I had a penpal when I was younger. Her name was Jillian. I cannot even explain how much I enjoyed sending letters back and forth with her. We were both in LOVE with Lisa Frank and used only Lisa Frank Stationary and included as many stickers as we could fit on the page. Oh and we only wrote in colored ink. Because we were little preteen pre-maddona divas and there was no other way to converse!
I also participated in a program sending care packages and letters to our troops, which I found extremely enjoyable, satisfying and extremely rewarding. I’ve told you time and time again how meeting new people is truly one of my most adored hobbies.
I joined a foodie penpal program, and March was my first month participating! I learned about the program from a fellow blogger and I had no idea what to expect, I just knew it was something I wanted to be a part of! You get a penpal and another person gets you, so each month you get to meet two new people! There are currently over 300 participants! The idea is to exchange food related items with people from all over the country! I sent my package to Kait and I received a package from Sarah!
So here’s what Sarah sent me!
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix
Archer Farms Dark Chocolate Espresso Trail Mix
White Chocolate Dipped Pretzels with Green Sprinkles
Archer Farms Mango Slices
Archer Farms Sea Salt & Vinegar Popcorn Seasoning
Homemade Thin Mint Truffles. Which unfortunately didn’t hold up well during shipping. However, my two-year old daughter ate them like crazy and loved every second!
And now it’s time for some details about Foodie Penpals. In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:
-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!If you’re interested in participating for April, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.
You must submit your information by April 4th as pairings will be emailed on April 5th!
Sarah was the sweetest, most caring and fun-loving girl. She is a marathon runner, and I am so envious of her dedication! Check out her blog to learn more about her! I am so glad I got to meet her and I hope to keep in touch with her!
I seriously can’t wait for April 5th, it can not get here fast enough. I am so thrilled to find out who my next penpal will be!
Here’s what I sent to my foodie penpal Kait:
those thin mints look delish even if they did get smashed
And we did! Haha
Wow I didn’t know there’s such thing as salt & vinegar popcorn seasoning, that’s a genius idea.
Honestly, I didn’t know either until she sent it to me!