Sending Love to Your Long-Distance Valentine

For many military couples, the responsibilities of duty, training, and deployment may mean spending Valentine's Day apart from their special someone. In these situations, keeping the spark alive is an important way to stay connected.

When celebrating Valentine's Day across the miles, being creative and finding new ways for couples to express their love and devotion can help bridge the distance. Just because your soldier is thousands of miles away this year, doesn't mean that your Valentine's Day should be any less meaningful!

Sending a care package is a great way to treat your soldier to a taste of home. Filling a box with your soldier's favorite candies, baked goods, and savory snacks is always a hit. Adding a MP-3 playlist of favorite songs that have meaning to you as a couple is also a great way to connect. Making gifts for your soldier, such as filling a container with love notes tied to candies for each day in February, making a photo collage of the two of you together, or creating lover's coupons for massages and couple's time after the deployment, are great ways to give your care package that personal touch.

Another fun way spouses and significant others can spice up those boxes is by including loving handwritten letters and pictures that will remind them of romantic times you've shared, and of the attention you are waiting to give them at their homecoming!

Taking advantage of technology is another great way to feel close to your loved one at Valentine's Day. Telephones weren’t invented yesterday, so get on your cell and make a long distance shoot-out to your special man or woman. Now the new iPhone’s have FaceTime, so even better.

If your soldier can access the Internet, consider sending a romantic e-card. Many e-cards can be sent for free, and some allow you to personalize them with uploaded photos or audio clips. If you really want to have fun with it, you can even create a video message and to send to your soldier. Of course, Skyping is also a great way to make that love connection on Valentine's Day.

And for the loved ones back home, celebrate Valentine’s together. If your friends have loved ones or spouses overseas too, you should get together and have a Valentines party or dinner. This will be a way to still feel the love on the day of love.

Showing your love and devotion for your soldier who is away for Valentine's Day is well worth the effort. As you can see from the above tips, sending love across the miles is limited only by your imagination!

Article by Allison Brooks