When Paul was in the Navy, one of the best parts of the homecoming celebration was free t-shirts. The pier would be lined with thousands of family members waiting for their loved ones to get off the ship, everyone eagerly looking for a familiar face. And up and down the line, various companies would be tossing out t-shirts. They were sometimes cruise-specific, a great souvenir for the sailor. Other times, they had the ship’s name; still others were generic patriotic Ts. They were morale-boosters and they worked. Most have the sponsoring company’s name on them; others were simply in appreciation. All are treasured. The cruise and ship-specific ones hang in Paul’s closet, next to the marathon Ts. The others get worn often.
In an age where there is a lot of bashing of not just the leaders of the country, but of the country itself, I’m glad my children stand proud of their country and its heritage. With the boys in Scouts and dh former military, we don’t wear the flag t-shirts (it violates the US Flag Code), but there are others that have become favorites.
I’m a frugal mama, and t-shirts are great to buy as souvenirs rather than a toy that will get played with once or twice, or a trinket that has to be dusted. When we went to Tokyo Disneyland, I bough shirts on clearance at a local store, stuffed them in our bags and presented them to the kids at the park. They were pretty much the same thing the shops inside were selling for ten times what I paid.
If you’re a t-shirt person, too, Kohls.com has a lot of patriotic-themed t-shirts available on sale right now. Women’s t-shirts are $2 + .99 shipping (each); men’s are $3 + .99 shipping (each shirt adds .99 to the shipping). Except for Sundays, my boys practically live in T-shirts so this is a good deal.