Surprise! Thrill yourself with the Box of Light

By Meg Dedolph

I was out running errands the other day and came across a store selling packages of “lunchbox notes.” They were cute - little colorful cards with riddles or funny facts or uplifting messages that you could slip in your kid’s lunchbox for a surprise.

But because my kid started high school this fall and they are taller than me and they wear bigger shoes than me, I think the prime “lunchbox notes” years are past.

However, the notes got me thinking about how a little surprise lifts the spirits. I don’t think fortune cookies would be as fun if they didn’t have that slip of paper inside, for instance.

By the time you reach adulthood, though, there aren’t a lot of surprises, and the ones you do get are often no fun. The mail brings bills more often than letters. You know what’s in your lunch bag because you put it there. The dentist gives you a toothbrush, not a chance to get a whoopee cushion from the toy chest.

That’s all too bad because surprise and mystery and unexpected delights are wonderful – and good for us. 

(Nice surprises. Not a spider in the bathtub at 7 a.m.)

Tania Luna, co-author of “Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected,” says that surprise intensifies emotions - something positive and surprising is more emotional than something positive, but expected. 

Surprises bring peoples’ brains directly into the present moment, Luna says, and sometimes surprises end up changing how you think about something. 

Knitters like surprises too. (Again, nice surprises. Not a gauge swatch that grows an inch after you wash and block it.)

I think that’s why mystery knitalongs are popular. I also think it’s why the Box of Light is an annual hit.

We hand-pick (and hand-pack) 31 envelopes with mini skeins of yarn, notions, treats and other goodies, as well as a pattern and a needle. Many people open theirs during December, but we also have customers who save them until January. Or their birthday month. Sometimes people open the packages out of order. Or all at once. There’s no wrong way to enjoy a Box of Light.

The only thing we know is that we're all thrilled to be bringing a little fun and delight to you, and ... you'll definitely be surprised.

Order your Box of Light by midnight on September 30, 2023 - or you'll have to wait until next year!