The Funk Box: One of the Best Gifts I Ever Made

Are you looking for the perfect homemade gift for a loved one? Well look no further, I'm going to share with you one of the better gifts I have made; I called it the Funk Box. It's been nearly 10 years and I still hear from my friend that he is using it and still appreciates it. My friend has periods of time when he has what he calls "being in a funk," so I created the Funk Box to help him get past his funk and have a better attitude. Looking back I probably should have called it the Anti-Funk Box to be more accurate.

The original Funk Box is a plastic, orange, treasure chest shaped bank. Inside are many folded up slips of paper with quotes, affirmations, poems, jokes, tasks to do, and messages from yours truly. I gathered inspirational and motivational quotes that were short enough to fit on a slip of paper 1.5 inches by 4 inches. At the time I didn't have a computer so I typed them on a typewriter. I created poems just for my friend that I hoped would make him smile when he finally pulls one out of the box. I also put in quotes from some of his favorite authors. Knowing that my friend lets his housework go when he in one of his funks, I have slips of paper that tell him to do such things as "Do your dishes" or "Clean your room." I also put in directions like "It's time to play with your pet" and "Take a 20 minute walk." Before I put the slips of paper in the treasure box; I folded them tightly by using a ruler to crease the paper on each fold so it would make a smaller wad. Then I doubled checked that each folded up slip of paper could fit through the slot where you would normally put your money in.

My instructions to him were "When you are in a funk, hold the Funk Box in your hands and meditate for a few minutes; then gently shake the box to stir up the papers. Turn the box upside down and gently shake the box until one slip of paper falls out." He is only allowed one slip for every 12 hours in other words no more than two slips per day. I had intended that he throw the slip out, but he refolds it and puts it back into the box. Nearly ten years late, he still uses the box and mentions to me now and again how much it has helped him. It has turned into a gift for a lifetime.

You can make one for your loved one. The time it takes to create one depends on how much time you want to spend on it. The bigger your container the more slips you will need to make; just be sure to leave room for the papers to rotate around. I found that making all the slips of paper the same size makes it easier and it makes it more random which slip will be picked. The original Funk Box was a treasure box bank that held Halloween candy and came with a big plastic lock and key. I gave away the candy and threw out the key after I filled it up and locked it; I didn't want to tempt him into opening the box and reading all the slips at once. The element of surprise and the deliciousness of the unknown keep the Funk Box interesting. He is a very curious fellow, so it took a couple of years before he stopped asking me "What exactly did you put in the box?" I gave out no hints.

I am recreating the Funk Box to give it to another friend this Christmas. First, I gathered short quotes, poems, affirmations, and jokes from the internet. I'm finding that it is a much easier task then just using books as I did the first time. When I find something I think is appropriate for my friend, I copied it then pasted it into a word document. After adjusting the font size and style to my liking, I found that I can get 20 quotes per page. With the original Funk Box I used plain white paper, but for my newest creation I am using pretty specialty paper.

There are so many quote websites to choose from. If your particular loved one has an interest such as sports, music or religion then search for quotes in that field; the range of fields to choose from are infinite. For the Funk Box I'm creating now, I'm looking for messages in the areas of inspirational, motivational, spiritual rather than religious, affirmations, cute things kids have said, one-liner jokes, bumper stickers, and sayings from Chinese fortune cookies. Also, I have included short messages of how much she means to me and how grateful I am to have her in my life.

I'm looking for a better name than Funk Box. If you have any ideas please let me know. Since my friend is elegant I have chosen a container that is a lot classier than a plastic bank this time; it is a candle holder set in a iron holder with a iron lid (see photograph). I found a plastic lid that fits just inside the iron lid so when she shakes it nothing with fall out. She can be trusted to pull only slip of paper out at a time and not read all of them at once so I didn't use a bank for her.

This is a wonderful gift that can be appreciated by the special people in your life. If your loved one refolds the slip of paper and puts it back each time, your gift will last a lifetime.