Last Christmas, Blue Star Mothers 177 of Berrien County packed 400 holiday-brightening boxes for troops.
Each care carton contained enough treats for five soldiers.
Postage cost $16,000.
The ninth annual Support the Troops Christmas open house is Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at Michigan Lutheran High School, 615 Marquette Woods Rd., St. Joseph.
Part patriotic program, part packing party, special guest speaker will be retired New York police detective John Barreiro, who will recall the events of  9/11.
“It’s a very good cause,“ President Tammy Sebasty said Tuesday.
She’s partial, of course, because Blue Star Mother means she has a child in the military.
Her son, Chad, is an Army sergeant serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan until January.
Blue Star Mothers “do what it takes to honor our troops and veterans,” she said.
“Our chapter assists in veterans ceremonies and has visited the (Veterans Administration) hospital in Battle Creek to help at their Christmas celebration and other local veterans locations. We participate in many local parades. We attend memorial services, patriotic rallies and meetings. We have made and passed out hundreds of yellow ribbons to ‘tie around the old oak tree.'” honoring and remembering all our service men and women serving away from home. We also do our many care packages sent to the deployed soldiers. Every year we have our ‘Support the Troops Christmas Open House,’ where we pack our care packages for the troops for Christmas, trying to bring a little home to them at a very special time of the year.”
To make the holiday a little less lonely in a far-off land, Blue Star Mothers suggests sending DVDs or CDs, white cotton socks, small cans of fruit, tuna pouches, cheese and crackers, beef jerky, instant drink mixes, foot and body powder, gum, mints, nuts, Santa hats and stockings.
For Veterans Day, Blue Star Mothers participate in the Eau Claire veterans dinner.
Blue Star Mothers Chapter 177 can be reached at P.O. Box 76, Stevensville, MI 49127.
Or, contact Sebasty at (269) 695-7977 or by e-mail at shortydog@netzero.com.
www.bluestarmothers177.com.