Military service is all about uniformity. Uniformed personnel dress the same, follow a rigid set of rules to govern themselves on and off duty, and they live and perform within standards.
It should come as no surprise that those who serve or have served like a little bit of individualism when they can get it. With all that conformity and selfless service, it’s okay to remind a friend or loved one that they are individuals. Sure, there is no “I” in team, but it’s okay to give a military personalized gift to someone you care about who always puts everyone first.
Military personalized gifts are fantastic things to give during the holidays that show the person you care about that you value them for who they are, but also for what they do. Here is USAMM’s list of top ten military personalized gifts in no particular order.
1. Battle Mug
This thing is bad ass and frankly, one of the best personalized military gifts you can buy. If the recipient is someone who carried or carries a rifle as part of their military profession, they will love this gift. The Battle Mug is fully customizable.
Not only can you put their name, rank, and unit information on it, or anything else that you think belongs on there, but you can also add a rifle-like handle, railings, and their ribbon rack to it. This isn’t one of those military personalized gifts that they will set aside and place on a shelf. This rugged mug will get used regularly and will be a career heirloom for whomever receives it.
2. Alder Plaques
The Alder plaques are unique personalized military gifts that can capture a service members entire career or just a snapshot of it. These are great personalized military gifts because there is plenty of room on the high-quality wood’s surface to include a career’s worth of military awards and badges, or just limit it to awards or badges earned during a specific period, like a deployment or temporary duty mission.
Either way, these fully customized Alder plaques are colorful and ideal personalized military gifts for anyone serving in the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, Coast Guard, National Guard or Navy.
3. Navy Custom Ship 3D Laser Engraved Plaque
There are a lot of choices for personalized military gifts for sailors or veteran salts. One of our favorite military personalized gifts are the ship 3D laser engraved plaques. They make wonderful holiday personalized military gifts because the sailor/former sailor can select his/her ship class, name, and hull number, and it will all be custom engraved.
These are great for quarters, offices or man cave or she shed. And USAMM makes it easy to order for the Navy veteran in your life. Like most customized items on our website, you just select choices, enter information, and within minutes you can have personalized military gifts ready to ship to the sailor in your life.
4. Shadow Boxes
Shadow boxes will always be incredible personalized military gifts. This is a go-to gift which obviously can be personalized by adding the individual’s awards, badges, and mementos.
Shadow boxes can also be customized by having a brass plaque engraved and placed inside the box which has the recipient’s name and military information on it. Empty shadow boxes with customized brass plates make great military personalized gifts because it gives the recipient a blank canvas and they can secure their military mementos in the box however they prefer.
5. Custom Navy Caps
Caps make great personalized military gifts because like the 3D laser plaque, they can be customized to the liking of the wearer. They can proudly display their favorite ship and rock these caps at veteran events and patriotic holidays.
USAMM offers a really large list of ships, insignia, and badges that can be use in USAMM's Navy Cap Builder. We offer regular caps, captain scrambled eggs, and admiral scrambled eggs in both navy and coyote colors all made and embroidered in the USA at our beautiful, brand new Killeen, Texas facility.
Just select a ship type, enter your personalized information, select color, and add it to your basket. You'll have a great personalized military gift delivered within days to your military loved one, or to you if you prefer to give the gift in person.
6. Custom Rank Hats
Whether the person you are shopping for is enlisted, warrant or commissioned officer, they will love a Custom Rank Hat. These military personalized gifts are awesome and include the person’s name and rank and they come in multi-cam and coyote colors.
These personalized military gifts are great for those official/unofficial unit events where a uniform isn’t required. And these caps come in a couple of colors and like our other customizable products they are easy to order. Type in any text (name, unit, anything) in the provided text bar and we'll embroider it above the rank you choose. Like with all custom USAMM items, your order will ship within 24 business hours.
Our rank caps feature six-panel design, sewn eyelets for ventilation, flat seam construction, adjustable hook and loop back tab and as always, they are embroidered in the USA in Killeen, Texas.
7. Navy Ship Wrapped Canvas
Customizable Navy ship class wrapped canvas prints are awesome personalized military gifts because they are artwork that will bring color to any room or office. Much like their 3D engraved plaque cousins, the recipient can customize their print to any ship class and hull number. And they cost much less than the plaques, but like the plaques, they are still very affordable for a quality customized product.
Each high-quality print is professionally hand-stretched over wooden 1.5 inch stretcher bars and back stapled for a classic gallery look. We use archival grade, white-satin, 19 mil canvas so that your artwork will always look as good as the day you open the package.
This print is:
- 12" x 16" x 1.5"
- Each order is professionally hand-stretched and back stapled
- Ready to hang - hanging hardware included
- Printed and wrapped in the USA in Killeen, Texas
8. Drinkware
Water bottles, mugs, flasks, and steins can all be customized and make great military personalized gifts. Name, rank, and other personalized information can be placed on these items.
We can even put you ribbon rack, rank, name, unit insignia, you name it, on just about any of our drinkware using USAMM's USwag tool on our website. You can upload your own graphics or use the hundreds of military graphics in our extensive database to create a unique personalized military gift for your service member. But it all starts here.
9. Polo Shirts
One of the popular items on our list of personalized military gifts is a polo shirt. Much like the custom rank hats, these can be customized to order with name, rank, and rank insignia or whatever you like. Put as little or as much as you like on this performance clothing item. It won’t disappoint. This item is great for golfers or if a unit wants a to sport a uniform look at events, like a cookout or a community service project.
We have a variety of colors and styles. All of our polo shirts are a great way to show service pride. You can not only put your name and rank on these, but also your unit, division symbol, or even a medal or ribbons. These high quality, fashionable golf polos are embroidered in our shop located in Killeen, Texas. They feature:
- 100 percent polyester, performance fabric
- Moisture wicking technology keeps you comfortable all day long
- 4.3 ounce weight, perfect for the course or the office
- Embroidered in the USA in Killeen, Texas.
- They come in five sizes; S, M, L, XL, and 2XL
10. Patriotic T-Shirts
If you want a personalized military gift that's wearable, patriotic t-shirts make a great choice. Military style t-shirts are great, but in recent years the same old tired shirts have made the rounds and they all pretty much look the same. Consider USAMM, problem solved. Think of USAMM as hitting the reset button.
Our military t-shirts are unlike anything out there. Our unique designs will make everyone take a second look at what you're wearing. They are high quality fabric, fit just right, and they keep you cool. Not to mention, some of them are funny and thought provoking as hell. And we have them for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Space Force, National Guard and veterans. If you serve, we've got you covered.
Our shirt specifications:
- 100 percent pre-shrunk cotton, combed and 30-Single ring spun
- Lightweight (4.2 ounces)
- Side seam
- Crewneck
- Unisex sizes: S, M, L, XL, 2XL
All of our shirts are made by USAMM. We print our original designs on high quality, comfortable t-shirts in the great state of Texas.
Summary
The thing to remember when shopping for a service member for the holidays or any event is to know what they will like. Customized and personalized military gifts are great for those who are serving because it enables them to show their pride while still in uniform. For veterans or retirees, the customized gifts also enable them to show their service pride, but it also reconnects them to a significant part of the lives.
Customized military gifts make great holiday gifts and just remember to shop well enough ahead of time to allow for shipping time. Holiday shipping delays are always something to take into consideration.