A year two class at Albury Public School have spent afternoons this week assembling Christmas packages, which will be delivered free of charge by Australia Post.

Class parent Maddy Poulton organised the packing sessions, sending out the invite to the 25 peers of her daughter.

“I’ve read about it a few times, and it was always something we wanted to do, but there’s only a small window in which to send the packages,” she said.

“It just costs to buy the boxes and Australia Post sends them for free – I think they mainly go to the Middle East.

“There are some strict guidelines, such as it has to be a certain size and not any heavier than two kilograms, and I’ll be signing custom declarations for them all.

“We will pack them and keep them gender-neutral, and address it to an Australian officer.”

Kids in the year two class have helped choose what to include in the care packages – ranging from card games and soft toys to lollies and lip balm.

Mrs Poulton said some of the choices were interesting, like a toy that makes sounds that belong in a bathroom.

“Some of the things they’ve chosen are hilarious,” she said.

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“You don’t quite realise how innocent your kids are – for many of them it’s a different concept that somebody would not be home for Christmas.

“They probably did not think about Australian troops fighting overseas in wars before this.”

Sacha Frichot, 8, included a handwritten card to a soldier wishing them a Merry Christmas.

While soldiers can decide to write back, Mrs Poulton said the class may not ever know who received their gifts.

“It's great for them to be giving to another person – somebody who they don’t know,” she said.

The window for sending care packages to deployed personnel for Christmas closes on Friday, November 30.

In 2017 the Defence Force received 20,000 packages for 2400 deployed personnel and also encourages the members of the public who wish to make a kind gesture to provide support to ex-service organisations.