Sending Care Packages for Christmas

Christmas of 2020 is looking different. Traveling is no simple matter with the threat of Covid lurking, especially for grandparents. And for everyone, the money is stretched tighter than before. So now the question is, how can we make the holidays better for everyone? Better for those who cannot travel and better for those who are strapped for cash. How do we keep the Holiday spirit without blowing the little that's in our bank accounts?

The Holidays are here and maybe you're panicking a little. Your time and your budget have both run thin, yet you still have gifting and sending to do, but surely it's hopeless. You can never stretch your limited budget that far, not to mention time limits. Plus, these are your nearest and dearest, how can you even find a gift to express all that?

Calm down, little Christmas elf, help is on the way. You can do it all with a do it yourself care package. And if you have several people to please, just get those boxes open and line them up on the couch because three (or four, etc) care packages are as easy to make as one. The better the recipient knows you and or your family, and vice versa, the easier it will be to make a great care package. If you don't know each other well, why, then, is this person on your shopping list?

The Center of every great care package, the thing that makes it great, is this: Food. And in this case, that means this: Cookies.

Preferably, use two or three kinds of cookies that you will bake in your very own oven. So start thinking about recipes and cookie tins or tupperware you can say goodbye to because you're never going to see it again. It's a small price. You may be able to find suitable containers at the dollar store, they need to be able to keep the cookies fresh while shipping. You can also find other good elements to your care package at the dollar store.

When you go shopping for the needed ingredients, keep an eye out for other little things you can put in the care packages that might brighten the day of your loved ones. Here are some suggestions

• hot chocolate mix
• notebooks
• herbal teas
• warm socks
• puzzle books
• pens

You can also find things around your house to include in the care package. For instance, a book you have finished reading, a dvd they might enjoy, and especially the kid's artwork. Other ideas are a crochet hook and yarn, or a cross stitch kit. If you have a printer, you can print out some photos for the one you are gifting too. If they have a pet, include a cat or dog toy, perhaps. Just be open-hearted and creative. Who doesn't love a care package? Everyone does. Especially family members who are far away and can't travel because of a pandemic. Receiving this gift from you will probably be the high spot of their Christmas holiday.

Before you seal up your boxes and send them flying across the country, don't forget to add a little note to the box expressing your feelings. It doesn't have to be a long note, you're probably tired from baking those cookies, but just a little note telling the recipient how you feel about them. It will probably be the most treasured part of the box.

Before you know it, you have finished your gifting with style. You've earned some feet-up time in the recliner with an eggnog. (The grown-up eggnog that really has nog in it). Enjoy your victory and wait for the calls of happy friends and relations to come in when they get their care packages. You've brought them a little slice of home for the holidays.