachuting skeletons. Growing up I always remember how fun the little parachute men were so thought they would be good fun. We also wanted something useful and thought white socks for the soldiers would be handy out in the dessert and went nicely (and a bit tongue in cheek) with our “Trick or Treat, Smell our Feet” theme. We also added a pencil that was decorated with Halloween colors and themes. We rolled each pencil into the bag top and sealed it with tape so that none of the contents would fall out in transport.

Above is a photo of the 2nd Platoon, Fox Troop, 2/2 Cavalry Regiment before deployment when they were in Vilseck, Germany. Photo was courtesy of Javacupcake.com. We enjoyed putting this package for the troops and we hope the troop enjoys their Halloween Care Package. We thank them for all they do.

If you’d like the recipe for the popcorn balls we made using a Paula Deen recipe, check it out below.

Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, syrup, vinegar, and salt. Cook over high heat until mixture reaches 255 degrees F (hard-ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Stir in vanilla.

Pour over popped corn, tossing gently to coat. When mixture is cool enough to handle, press popcorn into 3-inch balls with lightly greased hands. Cool completely on waxed paper.

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