Rare Box – A Most Excellent Gift!

I shared on my Instagram stories the Rare Box I was sent recently and have been sent so many messages telling me how amazing it looks. I can absolutely, hand on heart, tell you it really is as good as it looks and as far as special presents go, this is something really new, super unusual and also great fun into the bargain.

A Rare Box can have various themes (I opted booze related but they’re not exclusively for tipples) and inside a wooden crate is a jam packed gift bundle, theme related. I chose a gin box (Mother’s ruin all the way for this Mama) and when my box arrived I couldn’t wait to get inside and see the goodies but… It’s not as simple as that!

The Rare Box is kept under padlock and in order to find the correct opening combination you must first solve a riddle. A blooming hard riddle it is, but one which got my whole family (and extended family as we did have to phone a friend or two) talking and enjoying the gift before we’d even seen what was inside!

And with the riddle being a tough nut to crack they do send you a hacksaw in case you really can’t get there, to ensure you will get your yummos inside, but I was no way never going to use that. The riddle might have been tough but I got there (with help) in the end.

If riddles aren’t really your thing then you can simply opt for a crowbar to crack that nut from the off. Instead of a padlock with a combination to work out (and a hacksaw back up) the box will arrive with your very own crowbar to slam your way into it right away. I’ve always been a “wait for it” kind of girl, never finding out the sex of the baby before they are born for example, or waiting until evening on Christmas day to open presents… So for me the code was a perfect form of entertainment while I waited. I loved it. What a most excellent present! And when I DID get inside it was a real joy to find its perfectly chosen contents!

And then the real treats begin as you discover what’s in the box. For my box it was filled to the brim with a big bottle of gin and lots of gin related goodies from marmalade to chocolate from the Adnams brewery which is fairly local to me in beautiful Southwold. There are also lots of nibbles to enjoy with my gin and some Fevertree tonics, 4 to be exact and the personalised message was lush!

Of course the star of the show is the bottle of gin which you get to choose, mine is a personal fave in Hendricks and with my 0.7l bottle it will keep me (hopefully not ruined) merry for a while. I love Hendricks gin as it’s smooth and extremely tasty with just the right amount of floral. I’m not big on flavoured gins and prefer the traditional which Hendricks always delivers!

I just think it’s such an ace present and for me the gin box is perfect. For others, like my husband I’d probably go for a beer box but there are so many themes to choose from, and if you’re not a drinker the options are in abundance too, that you’ll definitely find something for everyone. Check out all the collections on their website!

And the reason I was always going to solve that riddle was because there was no way I could let the box get broken up when it is such a lovely item in itself. I wanted to upcycle mine for Posie’s new bedroom, paint a pink box for some of her little toys. Jimmy cottoned onto what I was doing however and asked very nicely if I’d upcycle the box for him so that’s what I did. We now have a box named “Jimmy’s Secret Box” which I painted in a shade of blue (as per his choice) and decorated with newspaper cuttings of letters to spell out the words. I stuck them on with hodge pidge glue like decoupage and then painted around each letter to cover the glue. I think it looks rather fab don’t you?!

Raffie wants one just the same so I guess I’ll just have to get buying someone (or just me) another Rare Box so that we can make all the kiddos their own boxes!

Collaboration.