Brown Paper Package Exchange Update

Christmas is only a few days away! I've heard from lots of the participants of the BPPE. Many packages have been shipped, a few have been received, and lots of fun has been had. To those of you that haven't sent your packages yet, please get a move on! Although I think most people had Christmas in mind, don't forget the old saying, "A New Year's package is better than no package."

My sweet mom doesn't have a blog, so I told her I'd post pictures of her package for her. I think she was the first to receive her package out of all the participants (go Sheila!), and all of my sisters and I were home for Thanksgiving when she opened it! Here's what my mom writes about her gifts:

The week before Thanksgiving, a knock at the door got the dog barking and the birds chirping! My box from the Brown Paper Package Exchange had arrived, to great fanfare! All of my daughters were already home for the holiday, and we gathered with great excitement to open my treasure box! We were impressed with how quickly Sheila sent it- and her promptness set a good example for us and inspired us to do likewise! Opening the lovingly prepared gifts was a thrill, and I was overwhelmed at the wonderful assortment of treats!

Sheila sent me an assortment of lovely, self indulgent treats: A deliciously scented ginger candle, a pair of beautifully fashioned beeswax tapers, an earthenware teacup painted with a delightful little bird, some decadent "dark chocolate" hand and body lotion, and a huge and hugely fragrant bar of handmade vanilla soap!

More fun surprises! Sheila also included in her fantastic gift box: Several notebooks she made just for me! A pack of festive holiday recipe cards with gift labels, a set of adorable vintage postcards she made, and a LARGE bar of gourmet chocolate!

But... in all this loveliness, one gift stood out, and made me happiest of all!
Sheila's little grandson, 6 year old Brock, was visiting the day she put my gift box together. Sheila wrote that Brock "wanted to send you his own gift"- which he did! He wrote my name on an envelope in his sweet six year old handwriting, and carefully placed some money "from his money box" in the envelope! If that isn't the purest example of the Christmas Spirit, I don't know what is! Sheila, thank you for all of my lovely gifts, but especially for sharing your dear little grandson with me!