Staying in touch through the mail
Did You Know You Can Send THAT In the Mail?
To make connections, strengthen relationships and build family foundations, this is the BEST FUN way!
Who doesn’t like to get mail that isn’t a bill – but a treat or a gift? EVERYONE, that’s who.
Did you know you can mail just about anything?
For example, you can mail a coconut, just as it is without putting it in a box or wrapping it up – simply as it is, by either writing or taping an address on it? Isn’t that the coolest thing ever!
Think of the possibilities?
What better way to strengthen, mend, or reach across the miles than to send a surprise to a brother, sister, mom, dad, grandchild, child, in-law, niece or nephew, aunt, uncle — you get the idea:)
Also, what a wonderful approach to softening hearts if that is needed.
It’s a comfortable way of letting someone know you are thinking of them, or if you are trying to start a conversation.
And, boy do I have some FUN ideas for you.
Come on and see what I have put together.
I wanted to make sure how things would work in the mail, so to experiment, I visited the post office quite a bit.
I can tell you with confidence, that you can mail pretty much anything that you can think of.
*The only restrictions I would recommend are to watch the weight and size of the item(s), because that is what makes the difference in the price. The large dimensions or heavyweight items might be a bit into your budget. So look at those details when choosing what to send. At least in the contingent USA, not sure about outside the U.S.; you’ll have to check how the rules work in another country or send to Alaska or Hawaii.
WHAT TO MAIL?
I have mailed puzzles right in their own box.
Candy in its own wrapper.
Balls – YES balls! The larger ones are at the Dollar Store. The postman was so excited. my kids reported to me, that he brought it right the door for the grandkids.
A box of fruit snacks and fruit roll-ups, as they are when purchased at the store, among many other items.
One thing I didn’t send, but a postal worker said they saw come through as delivery was a baseball bat.
Just the bat! The sender had written a little note on the bat with a sharpie marker, then taped the sender and recipient’s address, on the bat itself. What a cool gift!
You can make a Party in Bottle
shown below with anything that will fit. Here are a few ideas:
A little girl would love receiving ELSA or ANNA
For a toddler boy look HERE
Of course, there’s Peppa and friends HERE
Dinosaurs are always fun, check THIS
For a teenage girl or a woman try these socks HERE
For a teenage boy or man try this HERE
- If you have several grandkids or friends you want to send a treat to, this CANDY could be easily divided up and sent to different homes.
What if you have a larger gift you want to send?
Or a handmade special item?
Or a treat?
Here are some ideas:
I found an inexpensive and sturdy box, lined it with fun tissue, then bubble wrap.
This can be filled with cookies, brownies, peanut butter bars, whatever treat, or CANDY like this HERE
A tip is to pack the box with a more dense treat so it travels well. 
Tape up the box with fun duct tape like one of THESE
I also used the fun tape to secure the address.
And shipped it off. 
The black print tape was on a tub of cotton candy and arrived at its destination without a problem!
The box of M&M’s with just a label didn’t squish or munch at all through the mail. 
As you can see even the middle package with individual packs (the brown print) of candy made it across several states. I wasn’t sure if it would pop since it is filled with air, but it made it just fine! 
This is a GREAT idea to send a special treat.
Take an empty can of Pringles potato chips and clean it out.
Then fill it with cookies, candy, or treat, part of the way up the can.
I put a little note inside of a sandwich baggie, then tucked it inside with the cookies.
The reason I put the note in a baggie, is so that it wouldn’t get greasy from the oils of the cookies or whatever treat was in the can, and then continued to fill up the canister.
Next cut a piece of waxed paper and a piece of construction paper the same size as the lid to go over the cookies to cover them. 
Tape with fun duct tape or packing tape. Address and send.
Look at this!
I put addresses right on to the toys and they made it to their destination fabulously!
Be creative, things right in their own packing works well too.
Look around your house at all the different kinds of bottles or canisters you can use to send treats or gifts in.
The only requirement is that it needs to be sturdy.
New mom’s, or mom’s-to-be would be thrilled to get a gift like one of these in the mail!
It could be the Barefoot Baby Sandals, click HERE for my tutorial, or purchase HERE
Or the Binki Clips, click HERE to see a step-by-step tutorial or purchase HERE
The Christmas and holiday pails/tins work terrific for those hard-to-fit items.
Seal, then tape the address on the outside, and away they go.
Watch for after-holiday sales for plain colored tins to use any time of the year. 
With your canister/container, you can put just about anything that abides by post office standards.
If you have a store with the bins of candy, go get a little bit of this and that to put in your container.
HUGE TIP:
I found out the hard way that if there is a coating on a ball or a toy like this, you cannot simply tape the address on it to send. Because it will tear off the top layer when the receiver wants to take it off….oops.
Don’t forget older boys and teen guys.
Toolboxes or canisters can hold the duct tape they love. How fun would it be to send a teen (IF appropriate, you know your family) the toolbox with the tape and a treat with the lock on it.
THEN, send the key in a separate envelope or container!
Most like a good joke, but again, you know your family. 
A boy would love the cars coming in a fun mystery container.
What a surprise this would be!
A tween or teen girl can be difficult to get a gift for.
But what about holiday-themed or everyday socks or booties?
They always enjoy these!
And in a clear plastic jar or a fun type, as shown above, it would make her day better!
If you have a huge fan of anything, such as the superheroes (or a certain theme) YOU would certainly be their superhero with this package.
*On Amazon I found some lunch boxes that were being discontinued or marked down like the one pictured pictured below; for example I found a Disney Frozen one HERE for super inexpensive. Just search a bit and you’ll be surprised at the fun you can have with this!
Candy for ANYONE is always appreciated.
If you know someone is having a hard time, needs a pick-me-up, thinking-of-you, or just because, here’s an idea.
If you have a special girl in your life, here is an idea (*the size and shape of the box, along with weight will affect shipping).
Lay your choice of ribbon across the box you want to use. 
Then lay a tissue or more over the top of the ribbon.
You can put anything you’d like in your special box.
Especially a handmade gift of clothing, a doll, stuffed animal, charachter pillow…the sky’s the limit.
I added some glow sticks on top for extra fun. 
Pull the tissue up around the contents carefully and tuck it in.
Then bring the ribbons around the tissue, tie them up and give them all a curl. 
A note on the inside to the recipients as well as the address for the mail carriers. Fun duct tape (as I linked to above) to keep it together makes it extra special.
Delivery and the result—- smiles all around! 
Would you like to send a PARTY IN A BOTTLE?
It’s easy and I’ll show you how!
First, rinse out a large pop bottle and allow it to dry thoroughly.
Take off whatever of the wrapper you can, but don’t stress (you will cover it up anyway).
Make a slit of about 4″-6″ down the side.
Cutting over where the label is, so over the glue because you will cover this area with the address anyway.
Into the slit you just cut, stuff some
COLOR SHREDS HERE, for fun
If you want confetti, here are some ideas –
for a graduate HERE,
For any occasion THIS
Another idea is to twist up and pop in the bottle some WIRE GARLAND
Really, anything your heart desires to match the personality of the person you are sending it to, and for the occasion.
Have fun!!! You are making a PARTY in a BOTTLE!
Next, slip the gift in, keep in mind where it is going, and if it will melt before reaching its destination.
If it is warm or hot weather/climate, do not send chocolate is my recommendation. 
Add in more filler of your choice if desired.
Put a piece of clear packing tape over the slit.
You are going to take a piece of type paper and type or handwrite the name and address that it will be sent to on one side of the paper.
Now, fold the addressed paper in half, so that you have a DOUBLE LAYER of the paper, by folding it over itself for extra strength.
Simply tape the address over the slit which will now cover any label that you couldn’t remove.
Everyone will be amazed at how YOU took a minute to send a little MAGIC in the mail
Copyright Carrie Groneman, A Mother’s Shadow, 2015, 2022
Recognize a blessing and be a blessing today
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