Whether you’re looking for a gift for a birthday celebration, anniversary, holiday, or you just want to surprise somebody you love, the truth is that the best gift ideas are always hard to come up with. We’re sure that the person on the other side would love to receive something memorable that will express your love and appreciation towards them.

When it comes to presenting something to a military service member, we’re sure that they’d love receiving something that reminds them of their noble profession of protecting our freedom. This is why we made a list of 5 great gift ideas you can wrap up quickly and make your military member happy.

Ribbon Bars

One of the noblest accessories every military service member would be honoured to attach to their jacket are medal ribbon bars. These ribbons represent these people’s willingness to do something beyond the expected and their efforts to protect our liberty when no one else would. So, don’t hesitate to choose from the huge range of army ribbons on the market, since they make for the perfect gift for our freedom protectors.

If you’re wondering what’s the purpose of medal ribbon bars, they’re actually worn in place of a medal when it’s not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each of the colours on these army ribbons has a different meaning, as they signify the time or the location that the one served as well as the outstanding service they delivered.

And even though a replica ribbon bar can’t be worn for actual occasions that call for full dress uniforms, we’re sure that a military member would love to have at least one in their collection. So make sure you choose something that they’d be proud to wear on their uniform in future.

Hat Badges

Same as military ribbon bars, every military service member would also be honoured to wear a cap badge that distinguishes their noble role and the organization they serve. And since each of these badges also symbolizes different accomplishments, it’s essential to get to know one’s preferences before you gift something that doesn’t make sense.

But once you start searching for the perfect cap badge gift, you’ll undoubtedly find many designs including different departments of the Australian Defense Force, such as the Royal Australian Navy, Air Force as well as the popular Australian Army.

On the other hand, you’ll also come across many badges that have a great historical meaning for every military service member. For instance, the Rising Sun badge’s 7 different editions make for the most popular designs that have a sentimental value for every soldier in our land. This badge represents the country’s strength and capability to defend itself and was proudly worn by the soldiers of the 1st and the 2nd Australian Imperial Force in both World Wars.

However, regardless of the design you choose, make sure it features convenient fastening clutches so your military member can proudly wear it outside their duty, or display it in their badge collection.

Magnets

Just like every wanderlust’s greatest wish is to attach as many different destination magnets to their fridge, a military service member would also love to proudly display their organization in their magnet collection. Except for that, not all of the military service members are fond of wearing ribbons and badges on anything that isn’t their uniform, which gives you one more reason to present them a lovely military magnet.

And when it comes to military fridge magnets, the range of choices is also very broad. For instance, if one is a member of the Australian Army, you can always give them the opportunity to display their noble organization with a nice magnet. On the other hand, you also won’t struggle to find magnets for members of the Australian Air Force, the Royal Australian Navy and other popular organizations.

Finally, these magnets go far beyond symbolizing military organizations, as you can also find designs featuring meaningful historical events that may have sentimental value for the one. For instance, the popular “Rising Sun” design can also be found in many magnet designs. Except for the Rising Sun, many magnets will feature “Australia in the Great War”, as well as “Light up the Dawn” designs.

Miniature Figures

People don’t always love stuffing their fridges with different magnets, but they’d rather display something meaningful instead of different decorations and ornaments in their living spaces. If your military service member is this type of person, miniature figures come in as the perfect gift idea.

And same as the other collectibles we mentioned, these figurines also represent historical soldiers that may have sentimental value or simply are subjects of admiration to the one.

For instance, for those who find the Australian servicemen during the conflict in Vietnam admirable, a little figurine of a Vietnam Digger can be the perfect gift idea for them. On the other hand, you can also find male and female versions of navy officers, recruits, sailors and army cadets. These figurines make the perfect gift for those who admire these roles as well as for those who recently started, changed or ended their careers in the specific organization.

Machine Gun Replicas

Finally, it’s not uncommon for military members to admire the artwork and the intricate design of many machine guns and rifles that have been used through many historical events. Therefore, a miniature machine gun replica would also make for the perfect gift for military members, as they’ll get to display them among their collectibles or simply let them adorn their living space.

For instance, you won’t struggle to find a miniature version of the popular L1A1 self-loading rifle that was used for defeating the enemy in conflicts such as the Malayan Emergency, Indonesian Confrontation and the Vietnam War. Besides the L1A1, you can also find replicas of the M260 GPMG, the f88 Austery Riffle, the SMLE No 1 Mk 3 Rifle and many other popular and meaningful designs of history.