Bad days suck.

Let’s face it, there is no shortage of bad days in this life. Sometimes we can’t find the words to say when the people we care about most are hurting. Often we wish we could do something to ease their pain, but traditional gifts like flowers or a beverage can be fleeting. Bad Day Box is designed to send self-care to your friend’s doorstep and bring them some sunshine on a dark day. Whether they’re angry, devastated, disappointed or sad, they’ll know that they are not alone. The items in each themed box are hand picked to inspire creativity, adventure and healing.

Bad Day Box launched in December 2019 to a close group of family and friends to showcase ideas for potential Bad Day Boxes. The two original themed boxes available for purchase were Expletives & Hygge! 

Self-care is personal and can come in many forms. When people are going through hard times, they might find comfort in staying at home and focusing on wellness, or being distracted by traveling, getting outside, or trying something new. Inside are gifts personally curated with self-care and better days in mind for anyone, featuring handmade, small batch, women-owned, BIPOC-owned, LGBTQ-owned, eco-friendly and charitable products. 

Bad Day Box Launch Party Video from Leeanne Antonio on Vimeo.

Hygge Box

Expletives Box

The crowdfunding campaign was originally planned for March 8, 2020 (International Women's Day), days before California shutdown for the pandemic. I spent the remainder of 2020 creatively and scrappily pivoting. While I held off on launching my crowdfunding campaign, I reminded myself what this brand stands for: showing up. So I launched giveaways for our frontline medical community, sending gratitude in a box to nurses and other heroes. 

I curated three Stay at Home friendly boxes, inspired by the changing times around us in 2020. In a year when all small businesses were struggling, I found little ways to keep Bad Day Box growing.

Before the end of the year, I took on a custom holiday gift order and it triggered financing terms with my wholesale website that enabled me to launch 8 new boxes just in time for the holidays. The shifting landscape of 2020 forced me to make some natural leaps and some uncomfortable ones too. I didn’t expect any of this to happen the way it did but I’m so grateful for the foundation it built. Sometimes you don’t have a Plan B but it unfolds anyway with your community and good intentions. 

The pandemic brought a lot of unexpected bad days for so many of us and I’m glad I was able to provide a way to make some people’s days a little brighter. What really resonated -- pandemic or not -- is that there is no shortage of bad days that need a little brightening. 

Intentional Reset Box 

When Life Gives You Lemons Box

Night (Year) of the Living Dread Box

Sleep Hygiene Box

Rose Colored Outlook Box

Feeling Salty Box

As someone who doesn’t always have time to shop or know what to purchase for friends and family going through hard times, it was great to have a thoughtful option like Bad Day Box! A creative, fun and easy way to send something to someone when they need a little cheering up. The entire Bad Day Box experience was incredible from selecting one of the fun package options, quality of products, ease of ordering and impeccable customer service. My friend loved receiving her surprise gift. It definitely brightened her day and made her smile! I will purchase a Bad Day Box again and would definitely recommend them. -Mary Ellen D.

I ordered two Bad Day Boxes back in December for one of my best friends who was having a hard couple months since she had foot surgery and really was not mobile for that whole time. I love the idea, really enjoy supporting friends and couldn't decide which box to order my friend, so I ordered Expletives & Hygge! When my friend received both boxes and opened them up, the smile, joy and tears that she expressed made both of us feel so good! Truly made her day and even two months later she still talks about the boxes!  Bad Day Box is an amazing, affordable gift that will really lift the spirits of loved ones in times when they truly need it! -David S.

The perfect gift options for some of the most challenging parts of life, made to lift the spirits of the people you love most. You can even customize a thoughtful handwritten note. Excellent, speedy, caring customer service too. It’s a company and service I plan to refer to others and return to again and again️! - Aretta F.

As someone who loves shopping, I'm always looking for unique, creative, and fun gift ideas for family and friends. When my cousin mentioned Leeanne started Bad Day Box, I knew it sounded right up my alley. The entire shopping experience was incredible, from the user-friendly website to the carefully curated collection of themed boxes to the amazing customer service. I ended up buying five boxes as gifts my first time on the site. Then, I came back for two more the very next day.  I will definitely add this to my go to list of gifts in the future and will highly recommend it to friends and family. -Shanie A.

Your support funds scaling this business by increasing the box themes, enhancing the customer experience and ultimately...you're helping turn bad days into good days for the ones you love.

Custom packaging has always been in our plans for a really unique and thoughtful unboxing experience. With your funding, this dream can be a reality.

Expanding the product offering to kids, men, and specific bad days is the biggest dream! Representation helps us all be seen and can help us heal. Naming these themes and writing copy is probably one of my favorite parts of this business. Below you’ll find what we have in store. Please note items depicted may change based on availability.

Meeting the minimum goal is great! It helps back pay some of the previous expenses of starting up but it doesn't move the needle on growth. See what it takes to grow this business below. 

 Leeanne Antonio

The road that led me to starting Bad Day Box stemmed from heartbreak. I had a couple challenging years in my personal and professional life – the fallout of what I thought was a very long term and committed relationship and the loss of a job which I thought was my dream job. It was a dark time, but I was fortunate enough to have so many people show up for me. At a time when there was definitely “no card for this,” they found ways to express love and remind me to eat, sleep and be kind to myself. 

Gratitude is such a fundamental part of being human and I think when you can recognize it, acknowledge it and pay it forward, the world is truly a better place because of it. I will forever be grateful for the ways my friends showed up for me. All of this would later lead to my inspiration for Bad Day Box.

With 15 years in marketing and advertising other brands and businesses, the road to Bad Day Box has been the most rewarding work. It has become an outlet for creativity and the best coping mechanism for healing. I’m so excited to share this journey with all of you!

Klarece Grudzinski | Kevin Stout | Laura Wright | Erin, Robb, Graham, Jack & Charlotte Bailey | Sydney Orlik | Genesis Velarde | Heather, Stephen, Jake & Cooper Moyer | Katrina King | Windee Freireich | Alethea Go | Laura Lee Juliano-Henson | Rhonda Mancini | Amy Endemann | Kylie Clarke