This time I started a month out. I wanted to make sure that I did this for her. It meant a lot to me! Selfish I know, but she enjoyed it too. Even if some parts of that night are still a little blurry for her.
So I got to working on this kit and also decided to do 50 cards from 50 of her friends/family. That was a large task too, seeing as everyone has a busy life and sometimes we don't always have enough hours in the day. But I took it on anyway! I have to say that my sister Lexy was a tremendous help in getting the cards too. You have to understand a few things here. My mom is one of the most fun loving people you will ever meet. And a little crazy at times. But she also is NOT a super mushy person. So mushy cards are not "normal." What does Lexy do? Finds the most mush and awkward cards she can find and pairs them up with people she knows will play along!
Can I tell you, she LOVED it! We ended up with more than 50, but who's counting? The neat idea I saw on Pinterest was to make a book out of the cards. So I decided to make my pinning worth while. I punched a hole in the corner of every card, attached a big binder ring and viola! The next day after her (4-day) birthday party was over she got to read all of them. She was so touched that so many people reached out and wished her a happy birthday. I think she may have even shed a tear!
But as I said before, my main goal was to get the "Survival Kit" done in time for the last day of her party. It took a lot of work, but it was finally finished, 5 minutes AFTER I was supposed to be at her house to pick her up!
When we got to the karaoke bar I pulled out the basket and put it on one of her tables. I think it's sooo neat and am so proud. But in true birthday fashion she is in no way truly able to enjoy the basket. Birthday drinks all around are making it nearly impossible for her to focus. So I suck it up and think to myself she will see it tomorrow and love it! Well a few hours in and she is looking for the one thing she left at home, a whistle. Did I mention that she tends to be a little loud at times? Well it just so happens that in her survival kit there is a whistle! So I carefully open it up and pull out the whistle and give it to her to enjoy. It is not til the next day that she saw what was written on the tag attached to said whistle. "For when you've fallen and you can't get up" We had a good laugh!
She told me later that her and daddy loved going through the basket. They pulled a few things out every day. It was a little exciting what they found every day. And a good laugh too! I am so glad that she loved it. It was no small task, let me tell you!
But as I said one of the most difficult things to do was to come up with enough things to put in the basket. I combined the ones she and I had come up with for our potential baskets in the past. I searched the internet for a few more. Of course I came up with a few of my own. But while searching on the internet I did notice one thing. Everyone who blogged about these kits listed maybe 10 things and left the rest off. Now I am not the most creative person, so I found that very irritating. So I told my co-worker that when I was done I would post my full list. I wanted to make sure that other people who wanted to do this for their loved ones would be able to find a list.
Some were altered to fit my mom more specifically. I also made a list of 60 to make sure that I can alter them in the future to other people. Here it is:
1. Rubber
band -- to remind you to be flexible.
2. Band-Aid
-- to help with hurt feelings and life's boo boos.
3. Candies -- so that every day can be as sweet
as you are.
4. Shot
glass -- so you can call the shots.
5. Pasta
-- So life doesn't pasta you by.
6. Almond
Joy chocolate
bar -- so you can have joy whenever you need it.
7. Party
horn -- to remind you to toot your own horn once in a while.
9. Marbles
-- to replace the ones you have lost and are still going to lose.
10.
Pepper
Spray -- so that you are always safe.
11.
Bottle
of wine -- because we all need to wine now and then.
12.
Pennies
-- for your thoughts (from the year she was born).
13.
Package
of wet wipes -- to clean up life's messes.
14.
Starch
spray -- to smooth life's wrinkles.
15.
Silly
String or Silly Putty -- to remind you to be silly sometimes.
16.
Sandpaper
-- to keep things smooth along the way.
17.
Eraser
-- to erase things and let you get on with life.
18.
"Do
Not Disturb" sign -- since you need to put yourself first every now and
then.
19.
Rubber
gloves -- to help you get a grip.
20.
Bar
of soap - so you can wash away troubles.
21.
Lifesavers
– to save you from the dangers along the way
22.
Scented
candle (favorite scent) – for a flash back to sweet memories
23.
Wrinkle
Cream -- to avoid aging too soon
24.
Lipsmackers
-- for the little girl who still lives inside of you
25.
Tylenol
-- for all the things and people that annoy you
26.
Heartfelt
letter (Cards for # of people) - to make you feel special
27.
Chocolate
peni - to remember the fun times you've had and will have more of
28.
Toothpick
- to remind you to pick the good qualities
29.
Chewing
Gum - to remind you to stick with it and you can accomplish anything
30.
Matches-to
help you light your path
31.
Flower
pen – so you can stop and smell the flowers
32.
Basket-
to remind you not to put everything in one basket
33.
Kleenex-
for tears of joy and sadness
34.
Hand
sanitizer- for when you need to get your hands a little dirty
35.
Safety
Pin- to mend whatever's broken
36.
BIG/regular
pad/tampons- for life's little (big) surprises
37.
Mardi
Gras Beads- to remind you to have a good time
38.
Chocolate
Milk Package/Tea- to relax you
39.
Crystal
Light-to add flavor to your life
40.
Crackers
(peanut butter/cheese)- to curve your hunger
41.
Lotion-
to smooth the rough spots
42.
Little
Liquor Bottles- to say dang pootie. We can do a shot with this!!!!
43.
Whistle
– for when you’ve fallen and you can’t get up
44.
Fireball/Red Hots
candy – to put the fire back in your life
45.
Magnifying
Glass – to help you see
46.
Hair
scrunchi – In case yours fall out
47.
Duct
tape – because it fixes EVERYTHING!
48.
Pretty
paper – to write the next chapter in your life
49.
Paperclips
– to hold things together
50.
Lollipop
– to help you lick your problems
51.
Sponge
– to soak up knowledge
52.
Tootsie
Roll – to help you roll with the punches
53.
Slowpoke
Candy – to remind you to slow it down some times
54.
Big
Hunk Candy – to remind you of the one who stole your heart!
55.
Airheads
Candy – for those blonde moments
56.
String
– To help you tie up loose ends
57.
Confetti
– to celebrate the joys in life
58.
A
small smooth stone – To remind you that the rough times that you have been
through
will help bring tomorrows
59.
Clay
– to remind you of the lives you have molded
60.
Mid-life
Medications –
Put some M&Ms in a "pill bottle" and include these
directions for use:
BROWN
pill
Take one to
temporarily calm your chocolate cravings
RED pill
To be taken
at the first sign of hot flashes
ORANGE
pill
As a
treatment for depression
GREEN pill
To calm you
down when if feel frustrated
YELLOW
pill
To cure
headaches
BLUE pill
Reduces
bloating
Now that
you're turning ##, it's possible that you'll experience all these symptoms
simultaneously, in which case you should just EAT THEM ALL AT ONCE!
