If you’re sending a Christmas card or package to a soldier overseas, the Missouri National Guard says mail it by December 3rd.

Jenn Whitacre, the Guard’s Family Assistance Coordinator, says good gifts for soldiers include drink mixes, dried fruit, jerky, phone cards…and for female soldiers, toiletries with a feminine touch. Items you should NOT send include anything in a glass jar, home-baked goods, pork products, alcohol, tobacco, or aerosol cans.

Whitaker says if you don’t have a particular soldier in mind but want to send gifts, you can go online to Adopt a Soldier, Adopt a Platoon, Operation Gratitude, or A Million Thanks.