A Halloween Care Package with a pumpkin theme. Decorate the box with pumpkin jokes and fill with pumpkin themed treats. This care package adds pumpkin spice to life!
Print and cutout the pumpkin jokes and the punch lines.
Use an extra strength glue stick to paste the jokes and punch lines onto the pumpkin shapes.
To create the flip-ups, place a pumpkin shape with a punch line face up on a strip of clear packing tape. Put the pumpkin shape with the matching joke face up on top. Fold the tape over the top pumpkin shape. Trim the excess tape from the sides but leave the tape at the top as a hinge.
Use the glue stick to paste the back of the flip-up to the decorated box flap.
Box flaps
Cover the box flaps with orange contact paper. Print and cut out the vines and the Pumpkin Spice Up Your Life page.
Use the glue stick to add the decorations to the box flaps.
Open the flip-up pumpkins and work around them to cover the bottom pumpkins and box flaps with clear packing tape to hold the decorations in place.
Fill the box!
Notes
Large flat rate boxes from the US Postal Service are expensive to mail (about $20), however you can fit quite a bit inside and don’t have to worry about weight (up to 50 pounds). Not only are the cartons themselves free, but you can order them online and the postal service will deliver them to your door!
Covering the inside flaps of a care package is like wrapping a gift inside-out. The purpose is to make the box bright and cheerful. In addition to contact paper, flaps can be covered with construction paper, wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, patterned duct tape, or plastic table cloths.
When sending a short distance care package, such as a college care package taping over the flap decorations probably isn’t necessary. However, military care packages have to withstand rough treatment and temperature extremes. Taping the box thoroughly inside and out, helps keep the care package intact.
Many snacks come in pumpkin shapes and pumpkin spice flavor in the fall, and would be great in a pumpkin themed care package. Look for granola, snack cakes, packaged cookies, and poptarts.
Pumpkin spice is a flavor that is often adored or despised. If shipping this box to an adopted military member and you are unsure of their preference, include both pumpkin spiced and pumpkin shaped (but not pumpkin flavored) items in the box.
A dollar store is a great resource for filling your box of goodies with Halloween stickers, decorations, and Halloween candies.
This box is purposely filled with light hearted Halloween fun, however, you could easily include some more spooky ideas like fake spiders, fake spider webs, and scary movies if you think they would be enjoyed.
A nice touch is to include an unexpected gift hidden at the bottom of the box, like socks, stationary, a Halloween tumbler, or a gift card.