A New Way To Gift-Give

Half of our family lives in another state – which includes five nieces and nephews, ages 10 and 7 in one family, and 5, 2 and 2 in another family—yup, twins are in there. We spend every other Christmas with them, but those opposite years are such a challenge! I pride myself in finding the “perfect” gifts for all of the kids in our family, but when we’re not there in person, it falls flat for me. I’ve also started to feel that kids have SO MUCH STUFF (mine included), meaning experiences are the way to go.

When my dear friend started Orange Art Box, it hit me like lightening: We can give our nieces and nephews gifts that are mailed straight to them and can be enjoyed for months! They’re less of “things” and more of an experience. We sent each family a 3-month subscription. They received the first one right before Thanksgiving, the second before Christmas, and I just got notification that the third one has been shipped.

I love this system. Most exciting, our 5-year-old nephew was thrilled to get the canvas and paint that first month—we had a FaceTime session about it, and I loved getting pictures of him working on his masterpieces. His younger siblings are the twin 2-year-olds and when I asked my sister-in-law if they were too young, she happily told me that all they needed was paper and crayons to get in on the action and that the whole family had a fun art day.

Our older nieces were saving the boxes they received to use over Christmas break to stay busy while they were home. It’s great that they have the freedom to tackle the projects how they choose, and I can’t wait to see what they create.

Giving gifts from afar is a challenge we’ve had for over a decade, and just a fact of our lives, but Orange Art Box reinvigorated the art of giving in a way I wouldn’t have imagined.