This post is sponsored by Crateful Mom. All photos are mine.
My mom has been through a lot in the last few years. When she and my dad retired 2 years ago, they thought they’d be able to travel and enjoy their time alone together doing what they wanted to do instead of working. They saved every penny they had for years until they were in a good position for them both to be able to quit their jobs (all before they turned 60 I might add). It’s something I aspire to myself, actually.
But sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you planned on. My grandmother has been on a steady decline for a few months now. She now requires around the clock care and, to be honest, even the best of nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities in the area are less than desirable. My mother spends all day every day taking my grandfather to doctor’s appointments, making sure my grandmother is getting the right care, and calling insurance companies to make sure they’re paying what they’re supposed to. She’s exhausted. She works more now that she ever did at her traditional job. Plus, it’s a different kind of work. She’s grieving her parents’ inevitable deterioration and having to push through those feeling every single day.
I’ve been wanting to do something for my mom for while now. She’s very low maintenance, so I never really know what to get her – that is, until Shadab from Crateful Mom contacted me about a collaboration. Crateful Mom is a gift basket company that is based right here in Houston. She founds out what the recipient is interested in, likes, and a general idea of the personality of the person and voila! You also include a personalized note so you can tell the recipient exactly what they mean to you.
From start to finish, she made the entire process SO easy! I asked Shadab to tell me more about her business and where it started:
Who was the first recipient and why?
The idea came to me, early May, 2017, my son had just started going to pre-school and i along with a group of first time moms, who by the way ,were complete strangers to me, anxiously used to wait for our kids to survive the first week of separation anxiety, the kids were fine, it was the moms who were terrified. During this one week, i really got to know these ladies, their likes, there interests, their favs, their must haves, their inspirations, their motivations, their pick me ups, their tv drama addictions, their Oprah/Ellen craze. They all had one thing in common along with me, they all craved small thoughtful gestures/ peaceful moments in their lives, small things they had stopped doing for themselves cause they were so overwhelmed with responsibilities and priorities in general. Halfway through the week, i started a conversation and all the moms joined in where i started describing my favorite breakfast and how i would kill to devour my favorite bagel and a hot coffee in peace and the the spread i like, seems like they were all hungry too and had either skipped breakfast or skimmed through it, they all added in their favorite toppings and soon we were all imagining a perfect breakfast spread with coffee ‘THE WAY THEY LIKE IT’ small yet important details, about their favorite toppings, how they like their coffee etc. That evening i decided, love is in the details, it is truly the thought that counts! so i went ahead and recreated a breakfast spread “just the way they like it with ‘their flavors” in which i would get everyones favorite spreads and bagels, coffee and added messages/tags motivational quotes, inspirational saying, things they were craving to hear, gratitude, just gratitude for all that they do on each with their own to make them feel special.The one thing we all missed doing, having breakfast in peace, enjoying a warm bagel with topping and a hot cup of coffee in peace with no interruptions was all we needed, so thats what i did! I created my first ever breakfast crateful for the mommies who deserve just that to wish them on Mother’s Day, with their favorite toppings, some liked honey and walnuts, some liked cheese, some liked just a multigrain etc. I was so grateful to all of these ladies for being a part of my life, i really wanted to make them feel special and wanted to show them how grateful i am for them. So thats what i did! I started creating one big thoughtful crateful as a thank you for being with me for these 7 days of tears, anxiety, ‘ i don’t want to go to school’ days’. A few days later i started getting messages on my messenger from random moms/ people to create cratefuls for their girlfriends/friends with their favorite things and from that day on its has been a crateful life!
“I believe small gestures can be sometimes so thoughtful that they exceed the joy of things that are far more grand.”
What has been your favorite crateful you’ve created so far?
My favorite crateful upto date was by a friend who had a crateful created for her just cause she heard she had a miscarriage and she had to travel for work and couldn’t be with her friend, so she sent her a be brave crateful and think that gesture is all one needs, just to feel you are not alone, and some one out there really knows what you like and is sending their love and thoughts your way, cause isn’t that all that truly matters, the thought. its like a big hug in a crateful with goodies to make you feel right with them.
How does the ordering process work?
The orders are placed by personal messaging/ inboxing us on Facebook, as we need to start a dialogue and understand what is this individual looking for, we give them a series of questions to analyze the recipient’s likes, personality, theme, personalized messages and start creating a mood board around the individual, we suggest what works, share the sizes of cratefuls and prices, we then start adding in visual and typography to communicate the message, we then share ideas and once they are approved, the order is placed and we start creating the crateful.
What is the price range of the cratefuls?
Our crateful prices vary mainly on the content of the crateful, the size of the elements and if it is shipped internationally the weight of the crateful with the elements. Our standard cratefuls come in 3 sizes, based on the size of the elements and the number of elements it requires to make the crate look, well full!Depending on the size, our cratefuls range from $100-250.
