The Mama Chronicles: Little People Care Package Swap

(Note, this post is now the default opener. Scroll down for more recent posts! Thanks for coming by.)

You are invited to participate in a swap for the wee ones. The emphasis here is on the little ones (ages 2-10) and the idea is to send out a care package to help get through the end of winter blahs. Hopefully it will also help our kids make friends with someone far away while creatively constructing a fun package for someone they have never met. (If you do not live in the US you must be willing to ship to the United States! If you live in the US you can choose either international or domestic. If you are in Canada, you must be willing to ship to the United States but can choose to stay on the North American continent. But, there are mostly US participants so we need to implement this rule. Sorry.)

You do not have to pick out a theme but that would probably be helpful as you pick items to send. It would be best to stay away from commercialized themes like Elmo, Barbie, and such. Instead a good theme might be make believe, mail, library, art, etc. You can make, buy, or send gently used items. If you choose to spend money then the upper end should be about 10 dollars plus shipping (this does not include the value you have of anything you choose to send from your home or your the value of your time.) The swaps will be organized by family groups. So you may have 2 children and swap with a family that has 1 or more children.

Things that should definitely be included in your package:
A picture of your family or at least the kids
A postcard or map of where you are from or photograph of your city/ house
A note, either written or dictated and transcribed by an adult

The commitment for this swap is :

1) email your partner introducing your family and answering a few provided questions

2) one package shipped by April 1

3) either an email thank you or send a thank you card
in response.

If you choose to do any more that is up to you. But this is the minimum.

To join in send and email to megandmag(at)gmail(dot)com In your email include your name, the names of your children, their ages and genders, your location, and how you heard about the swap. The deadline to sign up is March 10 or when we reach 50 number of participants, which ever comes first. My co-conspirator and I will try to match up similar age families, but can not make any promises.

Some ideas are:
Art: You could send a smock and art supplies, along with some art from your child. You could include a portfolio case and some gently read books that have some of your favorite art. You could also send instructions for your family's favorite art projects along with the necessary materials.

Mail: You could sew a mail bag, make some stationary by drawing or stamping designs on paper, buy a bunch of 1 cent stamps, envelopes and other mail related items.

Games/Puzzles/Riddles: You could send some puzzles that your children have already put together (make sure all the pieces are there), send a deck of cards with instructions for different games, sew a checkerboard and have your children help you find a creative way to make the game pieces. You could also help your child write and illustrate a book of riddles to include.

Building: You could send some Legos or other type of building blocks, then include pictures of structures that your children have made for the recipient to try and replicate.

Playdough: You could make playdough and send some utensils and cookie cutters to use with it. You could have your child decorate disposable tupperware to store it in. (Check with the shipping company to make sure they will allow this to be shipped)

Gardening: You could send some pots and seeds (you could even focus on plants native to your area if you want), along with some books about plants or spring. You could also sew a gardening apron or tool belt.

Reading: You could make a book tote for going to the library, have your child choose some of their own books to put in it, then either make or purchase some bookmarks.

You could do a grab bag of unrelated items.

You can also have your child select some of their gently used toys, games or books to give to their new friends.

These are just suggestions so feel free to be creative. Remember to keep in mind the ages of the recipients. It is also a good idea to wrap up the things being sent so that the kids can enjoy opening up packages. Just keep in mind that this is supposed to be fun and every child that sends a gift will be expectantly watching the post for something in return. It is fun to swap between kids because they are so excited by the little things and notice all the subtleties. Whatever you end up sending make sure your children have a lot of the input.

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions. I will check back and post replies.
*If this swap sounds a lot like the mini swap it is because that swap inspired us but we were too late to get involved. But that Mommycoddle sure knows how to put together a great swap!*