Pooh's dad has given him tons of money and I'm preparing to send a package this weekend from online and I need to know what he would benefit from having me send in that he may not be able to buy easily there.

He asked for sweats and shoes and some personal products but what about other items....is there anywhere that tells me what they can buy in the canteen because being I can only send 1 a quarter, I want to make it a good one..kwim?

Hey Pooh, I have a list of what they can buy in the canteen from last year. It is in one of the boxes I have with his letters. I dont have a scanner so give me till later tonight when the kids are asleep and I will type it up for you ok.

You know chips and candies like snickers are always good in the package. Well, if you log on later tonight maybe I can help you but I will get you the canteen list( it might be a tad outdated but it still gives you the general idea of what they can buy)

Ok talk to you later. Hope I can help.

Canteen list December 2004

Soups – noodles (beef,chili,beef) I think it is like ramen coz it is 0.20 a piece

Chips, crackers, popcorn
Pork rinds, sour cream/chives chips, nacho chips, cheese popcorn, saltine crackers, snack crackers, flour tortilla

Candy
Atomic fireballs, milky way, snickers, baby ruth, assorted bag candy, tootsie roll pops, tootsie roll midgets

Cookies and Pastries
Moon pie, muffins, honey bun, swiss rolls, oatmeal cookies, choc. Chip cookies, vanilla crème cookies, duplex crème cookies, choc. Crème cookies

Ice Cream
Assorted flavors

Soda, Juices
Assorted flavors

Misc. Beverage
Coffee creamer, powdered milk, sweet thing, folgers, Maxwell house coffee, instant cocoa, cool off fruit punch, tea bags, egg nog

Spices
Garlic powder, minced onion, salt and pepper, cinnamon, lemon juice, crushed peppers

Condiments – Food Items
Spam, roast beef, hot beef sausage, beef stew, chili w/ beans, chili, white chicken, refried beans, menudo, rice, pickle, olives, mushrooms, cheese squeeze, ketchup, mayo, hot sauce, garlic hot sauce, picante sauce, bbq sauce, jalapenos, yellow peppers, oatmeal, peanut butter, grape jelly, oysters (smoked), mackerel fillets, mackerel jacks, tuna, tamales, kippered snacks, fish steak, mixed veggies, clams (smoked), mac and cheese, meatballs (canned)

Vitamins, medications
Cold and flu, multi vitamins, vitamin E, vitamin C, Protein powder, antacid, antifungal cream, aspirin, ibuprofen, medicated chest rub, ben gay heat rub, foot powder, hall’s cough drop, Mylanta gas, hydrocortisone cream

Cosmetics - Hair
Hair pick, club brush, pocket hair brush, conditioner/shampoo, styling gel, baby oil, moisturing lotion, pomade

Toiletries
Tone soap, ivory bar soap, irish spring soap, disposable razor kit, disposable razor, bump stopper razor, after shave , shaving cream, magic shave gold, magic shave smooth, medicated skin cream, body powder, deordorant- fresh, ocean surf, ultra brite, sensitive teeth, colgate, close-up, efferdent, effergrip, mouthwash, dental floss, toothbrush, finger nailclippers, toenail clippers, tweezers, perfumed oil, perfumed lotion

Greeting Cards
Assorted

Misc. Sundry Items
Cap, shower shoes, wash cloth, handkerchief, soap box, cotton swabs, lip balm, shoe polish, shoe shine brush, tide, sunglasses, sunscreen, skull cap, mirror

Stationary Items
Stamps, pencil, large/small tablet, legal paper, pen, photo album, dictionary, envelope, address book, expanding envelope

Misc. households
Batteries, tv cable splitter with F plug, TV coaxial cable, mug with lid, cereal bowl with lid, water bottle, spoon, can opener, utility hook, dish soap

Sorry I dont have a more recent list. I dont think it should change that much. my husband prefers the deordorant from the package. Also like the sweat and shorts, get the thick ones. Like the most expensive one coz it last longer.

Hope this helps

Hi Pooh! I bought my guy a cd player and a tv too! I think those items have now been put under "special packages" (or whatever they call that.) I also bought him the sweats and shoes, he loved them. Don't forget to buy him shorts and a fan, if allowed. Summer's coming and it gets hot up there. Oh, sunglasses and suntan lotion too (it sells out fast at the canteen during the summer) Let's see, what else? Oh, I bought extra batteries for the cd player too! That's all I can think of right now, if I remember what else, I'll post!

TTYL! :)

p.s. I hope El is having a great time! :)

or get rechargeable batteries and buy him the charger. That is what I did.

Hey Lov! Good idea! I don't think I saw it when I ordered last time, hmmm.

Packages R Us have this universal charger that charges all battery sizes. I think it is a good investment. I ordered it for him for Christmas. Coz no one else sells the D battery charger (for the boombox) and thank god I looked around for him. He is so happy with it.

A fan is really good any time of year. The air gets stale and stuffy inside and my husband had his on ALL the time.

can you explain to me the difference between a quarterly package and a "special" package? Its still only one a quarter no mater what the package type??

Thanks for the canteen list...that is P E R F E C T!!

Ask Smaldove coz she just sent her man a package and a special order package and something happened. I have never sent a special package.

Maybe Pooh will like a hot pot too if he doesnt have one already.

When you go to one of the sites that puts together quarterly packages like PackagesRUs or CaliforniaInmatePackages.com you have to put in what institution that the package is going to. Once you do that it will only let you order items that are allowed in that institution. That's great since the list of things they can or can't have changes constantly. You can shop on there and if it allows you to order an item they are able to receive it. Give it a try!

A special package is like a tv, cd player, radio's and jewelry. A quarterly package is all the hygenie and food. And each on is only once a quater. Books I think used to be considered a special pacakge but from what I understand they no longer are. I will have to check on that one.

Ya like Rodg says when you go to those sites and you enter in special package it will only bring up what is allowable for that catergory.

My husband says a hot pot is handy as well as a bowl. Union Supply has those. Those are allowed in the quarterly package. I sent him a hot pot, bowl, sweats, and thermals. He only needed a walkman because he is in the gym and they have like 5 TVs in there. You can only listen to the TV by tuning to a radio station. If he is in a cell then he would need his own TV.