Care Packages, which get posted each morning at ethandezotelle.com, have become the linchpin of my blog. They’re a nice way to start the day, putting together bits of culture to share with readers, and this year the positive response to them has gone through the roof. I look forward to continuing them in 2021.

Here’s a rundown of the 10 most popular Care Packages from the past year. If you haven’t seen them before, click the links and check them out. Enjoy!

10. Care Package for Friday, Aug. 28, 2020
The Top 10 list starts out with what I’d call a standard Care Package. There’s no particular theme to it. But it is exactly what I envisioned when I started putting them together almost two years ago. Pieces of creativity that interested me in the moment, shared with you. 

9. Care Package for Saturday, April 25, 2020
This Care Package is a response to the pandemic and the ensuing shutdown. For a few weeks, the Care Package transformed into posts for sharing COVID-19-related info and ways to cope with the difficult circumstances we were all dealing with. I’m quite proud of that run of Care Packages and received lots of positive feedback about them. 

8. Care Package for Friday, May 15, 2020
Following a few weeks of the COVID-19 Care Packages, I transitioned back to focusing on art and culture, while keeping a list of important phone numbers at the bottom of each Care Package. This one is a good representation of that middle ground.

7. Care Package for Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020
This one is special. Dedicated to my incredible wife to celebrate our 11^th wedding anniversary. I’m looking forward to putting together many more of these.

6. Care Package for Sunday, June 28, 2020
By June, I was getting quite a few new readers, so I dedicated a few Care Packages to specific pieces of art and culture that define me. I was hoping to let readers get to know me a bit better, and based on feedback, the experiment worked.

5. Care Package for Saturday, September 19, 2020
This Care Package was dedicated to the memory of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who passed away on Sept. 18, 2020. Readers mostly enjoyed this, aside from some dude who wrote to let me know I’m a “mindless sheep” and another who pointed out that I’m a “liberal crybaby.” Oh well. 

4. Care Package for Thursday, September 3, 2020
A Care Package dedicated to my mother for her birthday. This was fun to put together.

3. Care Package for Saturday, August 1, 2020
This is the hardest Care Package I’ve put together. It was dedicated to the memory of Sally, my sweet Pekingese who we had to say goodbye to at the end of July.

2. Care Package for Wednesday, October 21, 2020
It’s a bit of a mystery why this Care Package ranks so high. It’s the most recent to appear in the Top 10, and like number 10, it’s a standard Care Package. It does feature a popular Vermont location, and I wonder if that drew in lots of my local readers.

1. Care Package for Sunday, April 5, 2020
This is another COVID-19 Care Package, and it really struck a nerve for some reason. Not only is it the most viewed Care Package, but it’s also the seventh most viewed page on the blog overall in the past year.  It makes me so happy that readers responded so positively to this effort.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for another year of Care Packages. I’ve got a few ideas for switching things up a little to keep things fresh and interesting, and I look forward to hearing what you think of it all. Thanks, as always, for reading. 

Much love!