It always seems too early for Christmas shopping.

But this year, if you’re planning on sending something to the troops overseas, Nov. 13 is the deadline. That’s two days away. Don’t worry, though, with a few easy steps, you can gather items and send something to a service member, whether you know them or not. And if that deadline’s a little tight for you, we’ll suggest some other ways of giving, too. And you don’t have to limit your giving to Christmas. The troops are deployed year round, so think of this as a year round guide for giving.

Firstfind a program that helps you decide how you want to give.

Jess Jackson, a junior at Central High School, was looking for a service project when Mona Dastmalchian told Jess’ mom that she’d sent packages to her son-in-law overseas. Jess’ mom, Moni Jackson, owns Curves. And with her mom’s help, Jess motivated the women of Curves to donate enough for 25 boxes worth of care packages, which were sent off recently.

To find a program, go to Americasupportsyou.mil, an official Web site of the Department of Defense. There, you can find a score of organizations that send care packages. Through asoldierswishlist.com, you can adopt a service member, www.momscookies.org sends, you guessed it, cookies to service members, and anysolider.com will help you find a solider, Marine, airman or Coast Guard member to send a package to. That’s the program Jess used.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, you can no longer send packages addressed to “Any Solider.” That’s because, according to the Military Postal Service Agency, “security concerns and transportation constraints with military mail led to their cancellation.” However, approved programs can be found through Americasupportsyou.mil. Many of the Web sites will help you find one person specifically, and on their Web site, anysolider.com claims that all soldiers are “aware of and volunteered for this program.”

Next get your

list together.

There are things you can send and things you can’t.

According to the United States Postal Service, you can’t send to the Middle East:

Obscene articles

Anything depicting nudity or semi-nudity

Religious materials in bulk

Pork or pork by-products

And there are things that are needed, as Jess found out. Her list of requests was a long one, but it included Gold Bond foot powder, white socks with no logos, Febreze, Jolly Ranchers, anything chocolate, CDs, board games, phone cards and batteries.

“I guess I didn’t realize that sometimes they just need the very basics,” Ms. Dastmalchian says. “... like deodorant.”

You can send blank greeting cards, suggests Jess’s mom, for the service members to fill out and send home. And, Ms. Dastmalchian says, don’t forget the female service members with things such as facial products.

“It’s just many things that we take for granted,” Moni Jackson says.

And then there are things that aren’t necessities, but nice to get from home anyway.

Ms. Dastmalchian bought little chess and checkers games from the dollar store, “ ... and you know at night when they had nothing to do, they brought them out.”

Again, most Web sites will offer some guidance.

But really, Ms. Dastmalchian says, anything from home is nice.

Next get ready

to send.

You can get boxes that ship priority mail and go for a flat rate, according to the USPO, regardless of the weight, for $8.95. But get the boxes before you buy stuff to put in them.

They’re narrow, Moni Jackson says, and so you’ll have to think about what you get before you buy. Some other tips from the post office’s Web site:

Put the unit and APO/FPO (Air/Army Post Office or Fleet Post Office) address with the ZIP Code.

Remember to put your return address.

Remember it can get hot, so don’t send stuff that melts easily.

Choose a strong box.

Use bubble wrap to protect the contents.

Include a card describing the contents for customs.

If this all sounds like too much work, think of another way to give.

Americasupportsyou.mil offers what must be thousands of organizations willing to help you help the troops. You can donate frequent flyer miles with groups such as Hero Miles. They provide plane tickets to hospitalized service members and their families. You can donate phone cards so service members can call home. You can donate money to help service members video conference with their families, you can send letters and messages, help the wounded and disabled and even just send a simple “thank you” through The Thank You Foundation or text “thank you” through “Giving Thanks.”

“It ultimately depends on what a person chooses to do,” says Lt. j.g. Joe Holstead, media officer with U.S. Central Command Headquarters.

Regardless of your methods, there are many ways to give.

And for Jess, seeing so many women come together to give for strangers was more than just a service project.

“I felt like I had done something good,” she says. And she wasn’t just helping one person. “I felt like I was doing something for my whole country.”