If you’ve ever PCS’d during the holidays, you know the timing is…less than ideal…and I have been there before!
Everyone else is decorating, ordering gifts, and figuring out their holiday plans while you are figuring out which box has the coffee maker, where the closest grocery store is, and why you somehow packed the dog bowls.
Add pets into the mix and there is even more to think about. Especially when you have a cat who is already stressed about the move and would much rather be hiding in an empty moving box than adjusting to a whole new house.
So this year, I wanted to do something a little different for the holidays and put together a holiday welcome basket for a military family PCSing with pets.
Nothing huge or overly complicated, just some things that could make those first few days at a new duty station feel a little easier and hopefully a little more like Christmas.
I especially love this idea for a younger military family arriving at their first or second duty station. Moving is expensive even when the military is covering parts of it, and there are always random costs that pop up. During the holidays, when you are already buying gifts, traveling, or trying to make Christmas happen in a house full of moving boxes, those little extras can add up quickly.=
For the family, I would keep it practical but still festive. A Commissary or restaurant gift card, Christmas treats, hot chocolate, a cozy blanket, maybe a candle and a few little things they can use right away. If they have kids, adding a small toy or Christmas activity would be really cute too.
And obviously, we are NOT forgetting the pets.
I’d add a few pet essentials like treats, toys, waste bags, a new food or water bowl, and maybe a cozy festive blanket. You could even add a gift card to the Commissary so they can grab whatever their dog or cat actually needs once they arrive.
Basically, think about the things you would want if you had just driven across the country and were spending your first night in a completely unfamiliar place. I also think the welcome part matters just as much as what is inside the basket.
One of the weirdest parts of a PCS is starting over. New house, a new base, new neighbors, new veterinarian, new groomer, a new dog park. Basically everything is new.
So I’d include a little list of local pet-friendly favorites too, where to walk the dog, a nearby emergency vet, a good pet store, dog-friendly restaurants or coffee shops, and maybe a favorite park or trail.
It costs basically nothing to put together, but when you are brand new to an area, having someone else do that research for you is genuinely helpful.
If you do not personally know a family who is PCSing in, there are plenty of ways to find one. Ask around your unit or spouse groups, check with friends on base, check in the Facebook groups, or connect with another military family who might know someone arriving around the holidays.
It also does not necessarily have to be one specific family. You could put together smaller holiday pet care packages for a few families, donate supplies to a local base-area animal shelter, or get a group of friends together and each contribute one thing to make a larger basket. The point isn’t how much you spend. It’s making someone’s first few days at their new duty station a little easier.
Military families get very used to starting over. We pack up houses, say goodbye to friends, drive across the country, learn a new base, and somehow make a new place feel like home over and over again. Doing that in December just adds another layer. That’s why if you’re looking for a way to give back to military families this holiday season, find someone who just PCS’d in.
Drop off dinner, bring them a Christmas treat, or put together a basket and their dog a new toy. It doesn’t need to be elaborate or Instagram-worthy. Just something that says, welcome home, and throw in an extra roll of packing tape. They’re probably going to need it.
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