Sometimes winter can seem really long when the skies are gray and its really cold. I know I can’t wait to enjoy some of that summer warmth again…I miss it! To show someone you are thinking of them or to brighten up their day consider giving them a Box of Sunshine! Basically you can take anything in the color yellow and add it to this box. Cut out a few paper sunbeams, print out a little note and you have a Box of Sunshine!
The above picture is a box that my sister sent to me using items that she found at a specialty candy store, but I was thinking that it would be great to use items that I coupon shop for to make these boxes a little more thrifty priced! I am the Happy Money Saver you know… 
So each week when I am out couponing and saving money at the stores I remember to get items in yellow whenever possible. Here is a picture of a few thrifty priced items I have been collecting that would work well for a box of sunshine:
- Carmex – got for free coupon shopping
- Zone Bar – got for free coupon shopping
- Lemon Drops and Yellow Gummy Bears – inexpensive at Winco in the bulk section
- Crunch n Munch Free coupon shopping
- Bath & Body Works Kitchen Lemon hand soap, got on sale for $2.50
- Yellow package seeds for the gardener
- Cascade Ice drink – $1.00
- Betty Crocker Lemon Cake mix or lemon frosting
- Melt Em’s- got for free at Real Deals (local freebie)
- you could also go to the dollar store and find some great fun yellow things!
- Got any other ideas? Feel free to leave a comment below
A Box of Sunshine would make a great neighbor gift, a birthday gift, or a gift for someone feeling a little blue. Want to thank a special cashier who patiently takes your coupons? This would be an excellent way. I mean really, who wouldn’t love to get a box of sunshine??
I have created a few FREE printables for you my dear readers. Just save them to your computer and print them out! Enjoy!
You Are My Sunshine printable download
Sending you a little box of Sunshine printable download
You Brighten my Life with your Friendship printable download
If you are new to Happy Money Saver, come join the fun by following me on Facebook. Plus here are a few of my most popular articles and series:
- So I Married A Couponer – a fun story series about an average man trying to deal with being married to an extreme coupon shopper. His story must be told.
- How to Find the Best Deals on Toilet Paper – I worked my tail off to research that question…what is the BEST VALUE on toilet paper? I think you will like this!
- The Coupon Box Method – How I Organize my Coupons – Yep, I am a coupon shopper and this is how I organize!.
- Cold Lunches in a Day – I created a simple way for me to make sure my kids get a healthy cold lunch everyday – check it out.
- How to Make Brown Sugar from Scratch – yep, I do it and you can too! Plus I also have quite a few other frugal recipes you might like to see..
- Fashion Boards on a Budget – I refuse to pay $90 for a pair of shoes – so I am putting together complete cute, trendy outfits that won’t break the budget!
Hope you enjoy!
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{ 96 comments… read them below or add one }
This is such a great idea!! Pinning this on my pinterest right now. Thanks.
This is the cutest idea ever! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for the sunshine printables and this adorable idea!! LOVE IT! I also was thumbing around and noticed an amazing post you did on toilet paper prices – WOW! I am in love your blog – so glad I found you.
Thanks so much, I am so happy you like this idea. I was also thinking that the next time there is a great sale or deal on nail polish…yellow would be great for this!
I found Sally Hansen lemon yellow nail polish at Target on clearance for $2.19 and used a $1.00 coupon. Just an FYI to check if you happen to be at Target.
Great idea by the way! Thanks!
awesome Francoise!
Nail polish is on the US postal services list of “hazardous materials” FYI…not sure if you can send it, may need to ask at local post office.
I’ve sent nail polish before and even let the person at the post office helping know that there was nail polish in the package. They didn’t tell me that I couldn’t send it so I’ve done it a few more times. I didn’t know it was on the hazardous list. I know nail polish remover is on the list. I’m so glad I saw this post and now I’m going to double check before I send any more nail polish. Thank you for that tid bit of info Amyks!
I have sent nail polish, and men’s cologne at Christmas time and the postal worker was standing right there helping me pack it up and she say what was in it and didn’t tell me I couldn’t. I think it might have to do with the your location,time of year and where it is being sent with those same factors (not sure ) All you can do is ask at the time of sending it
What a lovely idea, thank you for sharing.
Have a God Filled Day
Shirley
I love this idea!!! Thanks for sharing and for the free printables!
I just LOVE this cute idea! I can already think of about 5 people I can send one of these too.
Thanks for the inspiration!!!
You’re so welcome! So glad you like it
What a fun, unique idea, Karrie! Totally pinning this to remember someday! And such a sweet sister to send it to you.
Love the printables, too!
{P.S. Yay – my comment showed up thanks to you – I think I have it fixed now. so simple – wish I’d said something before!}
This is a beautiful idea! Thank you for sharing it! I think my little bro needs it. He’s an MMA fighter and was badly injured in last night’s fight. This might brighten his day a tad
Blessings,
Mel
Please feel free to stop by: Trailing After God
May I pin this on pinterest? I only pin items with permission
Yes of course, feel free to pin away! i love pinterest.
This is a PERFECT idea! Our GrammaLina has cancer and could use some sunshine! Plus her favorite color is YELLOW! I am beaming right now! This is the answer to my “trying to find something super special” dilema!
I am so glad you posted this! I live in NH and one of the ladies from our church had to go to California to deal with some problems with her elderly mother. She is so bummed and just trying to do what she know’s to do. This is so perfect! I just can not explain how happy I am you posted this!
Thanks again Karrie for another wonderful idea. I suprised my co-worker with a box of sunshine this morning! :0)
How about a yellow light bulb so whatever room you’re in looks sunnier? I mean the pale yellow ones, not the traffic yellow ones used to keep bugs away.
You know what else is yellow this time of year…. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Eggs… Mmmm. Love this found you on Sugar Doodle Facebook! I am excited to start spreading some sunshine…
Carlee
LOVE! My [sun] missionary who is serving in Seattle will get a kick out of this!! <3
WOOT!
Oh yeah, this would make a great missionary gift – great thought Carma!
I love the idea!! I’m going to put together some ‘smaller’ boxes for some people at work. Then I need to do some medium one’s for ‘church’ friends. Then some big ones for family. Then a ….
funny Paula…..I know! I too many people I want to give these to.
Juicy Fruit!
When someone needed one, there was always an assortment of things to draw from the big box. I remember it so well. It was sweet then and so nice to be reminded. Great post!
My mother’s Sunday School class had a little gift-wrapped shoebox in their Sunday School room. Every Sunday the little ladies would bring a little something to go in the Sunshine boxes. They called them that!!
What a wonderful idea!!! Thanks for sharing
I just sent two boxes of sunshine to two dear friends who are going through some tough times. Thank you for sharing the idea. It gave me sunshine to give sunshine;) I have a feeling there will be many more boxes of sunshine leaving my house over the years;)
That is so wonderful Shelisa, and so true too. It does give you sunshine to give someone sunshine…well said!
Thanks so much for sharing this idea and the printables!!! I’m pinning it to use later!
You are so welcome, I am so glad you like it!
What a GREAT idea! I love this. And thank you for the printables!
I adore this idea!! I’m always looking for fun new ideas for the care packages that we send to our friends who are deployed. It’s hard to keep coming up with something, so this is absolutely perfect!! I love it! Thank you for the great idea.
I am sending one of these to my husband serving in Afghanistan. What a sweet idea. Thanks!
I have an “adopted” soldier through Soldiers Angels’ and this is a fantastic idea!! I can’t wait to send it to him! I am going to combine it with some Easter themed things like yellow peeps, jelly beans and m&ms.
THANKS SO MUCH!!
What a simple yet thoughtful gift! I knew a few college kids who would love one of these! I’ll have to look while I’m out today.
what a wonderful and thoughtful idea
Just wanted to share that this is featured on my SMITTEN: SPRING 2012 GUIDE! http://limefishstudio.blogspot.com/2012/03/smitten-spring-2012-guide.html
Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for the great idea! I was helping my daughter look for something to cheer up her pregnant friend, who has been on bed rest for the last two months. This is perfect! Thank you!
I love this box of sunshine idea! I can’t wait to start buying fun little yellow items to include in my first box for a dear friend! Thanks for the idea!
I am always trying to find the perfect gift for my sister’s birthday. I’ve done the flowers, custom cookies, etc. I went to the dollar store and found 23 different yellow items including a yellow whoopee cushion! Can’t wait for her to get it delivered next week! I also thought that you could make a box of blue items for somewhat who’s feeling blue. Thanks for the great idea!
I LOVE this idea and just gave a box of sunshine to a friend! Thank you so much for sharing this great idea.
http://jessicabooth.blogspot.com/2012/03/box-of-sunshine.html
I’ve just pinned a picture of your Box of Sunshine! It’s cute and another great idea with the yellow tub! So cute.
http://pinterest.com/pin/118501033915274443/
Thanks so much for this idea! I had so much fun shopping around Wal-mart today buying stuff for the Sunshine box for my sister who recently had surgery. She is going to love it! Going to pack it in a USPS prepaid box, cause it’s going to be pretty heavy. So fun, Thanks again!
Love this idea. Made a Box of Sunshine for my cute niece who is on her mission. It happens to be her birthday too. I hope she loves it.
Love this!! Where did you get your box and how much was it? Thanks
I found your idea on a friends pinterest and I sent my sister and my 2 daughters a box..they got it today and was thrilled… thx love the idea.. for my next one maybe an “I love you berry much” box or something to that effect .. thx
Saw this on pinterest. It’s the perfect idea to send daughter in college as a care package to survive the end of the semester and finals. Thanks for the great idea!
This is the perfect gift for my best friends GOLDEN birthday!
Thanks!
This is such a cute idea. I’ll be doing this for my friends birthdays. One idea is you could buy the shower sponges in yellow. Some yellow soap with it. You can get those at the dollar store also.
What an awesome idea!!! My best friends husband is in Iraq and I am going to send this over to him!! I hope it brightens his day and reminds him how thankful we are for him!! Thank you for this idea!!
This seems like such a fun idea
I can’t wait to try it, or maybe a blue/pink little box as a mummy-to-be gift 
Thanks for sharing !! 
x
This is so great! Why do you think it prints the back ground pink when I print it? I want to make it a gift for my best friend’s birthday. Thanks for this lovely art!
Lesley
It printed fine for me, maybe your printer is running out of ink.
Copied this idea for my daughters’ birthday! Featured my version and you/yours on my blog today.
This was the PERFECT idea for my friend’s “recovery” after surgery. I went to the Dollar Tree (never been there before) and found the CUTEST “Yellow” things (smiley balloon on a stick, glass with lemons on it – for the Crystal Light Lemonade I included, Sugar Cookie candle, bubbes, soap, Hawaiian Ginger lotion etc. Michael’s had a cute yellow and white gingham box. It was such FUN searching for “yellow” items that she would love. Thanks for the FUN idea
We ALL need a little SUNSHINE from time to time!
I thought this was just the cutest idea and put it to great use when a friend of mine was having a particularly trying time. I’m on to my second box almost as I type this for another friend. It’s so simple and easy to do too. Here’s my blog post about the box I made: http://lomosio.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/little-box-of-sunshine-13/
Thanks for a great idea xx
I saw your, “Box of Sunshine” idea on Pinterest and used it to create two boxes for some far-away friends. Well, they loved them and it made me feel all, “sunny” inside just putting them together with assorted items from my local Dollar Tree. I just wanted to say, “Thank You” for sharing such a neat idea AND the printables just make the project PERFECT!
I did not have time to read all the comments so sorry if this is not new idea. Smaller version (just a note and 2-3 irems) would be nice for nursing homes, even service men/women in the hospital. For nursing homes maybe use sugar free candy in case of health issues. I remeber when I was 15 our girls scout group took candy bars at Christmas time to the service men at Walter Reed Hosp in D.C. recovering from injuries from Korean confict/war. We sang carols and the experience has stayed with me all these years. I think our returning injured meed more than a candy bar and this box of sunshine would be great.
Love that idea Linda!
Hey Jenn! I loved this idea so much that I decided to blog about it to my friends! Happy Money Saver made its debut on my blog tonight! This is such a cute idea and I can’t wait to make one for my love! Keep the ideas coming and thanks!
xoxo, Leanna
I totally meant to say Karrie! So sorry about that!
I got this from my friend after back surgery. It was the greatest gift I received & it did brighten my day & stay! I am now making it for an older friend of mine that just had a bad fall. It’s perfect for her since she has COPD & can’t have flowers. Thank you so much for sharing this great idea. It’s being paid forward by many! Such a great idea!!
HI! Thank you for this wonderful idea! I found your idea on pinterest and sent my own “box of sunshine” to my mom this week! I will be putting my “box of sunshine” on my blog but will post your link to give credit for your great idea! Thanks for sharing
-Kristen@ fewofmyfavoritethingsblog.blogspot.com
What a great gift idea. I have an intern this summer and I wanted to give her something for her last day and this is perfect. Another yellow item is Burt’s Bees lip balm. Thanks for the idea!
Thank you for this sweet idea. My daughters and I had a blast putting together our box of sunshine for a friend who just had a mastectomy. We bought almost everything at the dollar store (hand soap, nail polish, lotion, leis, Chicken Soup for the Soul mini book, chapstick, Lemonade, Lemon Drops, popcorn). She loved the gift and it really brought a big smile to her beautiful face. Thank you!
I just dropped off my box yesterday at a friend’s who has been down. She loved it. Laura is right, the $ store is a treasure trove. I tucked yellow (fake) roses into it, and poked holes in the top and poked yellow roses into the holes, also a yellow pinwheel, and tied a yellow balloon to it. She was so touched. Thank you for such a wonderful, original, perk-anyone-up idea!!!!
This is the cutest idea! I want to make these for a few of my co-workers. Do you have a pattern you could post for the adorable sunbeam cut outs? I am not very crafty by nature and I searched clip art online and couldn’t find anything as cute as what you did!!! Thank you for sharing your idea! Love love love!!!
Can you and your sister please create one of these for every color of the rainbow???
Thank you for sharing!!!
Ha ha – I know, right? I have been thinking about all the other colors too..its so much fun.
I just read Linda’s comment about doing a smaller version for people in need of some sunshine, like a nursing home. I love that idea. I am going to start planning something like this! Thank you both!!
I am definitely doing this! I love the tip of picking something up each time I shop too because sometimes you need a box of sunshine when you least expect it!
Thanks for the great idea. I delivered a “bucket of sunshine” to a frined in need of some positive energy last week. I featured it on my blog and linked back to you. Here is the post:
http://lizspinspiration.blogspot.com/2012/10/pin-146.html
Thanks Lizzy! It’s so nice of you to do something so sweet for a friend.
where did your sister get the punched out paper suns? so cute!
It looks like a cut out from a Cricut is my guess.
She used her Silhouette machine but you could just hand cut out some suns too!
I just had a lady come into Target who was making one of these! Thanks so much for the printouts and ideas! I am so going to do this!
I’m excited to make one of these. I saw this a couple of months ago and I have picked up a few items. I’ve had a friend just have an unexpected surgery so I need to gather some more sunshine to put into a box for her. Thanks so much for this fantastic idea!
other yellow ideas
pencils/marker/highlighter
bookmark(if they read)
burn them a CD with uplifting songs on a yellow disk (include You are My Sunshine or Pocket Full of Sunshine:) )
A lemon(if they like it in their tea)
Yellow Post-It’s (everyone has to jot down notes)
Yellow M&Ms (buy by the color at candy stores)
Many many items you could do. I’m hoping to have mine ready by the end of the week!
Sending the box of sunshine to my daughter in college. She’s suffering from spring fever and a little homesick. I used several items you suggested and also found yellow paper soap in a yellow plastic container for $1 at Pier 1. Also found a yellow duck soap on a rope.
Do you know where to find a box like that? I want to send this to my sister but would lover her to open it and see all the goodies inside and not have to dump out the contents to see it. Do you know what I mean? lol
Hi Kim, this box was one I got from the silhouette company when they mailed me some items. But its the size of 12x12x3 I think..which is the size of a pizza box. There is this 12x12x6 inch box set on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026HY010/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0026HY010&linkCode=as2&tag=fistofcoup-20 or you can get some pizza boxes here too: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SSFBR8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003SSFBR8&linkCode=as2&tag=fistofcoup-20 Maybe just cover the next pizza box you get with wrapping paper and add your items to save money too!
Thank you! Great idea.
Thank you so much for this awesome idea!! I cant wait to give a box of sunshine to someone special!!
This is such a great idea. I’ve always called my daughter “my sunshine!” She is a senior in high school this year and it looks like she is going out of state for school…that is a hard one to bite off let me tell you! This will be a perfect care package for her…no matter how big she thinks she is…there is still going to be some home-sickness in there. This might just help from the sunshine state of California!
I just received a box of sunshine this week from my sisters! They had seen it on pinterest. It brightened my whole week! Thank you for sharing.
I was the happy recipient of a box of sunshine (with your printable) this week and I love it! I’m still not sure who sent it to me though!
Oooh, that is so coo! Somebody must love you…and be thinking about you.
Nilla Wafers, splenda packets, Lemon-aid packets, Lemon tootsie rolls & a yellow hair band. Even pasta is a strange shade of yellow.
I can’t wait to mail out my little box of sunshine to my nephew & his wife. Along with some of your idea’s from above.
My SONshine – 1LT Colin, 744th EOD is in Afghanistan and I will send one of these care boxes to him. Just a wonderful idea and my favorite color is yellow too. I drive a yellow Mustang. We always sang the song “You are my Sunshine (only SONshine) while riding in the yellow Mustang while he was growing up, Pray for ALL our military sons to come home safely. They are our true heroes! I send a box every 2 weeks which makes these
wonderful men know how much we care & appreciate their service so far from home!
God Bless You SONshine! God Bless America ! Mom xoxo
I’m so glad I found this site. Thank you, your tips and your followers have great tips too. I have a Big Sunshine and She has 2 Lil’ Sunshines of her own (Marissa & Heather). Have a Good Day!!!
I loved your Box of Sunshine!! So I packed one up for my daughter who is in Washington and often needs a bit of sunshine amongst all the gray skies!!
did your sister go to powells candy shop in san luis obispo?