Category: Updates

A Fond Farewell To Our Original Subscription Box…

A huge thank you & a sad goodbye…

You may have noticed a change to our website recently, as after 5 lovely years, the time has come to say goodbye to our original The Smile Parcel subscription box.

We’ve been so lucky to build a fabulous loyal customer base, some of you have been receiving our parcels for 2 years or more and that’s something we are so grateful and overwhelmed by.

We’ve been thinking for a while about extending our range of ready-to-go parcels, both in the letterbox friendly version and full-size gifts, but sadly, to do this, it meant we needed to let something go.

There’s still a one-off purchase version of our parcel with surprise contents, which is the closest option to our subscription box – with the creation of our ‘Mystery Parcel’ – and the best thing about these, is that they are ready to post within a couple of days of ordering, so there’s no more waiting for our monthly shipping date.

Feel free to have a nosey around our website and browse through our letterbox gifts and select ranges.

I hope you will stay with us …and another big thank you to everyone who has subscribed over the last few years, your support means so much!

Karen x

Introducing …The Smile Prints

Hello – we’ve created something brand new!

Introducing …The Smile Prints

If you’re familiar with our parcels, you’ll know that we occasionally include colouring sheets along with the contents, as we like to give you an excuse to take a little time out for yourself, even if it’s just for a few moments.

We’ve also included two Smile Cards inside every monthly parcel since we began 4 years ago, one card has a short message for the recipient, and there’s one blank card, for them to write their own message or inspirational quote, to pass on to a friend, or maybe even leave somewhere for a complete stranger to find, to hopefully make their day a little brighter and make them smile.

So, we decided to design beautiful prints, and give you the opportunity to download your own, that you can even print out at home, whether you want to send a positive message on a postcard to a friend, leave a random act of kindness, do some mindfulness colouring, or add a framed smile print to your wall – we’ve got them all.

Every purchase from The Smile Prints will go towards continuing to create our parcels and will help us to reach a wider audience …and therefore, share more smiles – which means you’re pretty fabulous!

If you want to take a browse, you’ll find The Smile Prints here: https://www.thesmileprints.com which should (hopefully!) link you straight through to our new Etsy shop.

As always, thank you so much for your support.

Karen x

 

Quick 2020 Review!

Hello!

I hope you’re keeping safe and well.

We’re reaching the end of the year, so I wanted to do a little round-up update post today!

We’re all sadly aware of the negatives and challenges, and for some, tragedies that 2020 brought, but I wanted to take some time to focus on some positives.

Firstly, lots of us had the opportunity to spend lots more time at home with family, something that we may not get to experience again and I know so many of you made the most of this time, and we were made so much more aware of the amazing work of our frontline workers and their dedication to help others – something that we are all the more grateful for and won’t take for granted.

The kindness that has been shown to others, by the majority of people, whether it be raising money for struggling charities, or helping neighbours, or even strangers in times of need.

On a personal note, we’ve been touched by the support you’ve shown The Smile Parcel during this time, and it’s been a pleasure to handwrite your lovely notes to go inside surprise pick-me-up parcels to send to friends and family.

This time enabled us to re-evaluate our goals, and so we saw the comeback of our letterbox friendly “The Smile Parcel Mini” gifts – which we love creating.

We also joined a new exciting platform, KINDpreneurs – kind shopping, an online marketplace to showcase small businesses and entrepreneurs using their business as a force for good, offering products with purpose that have a positive impact on people, the planet or animals.

You can find out more about KINDpreneurs here: http://www.kindpreneurs.com

We’re so grateful for your loyalty to The Smile Parcel, lots of you have been receiving our subscription parcels for a long time now and we appreciate every single order, as your purchases means we are able to create more parcels and reach a wider audience, to share a smile and a mental health boost to more people – which means you are pretty fabulous!

I hope you have a lovely Christmas and we’re keeping our fingers tightly crossed for a better 2021.

Karen x

We’re A Kindpreneur!

Hello!

I want to share something brand new with you today.

We’ve recently been accepted to become part of a new exciting venture – Kindpreneurs …the UK’s Kind marketplace!

Kindpreneurs was founded by Karen Thomas to showcase purposeful kind businesses and the unsung entrepreneurs behind the brands, while helping shoppers to connect with mission focused businesses.

Kindpreneurs focuses on small businesses, all with the same mission of wanting to make the world a better place!

These may include:

  • Earth Friendly – Eco friendly, recycled, compostable, biodegradable, plastic free, carbon reduced, energy efficient, zero waste or sustainable,

  • Animal Welfare – Free from animal cruelty throughout the development and manufacturing process or supports animal welfare,

  • Ethical or Fair – Ethically sourced or Fair Trade standards throughout the manufacturing process ensuring workers rights are looked after,

  • Reduce Poverty – Enabling the poor or homeless to create wealth for themselves as a means of ending poverty forever,

  • Giving Back – Helping those in need via voluntary time, pay it forward or buy one gift one campaigns (rather than just charity donations),

  • Kindness – Sharing compassion and acts of kindness to bring joy to others and make the world a better place by spreading ripple of kindness,

  • Communities – Engaging in community projects to create a sense of belonging and lasting change for those involved,

  • Diversity – Protecting those at most risk of prejudice and discrimination due to ethnic minority, race, sex, gender or disability,

  • Mental Health – Supporting those who experience mental health difficulties. Helping to prevent suicide or introducing mindfulness practices.

This platform is a brand new venture for Karen, but I have to add, that she is also a really lovely person, inside and out, and we wish her all the best of luck with such an inspiring project – we’re sure it’s going to be a great success!

If you’re looking to buy from, and support small independent businesses this Christmas, Kindpreneurs is a fantastic starting point!

If you’d like to have a browse, you can find our Kindpreneurs shop here: https://www.kindpreneurs.com/shop/the-smile-parcel/

 

Have You Visited Us On Etsy Yet?

Good Morning!

We’ve been super busy getting organised and adding to our parcel ranges at TSP HQ, so I thought I’d do a little update post today!

We first opened the Etsy shop last year, but due to lots of different reasons (and possibly a few excuses too! 😉 ) it, sort-off, well, was ignored and forgotten about!

But, this year we got ourselves organised and finally got it up and running properly.

You can have a nosey here: http://www.thesmileparcel.etsy.com

Over in the Etsy shop you’ll find our complete range of Smile Parcel’s, including our ‘Plus’ monthly subscription boxes – these are a ‘Plus’ because they contain all our usual monthly surprise contents, but also include a beautiful candle and 10% from each one is donated to mental health charity, Shout, which helps support those experiencing crisis, via a text messaging service.

Shout website: http://www.giveusashout.org

We have a range of ready-to-post parcels, each with set contents, so you know exactly what you’ll be getting with this range…

And finally, you’ll find our latest additions, which you are loving and we love making them just as much, our “The Smile Parcel Mini” letterbox friendly gifts – these offer our same mission of sharing a smile, inspiration and a mental health boost, but all neatly wrapped into a compact pick-me-up.

Our prices range from just £9.50, up to £24, all with free UK delivery.

As always, if you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, we love chatting to you…

You can get in touch via the “Contact Us” page on this website, or find us over on Facebook or Instagram.

Karen x

Letterbox Gifts Are Back!

Hello!

If you’ve been following The Smile Parcel for a while, you may briefly remember our “Mini” parcels, well, they’ve made a return…

“The Smile Parcel Mini”, (as I’m sure you’ve figured out from the name) are Mini versions of our original The Smile Parcel, to create a compact, letterbox friendly option.

You can expect to find 5 or 6 products inside, all with our same mission of sharing a smile, inspiration and a positive mental health boost, and, as with all our parcels, we can add a handwritten note inside too, if you’re giving, or sending as a gift.

These aren’t available as part of a subscription and are instead, one-off, single purchases.

Our letterbox gifts contain surprise contents, as we know our customers love to open a surprise, but we will be adding some parcels to the Mini range, with set contents, for those of you who want to see exactly what will be inside – we already have a Christmas version available! Eek!

We have added boxes for different occasions or recipients, so whether you’re looking for a compact birthday gift, want to send a thank you, to treat your best friend, or give someone a little something just because, or maybe to simply say hello, we’ve got you covered!

We’ve been overwhelmed to the response to our parcels over the last few months, with so many uncertainties surrounding all of us, it was lovely to read your feedback and reviews upon receiving your little pick-me-up, whether it came through the letterbox, or by courier, so a huge thank you for your ongoing support of our small business, it means so much.

You can order The Smile Parcel Mini through our Etsy shop here: http://www.thesmileparcel.etsy.com/

Or, if you prefer, pop me a message through the Facebook page or send over an email, and I can send you our PayPal link or an invoice to pay using a credit or debit card.

Letterbox gifts are just £9.50, or £10, if you’d like a greeting card adding inside.

Karen x

Christmas Is Open!

Wow, the time has arrived when we can officially talk about…Christmas!

The website opened for our December Christmas themed (of course!) parcels on 1st November, so you can now grab the one-off version, or sign up for a 3 or 6 month subscription, with the first parcel being our Christmas parcel – (subscriptions make great gifts!)

Ordering for these will close on 30th November, so we can get them all wrapped and packed, ready for posting during the first week of December, hopefully beating the posting rush!

As always, our Christmas parcels will be super festive, but will still contain our usual mix of inspirational gifts, decorations, handmade items, and maybe, treats to eat!

We know lots of these will be bought and given as gifts, so we won’t spoil the surprise and will save the contents reveal until after Christmas. As with all our parcels, we can also add a personal note inside from you too, if you wish, and we can post to any address within the UK, so we can send them to you, or directly to the recipient.

Subscriptions can be paid for in a one-off lump-sum payment, rather than by monthly instalments, as we know when buying as gifts, some of you like to have the option to pay all at once and then not have to think about it again, just let us know what you’d like to do.

And remember there’s no limit to how many one-off parcels you can order, so if you’re looking for surprise gifts for friends and family, we’ve got you covered!

We also have something brand new this year…a Christmas Eve Box! These are available now, to order directly through our Facebook page, and currently over in our Etsy shop. These are ready-to-post, so there’s no posting times or waiting for these, along with our other ready-to-go range.

We wanted to create a Christmas Eve Box for adults, who after working hard all year, deserve to take a break, put their feet up, and have some me-time, even if it’s only for a few moments, before the bustling festivities of Christmas Day begin.

Remember, if you have any questions or queries about any of our parcels, feel free to pop me an email, or a Facebook message, I’d love to hear from you!

Karen x

 

Volunteering & New Creations…

Hello! It’s been a while since we had a little catch-up and an update post, so when better, than when the rain is pouring down outside my office window, and I’m tightly clutching a “huge” cup of hot tea!

The last few months seem to of been full of sorting and organising, and before we know it, Christmas will be knocking on the door – or coming down the chimney!!

We introduced our ready-to-go range, of one-off parcels earlier this year, and you’re loving them, which is great. We are hoping to continue increasing this range, and also extend into more occasion gift parcels, for particular recipients, and birthdays etc. These will be primarily available in our Facebook shop, as it offers a super quick way for you to see exactly what we have available, and payment can be directly through Facebook Messenger, using our new instant PayPal link, which makes ordering even easier.

Our latest addition is a “Look for Rainbows” themed inspirational gift parcel, which is £19, and of course, like all our parcels, free UK delivery.

I wanted to give you a quick personal update in this post too, as I’ve now been working as a Crisis Volunteer with mental health charity, Shout, for a whole 10 months!

I began my volunteering journey this time last year, when I began my 25 hours of intense training. It was tough going and covered some very difficult, hard hitting subjects, such as self-harm and suicide. But I have to say, since completing my training last December, and spending all of this year volunteering, and helping those experiencing crisis, it has been one of the best things I have ever done.

I won’t lie, it can sometimes be very challenging, as you never know what each shift will bring, but the training I received was great, and the continued support from the coaches and supervisors while on shift is invaluable.

The service that Shout offers is very much needed, and it’s in no doubt, is life changing and lifesaving. The stories we hear from those texting in, are both heart-breaking and heart-warming, but nothing can take away from the feeling, when someone, who thought they had no reason to continue living at the beginning of the conversation, tells you they feel calmer, and they now know they can face another day, and find the determination to fight on.

The charity is always looking for more volunteers, so if this is something you could be interested in, take a look at their website here: https://www.giveusashout.org/

Remember you are never alone, if you, or someone you know is struggling, reach out, support is there, free of charge, 24 hours a day.

Karen x