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I opened my email one day to find a note with these adorable pics in it.
You are looking at two little cousins, one who decided to mail her cousin a ball, and the other who opened her mail box to find it. Thank you, Brenda, for sending these. I do not think these sweet cousins could be any cuter.
Of course that put me over the edge and we had to try this ourselves.
Sharpies were essential so we pulled out our favorite colors. We stamped a couple balls and decided we needed extra decoration.
So we scribbled on foil with our sharpies and cut out a few stars and ran them through the sticker maker for a little extra flash.
This is my daughter and her cute friend who came along with us for icees and then to the post office to get postage.
I asked my post office worker to just give me stamps so I could take a picture for you before I mailed them. He gave me two 98-cent stamps for each. And now we have the balls all set to send out. We are waiting for a couple certain occasions and I am getting near giggly just thinking about it.
and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or follow my 13 oz or less Pinterest board, or see it all right here):
A Disposable Camera | A Sponge | A Tube of Bert’s Bees | A Wreath and Twinkly Lights | A Disguise | School Supplies | A Pair of Flip Flops | A Big Ball | Plastic Eggs 1 and 2 | Silly Putty |Shovel & a Bucket | Ribbon Sticks | Bubblewrap Hopscotch | Fan Mail | Waterbottle Care Package | Bouncy Balls | Sticky Notes | Jr Mints | Frisbee | Mini Banner and Mini m&ms
find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
Those are some cute girls! Glad you are sharing the idea! Happy Mail Day!
cute idea. have sent all sorts of things through the mail. most fun was to my parents back in the 60′s when in HI going to college and sent them a coconut. they loved it as does anyone who’s received an “interesting” package. well worth the effort
What a cute idea! Reminds me of a college friend who mailed a coconut home once…though that was much more expensive
What a wonderfully, fabulously, delightfully charming idea! I love it! Who wouldn’t get the biggest kick (and widest smile) upon finding one of those bouncing beauties in the mail!
As always, your unique style and creative genius inspires and delights me!
Jenn
I’m always inspired by your blog , and I especially love this series! Thank you for passing along such a fun idea.
This is awesome! I can’t wait to do it! Once my husband bought motorcycle tires, and they just came in the mail with our address taped on them! Fun!
Vanessa,
Thanks for your note! and I am cracking up about the motercycle tires.
This is sooooo fun. I sent the Easter eggs for Easter and it was such a great little surprise for my friends’ kiddos. Not to mention so fun for me and my kiddies to get them ready and send! I love this series and can’t wait to try this one!
Hi Amber Lee,
This is the ‘I-mailed-a-frisbee’ Courtney and I have a new one I think you’ll like but would rather you have a chance to edit it (rather than posting straight as a comment.) If you’re interested, email me. :)
PS. Still loving your site! And the ball is GREAT!
Totally doing this one! So fun to kick off summer!!
Really? The ball will go through the mail? This is amazing!
Okay, I just read the happy mail archives and this is changing the way I mail! Eek! Super excited!
Janet,
Thanks for your sweet comment! If you find new fun things to mail, I’d love to hear!!
Just looked at the label on my(empty) MaxwellHouse International Cafe instant beverage container. 8.7 oz! (so the full one can be happy mail for a cafe loving friend (thinking who that will be…)) and the empty ones are so cute…I’ll save it, and stuff it with goodies for another happy mail gift someday. :)
I mailed a ball and a frisbee to two of my daughter’s little friends yesterday. The lady at the post office acted less than thrilled with the ball, I thought she could have been nicer. I can’t wait to hear from the kids/their mom to see how they liked getting a ball and frisbee in the mail! :D
Tammy,
Thanks for your note! I know, it’s so much more fun when the post office workers play along. Don’t they know that?
Do you mind if I use the last picture for my blog at work? I’ll reference back to your blog for credit. I just think the whole 13oz idea is fantastic. Please let me know via email. Thanks!
tiffanie
Hi Tiffanie,
You are always welcome to use pics with a link. I’m so happy you like it!
amber, i’ve missed your blog! i don’t know why, but i’ve forgotten to check in here for so long! i LOOOOOOOVVVEEEE this idea! as a matter of fact, i’m gonna be picking me up some balls to mail soon. you rock!
My best friend and I did this in college… some other ideas: a pool noodle (this is a fun one!), a box mix for cookies/cake, etc (when they’re in need of some “dough”), and a flip flop.
Jen, thanks for your sweet notes! I actually picked up a set of flip flops last week to try to mail. I can’t wait. But a pool noodle!?? I had never even imagined!!
This is such an awesome series!! In college my roommate got a coconut in the mail from her beau when he visited Hawaii. Word spread like wildfire from the mailroom. Literally everyone on our small woman’s college campus heard about the romantic gesture. It was awesome.
I love the frisbee, ball and water bottle ideas!
This is so cute. So you just mail the ball, you don’t have to put the ball in a box?
Hi Kathy,
Yes. It’s so great. And my post office workers usually seem to appreciate getting something interesting dropped off. It’s so fun, you’ve got to try.
Well, I mailed my first ball today as a get well. The post office lady thought it was so cool she took it and showed it to the other people in the hardware store (that is where the branch of our post office is located). I was her first postal ball.
I think my college roommate that is having a hip replacement will soon be ‘On the Ball’ once again. Thanks for the great idea!
Michelle,
Thanks for taking a moment to come back and let me know how it went! So cool that your postal worker loved it! I love the idea of sending it as a get-well gesture. That is so sweet.
I love this! After reading your blog we used this idea for invited to my little boy’s birthday party. It was so fun and all the kids (and parents, truthfully) were thrilled to get such a fun package in the mail. I’ve been telling everyone about it. Lucky for me my favorite mail lady was working the day we sent the balls and she just giggled. We will certainly be making more fun trips to the post office!
As a side note, my hubby used to work as a sub postal carrier and in the mail room and he always loved to see fun/different packages come through. Brought a bit of sparkle to a sometimes monotonous job. :)
Courtney,
Thanks for your sweet note! I love that you sent the balls for an invite. I need to find an excuse to try. And I’m really happy to hear at least some postal workers don’t fun–but awkward shaped–mail!
This looks like so much fun and I am itching to get to the store and see what I can mail out. My bestie and I are in a package war right now and now it just got so much more fun for me. :) THANKS!
Back in college a friend of mine from high school mailed me a ball like that at my dorm! The RA’s in the post office thought it was pretty cool. My friend had written her letter all around the whole ball in a spiral (except for the address/stamps of course). I loved it!
These are great ideas. I’m tempted to try some of them. Send them to myself I mean just to see if my lazy mail person will get out of her warm truck to bring them to my door.
I love this…I have some children fighting cancer that I pray for and send cards and little surprises to brighten their day…this would be SO cool!! Thanks, I will be heading to the store to get some balls! : )
LindaLee
thank you for your sweet note, and I just wanted to say, I’ll offer a prayer today on behalf of the sweet children you are looking out for.
xoxo
We sent one to my father in law for his 79th Birthday….he said it was the best present he had ever received! The mail man got a big kick out of it too. Just love to think of all the smiles it brought from MI to PA! Thanks!
Mary! wahoo! I love it. Proof that you are never to old for a good old fashioned birthday surprise! Happy birthday to your F-I-L!
Wow. This is my favorite idea here! You are absolutely incredible! I love being creative, and I love making people happy, which is just what you’re doing! I bet I could find a lot of things at the dollar store that are less than thirteen ounces! This could be the start of something awesome for me! And to start off, I think I will send eggs! Especially since we are nearing Easter time! Your blog made my day! I love it so much! I think it’s absolutely fabulous! Thanks for spreading service, love, and domesticity abroad cyberspace!
PS: Do you mind if I link to website on my blog?
mormon-teen.blogspot.com
Hi Whitney! Thanks for your sweet note and for making my day. And yes, of course, I love and appreciate a link.
xo!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!! your blog is awesome~ I will be sending eggs to all my nieces and nephews this year…. I am not quite sure how my post office peeps will react… but can’t wait to find out!
Thank you SOOOO much!!!
~Lori
Okay, so I’ve gotta ask…when you mail out an oversized card from the card store, the box for postage always says “may require extra postage for odd sized package” or something like that. Is this why you take all your fun stuff right to the post office? I’ve always been told that if the envelope isn’t flat, it won’t go through their machines and so that’s why it costs extra. Are there items that you just slap the stamps on and stick in the mailbox? Have you ever had anything come back?
A paragraph about what to do when mailing would be so helpful, I love the ideas you have on here to send out, but I hate going to the post office. If we could tap into your experience, it would be so appreciated!! Maybe there is already something on your blog like that and I just haven’t looked hard enough. If so, please point me in the right direction!!
Thanks for all your creativity being shared! I love it!!
Vanessa
I came across your blog on Pintrest. After reading about all the fun things to mail, I mailed Pool Noodles to all the kids in our family. I wrote messages with permanent marker on them and to the post office I went. They were weighed, stamped and checked for liquids, with much laughter from the postal clerks. Thanks for the great ideas!!!
My son just got his today. Cost me $2.00 to mail, and the mail man wrote????’s all over it, but he thought it was cool. He’s 9 and pretty hard to get a smile out of. Make more boy crafts to mail please!
My college roommate and I mailed a ball to her future father-in-law for his 50th birthday. We wrote, around the ball, 50 things to do with the ball for his birthday. Most were crazy like try to throw it over the house and our favorite, freeze it (and let us know what happens). The #1 was ” Have a ball on your birthday”. He and his two youngest daughters had a blast going through the list! Love this mail series. I will have to mail something crazy to my college roommate, she will love it!
This makes me feel for the postman!
We did our trial run this week! ANd it worked all we could find was a big ball at Dollar General so it took 4 stamps. I mailed it to my 3 year old at her grandma’s house (who keeps her everyday) She was so excited. Now we are mailing 3 to my daughters second cousins in California!
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