Tuesday, 15 September 2020

GIFT GIVING: How to Send Edible Treats by Post to Loved Ones

When lockdown started back in March we faced the realisation of missing loved ones birthdays and special occasions, which has been hard and this challenge continues as the Government in the United Kingdom have just announced that only six people are allowed to meet inside or outside. As a family of five that means we can only see one person from outside of our family at a time, but determined to not let this mean loved ones special occasions pass uncelebrated I decided to put together treat boxes to send in the post instead. 
Since we all went into quarantine the popularity of letterbox treat boxes has unsurprisingly risen quickly, as they are the perfect way to put a smile on someone's face, celebrate occasions that have had to be spent apart and keep you busy too! Once I had set my heart on putting together treat boxes for our families I started planning, preparing and sourcing ingredients/resources needed. It was so nice to have a little project to focus on and especially as it was one I hoped would spread a bit of joy during a challenging time. 
When it came to sourcing the resources I turned to amazon and eBay for most items because they were easily accessible from home, quick delivery and affordable too. However, since being able to go to shops more I have found some items cheaper in places like Home Bargains, such as the individual sealable cellophane bags. It is worth shopping around because otherwise putting together treat boxes for a larger number of people (I sent out ten altogether) can get quite expensive. I've included links to all of the items I used below, so hopefully that makes it easy to find the different things need to put together edible treats for loved ones.
I have sent two different varieties of treat boxes over the past six months; one set included a variety of baked goodies and the other included personalised decorated biscuits. You can fill your treat boxes with anything you like to bake, as long as it is thin enough to fit inside a letterbox-friendly parcel box. This does limit you slightly, but bakes like cookies, flapjacks, traybakes, millionaire's shortbread, fudge, biscuits etc. all work well.

What you'll need:
Bubble Wrap 
Parcel Tape

Optional extras
Tissue Paper
When it comes to baking anything to be sent in these treat boxes you need to make sure that the bakes will fit in whichever size self seal cellophane bags you have ordered. This can take a bit of planning ahead, which is really worth doing because it would be so disappointing to make a whole batch of treats only to find they don't fit in the cellophane bags. When baking the vanilla biscuits I measured the dough and cut each square to size, around 1.5cm smaller than the size of the bag to factor in expansion when cooking. 

Personalised Biscuit Treat Box
This is the slightly easier option because you only need to make one batch of vanilla biscuits and then can personalise them using fondant icing/food colouring. A really simple yet effective way of personalising the fondant icing is to use Cake Decor Cake Pens to draw on your design or write a message. They are easy to use, so ideal for children too.  

Variety Treat Box
In this box I included the following bakes (the recipes are available if you click on each item), but you could included any combination of your loved ones favourite treats:

To ensure your treats don't get ruined in the post there are a few aspects you need to consider. I wouldn't send anything too fragile,  as the parcel box will inevitably be bashed around a bit during transit. Also, check the weather because sending anything with chocolate in during hot weather is a recipe for disaster. Finally, plan when you post your box so that the delivery day wouldn't land on a Sunday when there isn't post being delivered. As these contain edible goods you want them to arrive with the lucky recipient as quickly as possible for them to enjoy. 

Once you have your post day decided then plan to bake your goodies as close to that day as possible, so they are beautifully fresh (you could always bake in advance, freeze and then defrost just before wanting to post them). I also like to wrap the biscuits in a layer of tissue paper to make them feel extra special and a layer of bubble wrap for added protection. You will need to consider how thick your bakes are because space can be limited and you don't want to pack the package too much otherwise it won't be able to be sent as a large letter and instead will be sent as a more expensive small parcel. 

If you decide to send your loved ones a treat box then I hope they enjoy it and you enjoy the process of making them too!

Have you been sending more gifts/letters/treats through the post to loved ones since lockdown began?


Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :)

Helen x
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14 comments

  1. This is such a lovely idea! I paid for my dad to have some during lockdown but I love the idea of making some myself.

    I think I might do this for Christmas x

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  2. I have to admit we've been buying treats by post and I was amazed how well they do arrive, I love the idea of making them yourself and sending them to a loved one!

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  3. Gifts by post are such a lovely idea. I haven't been able to see my grandparents for months so might have to send them something!

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  4. I must admit I have been ordering more from small business sending to my friends but most of my friends have been making and posting to us.

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  5. The cellophone bags look like such a great way to send goodies and treats you've made. These are such a good idea x

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  6. Edible homemade gifts always make for a super-thoughtful present - I know I'd rather receive something like this than a shop-bought gift.

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  7. This is a lovely idea, I would love to wake up and find some cakes or biscuits on the doorstep

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  8. Sending cakes through post is such a good idea to show your loved ones that you are thinking about them. I had no idea that there was such thing as cake coloring crayons. So cute!

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  9. Treat boxes are a lovely idea to treat friends and family. I'd love to have something like these come through the post as would my kids.

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  10. That's a brilliant idea, will definitely be using it when its the grandparents birthdays, as a family of nine we can't see anyone, so this will be a nice way for the children to show their nanny and grandad how much they love them, although their birthdays are in November and December so i'm hoping I can give them to them in person!

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  11. What a fabulous post! I do bake a lot but was not sure how to package them well enough to be sent out in the mail. Book marking your post for the recipes and links too

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  12. ahhh what a lovely idea. We have those stickers for labelling jars. I am going to give this a go with the boys when we eventually end up back in lockdown again!

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  13. This is such a lovely idea. My girls would love doing this, they would quite like receiving one too!

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  14. One of my favorite new Homewares products is the Cavallini Pouch in the Tropicale pattern, which I found not long ago. It would be the ideal accent to liven up any room thanks to its positive and upbeat tropical-inspired motif. While mine is most often used to hold my art tools, I can see how it may be useful for keeping track of smaller objects like money, keys, or even electrical cords. The pouch is sturdy and well-made, so it will last a long time. The Cavallini Pouch in Tropicale is an excellent choice if you're searching for a fashionable and practical bag.

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