Xenia Box Blog

This time of year, there are so many occasions that arise for celebrating and often gifting: weddings, Easter, birthdays, Mother’s and Father’s Day...

The Xenia Box experience was designed around the motto “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”  This p...

My mind will never forget that sight or that sound of those enormous doors slamming, like a cannon going off in my heart.  We were already becoming very familiar with terms like “Embrace the Suck,” “Trust the Process,” and "Semper Gumby" (always flexible).  In the coming weeks, we would live them and learn what they really meant to a USNA family.  Much like anything else, regardless of how prepared you think you are, you have no idea until you’re going through it.  One year ago today was the beginning of a seven week obsession.

There's always that one friend who has the best stories.  On this particular night of fun with my Yayas, my "funny" friend had us enraptured by her truths, her story of finally finding the other half of her soul, and her reward for her patience and persistence.  And she had the best vows ever written and recited!  Don't you agree?

Don’t let all the “mom” things in here keep you from reading if you don’t think you can relate.  Because, while seemingly about motherhood, it’s a piece about finding beauty in the ugliest of moments, laughing in those times you just want to fall to pieces, and recognizing the utter magnificence of the stories our body tells.

One of the most beautiful and inspiring things I read, I knew it should be featured in my May, "the month of the Mother,” blog. 

I thought my first “Xenia Box Birthday Month” blog post would be a little different from what came out here.  It’s a bit more personal and vulnerable; and I’ve vowed to be a real person behind this company whose mission is to create joy.  

You see, when we discover people we can relate to or who tell of an experience that has us nodding in true “me, too” understanding and agreement; who make us exhale an “it’s not just me;” when we can reflect and remember together those life milestones and share similar experiences – it’s in those moments we feel connected to others. 

And that is the beauty we share in the Xenia Box mantra “It’s about the message” when we discuss gifting.  Because in both sharing our life journey and conveying a special message with a gift, we expose our humanity and re-connect on a personal level in a world that’s put a lighted screen between each one of us.

Here I am today:

Over the 2020 holidays, I found myself anxious and impatiently waiting for  …. something.  Somewhere in my gut, I could feel that 2021 was going to be – no, needed to be – different.  The second week of January, it began.

When your gift is going to arrive or be given early (Overachievers, raise a mighty “Yawp!”) or later than the occasion (Slackers, fist bump!), your gift will stand out – mostly because it will be the only one in view of the recipient at that moment.

Without 3 or 10 or 30 other gifts to cast your thoughtfulness in shadow, you might feel some pressure to have an outstanding gift. 

Gift Giving can be so much easier if you consider what you might put ON the tag instead of IN the bag when shopping?

I once gave someone A. Spoon.  I bet you wonder how that went over ....

I once went Black Friday shopping for 26 HOURS STRAIGHT- no kidding. 😲 The local paper actually stopped and interviewed us!   So… I’m kind of an expert.

 

Here or 5 Things TO DO if you were going Black Friday shopping in stores:

Gifts connect you with the person you’ve gifted in a way we rarely fathom beyond the gift leaving our hands or our mind if we’ve ordered it to be sent directly to them.  This "story of The Earbud" is actually not about the earbud at all.

I’m sharing the joy of hope today – hope of a clean and chaos-free summer home, easy discipline, and the vision (read: fantasy) of many moments you get to sit poolside with a fruity umbrella drink, oversized sunglasses shielding your eyes from the perpetual summer sun in a cloudless sky, and a constant yet gentle cooling breeze to keep your glisten to a minimum.