A Florida Christmas!

Each year, I send my mom and my sister a package from good ol' Virginia.  My mom has since moved to Roanoke, after 27 years of me living here, but was flying to Florida to spend the holidays with my sister Whitney.  So, I kept with my tradition and sent a box for them.  When they opened the box, there was a lightbox waiting for them. I received this lightbox, for free, after spending more than $80.00 in American Eagle. It is not a Heidi Swapp lightbox, but it is still fun to have one.  It came with limited "slides" and it is only battery operated (vs. Heidi Swapp's which has electric capabilities), but I included an extra round of batteries and all of the extra slides.  I assume my sister would keep this.  

My message to them was simple... "Merry Christmas!"

What was inside?

I am very selective when giving to others.  I don't like the idea of running out at the last second and just gifting a gift card. I want the gift to be well thought out, the recipient truly considered, their loves, their life dynamic, etc. etc. etc.  My mom and sister are people of need, so to speak. They work really hard, but I know money is always tight.  Technically, I would gather that so is food.  Buying luxuries probably RARELY happens and having someone drop some extra cash in their lap might cause a sigh or relief and possibly even tears.  SO I decided to do a little bit of everything....

First up, I spotted these DARLING pajamas at Belk.  The truth is, I bought them 6 pairs of pajamas because when I was in the store, I couldn't decide which pair I wanted and I was afraid if I only BOUGHT one pair each and changed my mind, the others wouldn't be there when I went back. YUP! I will jump through hoops to make sure I have the gift just right.  The first two pairs were VERY similar.  They were a pair of pink/purple palm trees with hanging ornaments from them AND then there was a red/green set just like it.  The other set was a gown that read, "Merry Christmas Ya'll!" One set screamed Florida and one set screamed Virginia.  I thought it would be cute to have Whitney in Florida pjs and my mom in Virginia pjs, since that's where they live, but then I also thought being able to match on Christmas morning would be fun too.  I chose the pink palm tree pjs because those are more practical for throughout the year.   

Then, for the sake of time, I carefully played a tetris game and nicely fit everything into the box, unwrapped.  I enclosed this note!

Each lady was allotted one of everything: harvest snaps, boom chicka pop popcorn, a Dabney Lee makeup bag set, CASH, pjs, gourmet straws, a TJ Maxx gift card, a gift card to (6) eateries choices, a chuau chocolate bar, and a gift card to Fresh Market.   

I believe this collection of gifts was a little bit of EVERYTHING that ANYONE would fully enjoy!

They both said this arrived at the perfect time.  My mom doesn't get paid when she is out of work, so the cash and gift cards would not only supplement her loss of work, but would allow her and my sister to do something run together. And my sister Whitney was about to go to Guatemala and needed all of these extra to take with her on her trip AND were helpful for her return home, after 5 days of not working.  

When you purchase gifts for others, do you consider them in great length? Are you joyful and excited about giving? Your gift will show which demeanor you have and how much time you have considered the recipient. It will also bless you immensely when you know you have spent time being selective and creative for someone else.