Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Gift That Takes A Week To Open


If you ever happen to find yourself in a situation where you want to give a gift to someone who has a long hospital stay, or is attending college far from home, or is moving cross country, and you are unsure what to give, this may be an idea for you. At a local pharmacy you purchase a plastic pill case with the days of the week printed on it. You will find that there are many different sizes of these cases, but I prefer the bigger ones. They are only a dollar or two. Pictured above, is how I took one of these simple, plastic containers and dressed it up for giving.


I first of all chose a color scheme, purchased two colors of tissue paper, and a pack of attractive stickers. I cut 4x4 squares of tissue to fill each of the compartments with. Then I cut pieces of tissue paper the size of each small lid, and glued each piece to the lids with a glue stick. I added a sticker on top of each lid, and the shell of the project was complete. How quickly the transformation was made!!



Now I have the fun of filling each compartment with little gifts for the person that I have in mind. Each day they will be able to open a lid and find something special from you, to remind them of your love and thoughts for them. Above, I have pictured a few of the gifts I use; a beautifully beaded book thong from Border's Books, a tiny coffee decorated card with money inside for a coffee drink at Starbuck's (or wherever), in some compartments I fold papers with messages from my heart to them (such as verses, letters, poems...), small packs of candy(whaterver their preferences), quarters for the laudromat if they are in school, a pair of earrings...the list is endless. What makes this gift unique, is that they open only one lid a day, giving them something to look forward to the next day. When you are far from home, or facing an extended hospital stay, this may help to encourage hearts.


So, there you have it, one simple, plastic pill holder...but filled with love, care and treasures to brighten someone's life. To present this to the recipient, I wrap it in clear cellophane and add a color coordinated bow and a card with instructions on when to start(the upcoming Sunday), and to only open one day at a time!

15 comments:

Stacey said...

That is an adorable idea. Wouldn't that be cute for a kid going to camp?

Tracy said...

This is one of my favorite of all your ideas...EVER! SO cute and thoughtful, Judy! You know...Martha Stewart's got absolutely nothing on you! = )

Wanda said...

You gave me this idea a few years ago and I've used it! I LOVE it and THANK YOU for giving us all such creative ideas!

By the way, was your nose itchy last night, did your ears tingle? You were the subject of many conversations last night! I was at a PTF meeting at school and Lisa & Vanessa were presenting their "Christmas Corner"...people kept coming up to their table saying how Judy Martin would be such a great resource for this...Linda Imgrund, your niece, Lauren Herr, Sheri Blevins, to name a few. You're an inspirations to many, Judy! THANK YOU!!!

Happy@Home said...

What a clever and fun idea, Judy. I think anybody would love to receive a gift like this and it's so nice how you can customize it to the person you are giving it to. I agree with Tracy that Martha Stewart has nothing on you. Thanks so much for sharing your creativity with us.

Also, thanks for your sweet comments on my blog yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Judy this is such a wonderful idea! It's sort of like the Advent calendar at Christmas. I just love it! What a kind and caring person you are to have thought of something like this :>) Who wouldn't get well or have a happy day if they recieved a gift like this ♥

Judy said...

Oh...I can hardly wait for an opportunity to use this idea. How cute and meaningful is that? Thanks so much for sharing...I love it!

Sheryl said...

Loving this idea! I don't know that I would be able to wait until the appropriate day without taking a peek!! I think I'll be trying this one, thanks.

Kim@Seasons of My Heart said...

You are just TOO much! What a WONDERFUL idea!!!

I've been thinking about you friend.

vanessa said...

Oh Judy, how you bless me daily with your blog. And Wanda was right...we were all discussing your "wonderful-ness" last night! Thank you for this cute idea. I'm going to do this for my daughters for the week leading up to Easter and fill it with verses and gifts of love just to remind them of our incredible, perfect gift of love. Thank you for the inspiration!!

Unknown said...

As being one of Judy's nieces, I have been so blessed to be on the receiving end of one of these adorable packages! She sent this to me my freshman year of college. Myself as well as all the girls in the dorm were SO enamored with this gift! It felt like a little bit of home each morning when I opened it. Thanks so much Aunt Judy for your thoughtfulness! You are a blessing to many! Love, Jackie

PS-Confession: I may have peeked at some of the upcoming compartments before I was supposed to! What can I say? I just couldn't help myself!

Unknown said...

What a great gift idea! I love this! I just found your place, and I loved looking through it!

Shelley said...

This is such a thoughtful and cute idea!

Misti of Studio M Designs said...

I absolutely LOVE this little project! My husband has been working out of town, and he sure could use a manly version of this right now. This will be his 3rd week straight, and he is feeling a little down. I will have to make one of these for him to take next time. Maybe he can bring it back every week for me and the kids to fill up. Thanks so much for this idea!
~Misti

Elizabeth said...

Good morning Judy!!!
It looks like Blogger hasn't corrected the comment problem yet.
I LOVE this idea and I'm going to pick up some pill boxes when I go out again. They're affordable to mail as well! Thanks for sharing this great idea with all of us! Hope you are having a good day.
Hugs,
Elizabeth

Beth said...

This is such a great idea! I'm going to use it this week in computer class and have the kids type notes to the Principal, so he can open one up each day!

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