The MOST Meaningful Way to Support Military Families This Holiday Season

That military spouse you know? Yeah, she is the ultimate MacGyver. And we aren’t just talking about how she moves around the world, builds a new community every few years, and survives deployments and so much more.

Military spouses have a big problem that few civilians are fully aware of. One of the less obvious challenges in military life is how difficult it can be for military spouses to find work.

There’s a new job search every time she moves, the need for a job that allows her to be available when her service members isn’t (for the sick child, parent conference, or home repair), and the reality that the geographic location of military bases can limit job opportunities — and those are just a few examples of the many reasons that military spouse unemployment is costing our economy nearly $1 billion each year.

Defense secretary James Mattis said in 2017 that military pay is competitive with civilian pay. However, almost half of American families have dual incomes, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is a luxury that is complicated, if not eliminated by the challenges of military life. These obstacles mean that many military spouses often pick themselves up by their bootstraps and add the hat of “entrepreneur” to their closets to ensure that there’s enough income for some of the niceties (and sometimes essentials) in life. They put up shop in the digital world and put the skills and resources that they do have to use. They become makers, creators, and artisans.

If you’ve ever wondered how you could support military families in a meaningful way, this is it: buy the products that these amazing, creative, talented women make and sell.

Sending gifts to military kids and troops overseas is an amazing gesture, but what if, instead, you could give their mothers and wives the joy of giving gifts themselves? What if you could support the longevity of military spouse businesses by sharing the products you love with your friends? What if … what IF you could be part of the solution for military spouse unemployment by helping these women’s businesses thrive?

This holiday season, when you’re scouring the internet for the perfect gift for a friend, or trying to find a great stocking stuffer, remember that your purchases could have a big impact on military families. Whether you are part of the military community or a wonderfully supportive civilian, we can all come together to help this community thrive!

Wondering how to find milspouse made items? We launched our Buy Milspouse Made gallery to help you find them! (We take no commission for these listings — they simply link directly to wherever each spouse has set up shop.)