Thanking military personnel for their service has become a tradition in the United States. Most people will stop to say, “thank you for your service” whenever they see someone wearing a military uniform or veteran’s hat.
Thanking service members like this is a beautiful way to show respect and make them feel recognized in their daily lives. However, if you’re close to someone in the military, there are bigger ways to show them your appreciation. This especially applies to service members who are retiring.
Do you know someone who is retiring, or has already retired from the military? Consider expressing your appreciation by honoring them with a special gift. Don’t just get them something random – get them something personal.
To help you with ideas, here are some options for meaningful, personalized military retirement gifts.
1. A custom military retirement plaque
Personalized gifts are one of the coolest ways to honor someone retiring from the military. Consider getting your loved one a personalized crystal plaque commemorating their service. You can have custom plaques made to honor service members from any branch:
· Army Retirement/Appreciation Plaques
· Marine Corps Retirement/Recognition Plaques
· Navy Promotion/Retirement Plaques
· Air Force Departing/Retirement Plaques
· Coast Guard Appreciation/Retirement Plaques
These plaques can all be personalized with a special message, their rank, and their service record.
Plaques make excellent military retirement gifts for family members. This kind of gift is wonderful because it’s something they can place on a shelf, on the fireplace mantle, or on a bookshelf where they’ll be continually reminded of your support.
2. Host a party for them and their friends
Chances are, if someone you love is retiring from the military, they’ve got military friends somewhere nearby. They might be other retirees, or they might be waiting for deployment or in the reserves. Whatever the case may be, host a party for your service member and tell them to invite all of their friends. If you know their friends, you might be able to pull off a surprise party.
Since you know military personnel can have an appetite, make sure you plan to serve some hearty food. You can make lasagna, other pasta dishes, baked potatoes, twice baked potatoes, steak, chili, or any other hearty foods you think everyone would like.
At the party, don’t forget to stock some coolers with root beer, cola, beer, and you may even want to celebrate with some wine. If you want to get extra fancy, go for some luxury dessert wine. Anyone who has never had dessert wine before will be in for a treat.
3. Take them out to dinner
Every military service member will love being taken out to dinner. If you know their favorite place to eat, make reservations for as many people as you’d like. You can make it a small dinner with just a few friends and family, or you can extend the invitation to others and make it more of a party.
Just don’t forget the dessert! Make sure you eat at a restaurant that has a good selection of desserts, and if not, plan on going out afterward. For example, there are restaurants that specialize in desserts and have amazing main courses as well. However, if you don’t have the best of both worlds, you can always visit two places.
4. A family photo album
If the retiring military service member is part of your family, or you’re close with their family, make them a family photo album. Scour their social media pages and enlist the help of their family members to get as many photos as you can. Choose the best ones and have them printed on photo paper.
Find a cool photo album that will accommodate all the photos you’ve chosen, and make a creative album. If you’re into crafting, you can get a photo album that is also part scrapbook so you can get creative with labeling the photos.
Digital photos are nice, but there’s nothing better than being able to hold a physical album in your hand and flip through the photos. An album can be passed around to others at parties, left on a coffee table for decoration, or used as a conversation piece. However they use their photo album, they’ll love that you took the time to get creative and personal for their retirement.
5. A toast at a home-based dinner party
If throwing a large party isn’t for you, or your retiree doesn’t want a big party, host a small dinner party at your home. Invite all of their friends and fellow service members when possible. Instead of making a huge deal in a formal ceremony, have a simple, elegant toast.
Honor your retiring military service member with a personalized crystal plaque
A personalized crystal plaque will make a great retirement gift for anyone retiring from the military. They’ll feel appreciated and seen for all of their dedication and commitment no matter how many years they’ve served.
We have a great selection of crystal plaques for retiring military service members from every branch, so be sure to check them out. We’ve got plaques for retiring Navy Seals, retiring Marines, and retiring Army personnel. When they get their gift, they’ll be honored that you want to recognize them, and will be reminded of your appreciation each time they see their plaque.
Not sure about military retirement gift etiquette?
If you’re worried about breaking some kind of rule by giving your retiree a gift, don’t stress about it too much. There are restrictions for what service members may accept as gifts, but when they retire, those rules don’t apply.
Just ensure that your gift doesn’t accidentally disgrace the military. For instance, if you’re going to use images of any flag, make sure it’s appropriately positioned and don’t include any imagery that would be considered inappropriate by the military.
Other than that, you can give any gift to someone retiring from the military. The only thing that matters is gifting something they’ll enjoy.
