Month: December 2018

December 2018 – Parcel Contents

Good Evening!

I hope you’ve had a lovely relaxing Christmas…and a discussed in my last post, didn’t take on too much over the festive season, and looked after yourself too!

Our December parcels were, of course, Christmas themed, and as we knew lots of you had either purchased them to give as gifts, or were saving them to open on Christmas Day, we didn’t want to spoil the surprise, and so kept the contents secret until after the big day.

Hopefully, we can now safely show you, so carry on reading to find out everything you need to know…

December Contents:

Grey Stocking –

If you haven’t already guessed it – this is your Christmas parcel! You may already have your decorations up, or if you have saved this parcel to open on Christmas day (which I know lots of you do), this stocking may be a little late for Santa’s visit, but keep hold of it…hopefully he’ll be back next year!!

‘Let It Snow’ Bauble –

We included a bauble in last year’s Christmas parcel, and we loved doing them, so chose a snowy design for this time. Perfect for that one little empty space on the tree, but these also look lovely hanging on a door handle, or as part of a bauble table centrepiece!

Slate Star & Adult Reward Stickers –

This slate star was a must-have for this parcel, as soon as we spotted it! So, usually we would be saying to ‘be nice, always’, but in this case, surely a little naughty is Okay?! Now, did I hear anyone say that reward stickers were just for children – I don’t think so…So, here are some just for you, Christmas can be hard work, there’s so much to do and organise – I reckon if anyone deserves reward stickers, it’s you!

Colouring Sheet & Chocolate Coins –

We like to include something that you ‘can do’ on Christmas day, for that lull after dinner, when you’re just too full to move, so that’s why we’ve included a sheet to colour, with a super festive design – take a moment to relax with a bit of therapeutic colouring. When you can face a chocolate treat, we’ve included a few coins which you should find sprinkled around your parcel – please note the ingredients and allergens list we’ve included too.

 Christmas Card –

This cute snowman Christmas card has been made by ‘Kirsty’s Kreative Kraft’s’. Kirsty creates lots of lovely card designs, and also makes beautiful pencil flowers from paper and card – you can find Kirsty’s page on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/kirstyskreativekrafts/

Smile Cards

As always, there should be a couple of these little cards in your parcel, I’ve written one for you, and the blank one, is for you to write a short inspirational or positive message, and give to someone you know, or leave somewhere for a complete stranger to find – but this is of course optional, there’s absolutely no pressure to do this if you don’t want to.

Parcel Assistant

Your Christmas *Parcel Assistant is…Jeremy. Now, Jeremy told me he’s only working as an assistant for The Smile Parcel while he’s waiting for his application to work as Santa’s assistant – one day Jeremy!!

 

Karen x

*Parcel Assistants are cheeky little pompom chaps who help (or hinder!) us with packing your monthly parcels!

Christmas Tips & A Thank You

Hello!

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but this our penultimate blog post of 2018!!

I will share the contents of this month’s parcels at the very end of December, as of course, they are our Christmas parcels, and I know lots of you are saving them to open on Christmas day…which we love!

I want to start off by saying a huge thank you for all your amazing support during this year. We are always so overwhelmed by the number of lovely people we get to (virtually!) meet on our venture into running a small business.

Can you believe The Smile Parcel will be 2 years old in February! It’s gone so quickly, but we’re loving every minute of it, and receiving your feedback telling us how our parcels make you smile, and make your day that little bit brighter, reminds us why we are here, and what is important.

We’ve got some big plans for 2019, including introducing some pre-selected, ready-to-go parcels, for those of you who aren’t so keen on the surprise element of our monthly parcels – you can choose exactly what you want inside – but don’t worry, our monthly surprise parcels will be staying just as they are!

On a personal note, I have spent the last couple of months training to become a volunteer crisis counsellor, working with a new mental health charity. I published a separate post on 7th December, which tells you lots more about the charity, and some information in case you may be interested in volunteering too!

That post is here: https://www.thesmileparcel.co.uk/volunteerasacrisiscounsellor/

As you know we are passionate about mental health, and helping to raise awareness where we can. Sadly, Christmas isn’t a happy time for everyone, and it can also be full of pressures, and the feeling that we are all ‘supposed’ to be happy, and enjoying the festivities.

Lots of us rely of our routine to keep ourselves on track, and this can be disrupted at Christmas time.

It can help to try to be as organised as possible, and not leave things until the last minute, they can then build up and become much bigger in our minds, and become stressful.

Also try to keep any hobbies going over the holidays, as we would during the rest of the year. This can be difficult if places or groups we attend are closed, but maybe swap some of these things for something else similar, for example if you regularly attend exercise groups or classes, you could go for a walk, or even a run, each morning, so you don’t feel the disruption so much.

It can be tempting to want to make everyone else happy at Christmas, and do more than we want to do, so remember to look after yourself, and don’t take on too much – it’s your holiday too!

I hope you have a wonderful peaceful Christmas, filled with joy (and a little, or a lot, of chocolate!!)

Karen x

 

Volunteer As A Crisis Counsellor

It’s time for another blog post, and this time I’m going to talk a little about a fabulous charity that I’m currently training with.

Shout Crisis Text Line UK is a charity which officially launches next year, but is currently training volunteers to become Crisis Counsellors (me included!).

‘Shout’ is a free 24/7 direct messaging service for anyone in crisis, at anytime. This service already exists in the USA as ‘Crisis Text Line’, but this is the first time this tried and tested technology has come to the UK.

‘Shout’ is powered by a team of volunteers who are at the heart of the service. They take people from crisis to calm every day of the week. There aren’t many places you can go if you’re struggling, day or night, and you need someone to help you in that moment.

Some people don’t feel comfortable talking in person, or find it difficult to speak on the phone, which can particularly be the case when they are going through a time of crisis, so having a text service aims to offer another option.

There are already some volunteers who have completed their training, and are now piloting the service via charity partners.

Training is a big commitment, and involves completing 34 hours of online training over 6 weeks, but once trained, volunteering consists of giving 2-4 hours a week, at a time to suit you, day or night.

The charity is always looking for volunteers to train as Crisis Counsellors. The training does involve topics such as suicide and self-harm, so it isn’t for everyone, but I’m now half way through my training, and I can tell you that it is incredibly rewarding, and I’m learning so much already.

If you’d like more information, or would like to apply to become a volunteer, take a look at their website here: https://giveusashout.org/

Karen x