If you're planning to send holiday gifts to your loved ones in the military, there are some mailing deadlines you need to keep in mind to make sure those presents arrive in time for Christmas.
Here is a helpful graph from the United States Post Office outlining all the different deadlines:
Wondering what to send your service member who's stationed in a war zone? The blog Boots on Ground has a list of gifts that would come in handy to anyone deployed in Afghanistan. There's also a list of things you should never send in the mail to a military service member, like...
Alcohol and alcohol-production products and ingredients (R, R1)
Fruits, live plants and animals (M)
Pork and pork by-products (H1)
Pornographic and sexual materials (including nudes and semi-nudes) (E2)
Obscene materials and horror comics (C1)
Non-authorized political materials (E2)
Religious materials contrary to Islam in bulk quantities (E2)
Firearms and ammunition (F)
Cash, coins, securities or precious metals in their raw state (A)
Hazardous, flammable, toxic and radioactive substances