Northwich friends spread cheer with social media treasure hunts

Jess Chappell and Leah Massey held a spontaneous event last month to mark World Kindness Day on November 13.

The pair hid several parcels, containing books and baked goods, around the town before going live on their Instagram and Facebook accounts at each location to encourage members of the public to find them.

And, after seeing the joy getting involved brought to people, Jess and Leah have resolved to hold another hunt with a 'secret Santa' theme on Tuesday, December 10.

Mum-of-four Jess, of Winnington, said: "The whole thing was amazing.

“I didn’t expect it to have the impact it did on other people and get so much joy from it. We had families in their cars waiting for us to post where we were going to be.

"Never in a million years did I expect that to happen. It took us by surprise that people were so engaged with it.

“They said they’d really enjoyed doing it as well.

Little Theo joined mum Jess (right) and her friend Leah on the treasure hunt (Image: Leah Massey) "It’s always nice to do nice things for people, I just hadn’t realised how much I would get out of it. I couldn’t believe how much I personally enjoyed doing it."

Jess, who started her business - The Bake Box Cheshire - in September, wanted to mark Wold Kindness Day and had a lightbulb moment in coming up with the treasure hunt idea.

She invited best friend Leah to take part, who herself had been struggling with her mental health and anxiety. 

Leah, 29, of Rudheath, said: "I was really anxious about doing it before going, as I struggle with OCD and anxiety, so going out isn’t really my strong suit.

The parcels were hidden across the town (Image: Leah Massey) “Jess knew I’d been a little bit down, as it comes and goes, so when she phoned me I was a little bit sceptical and wasn’t sure I was in the right place for it, but I’m so glad I did it.

"It really cheered me up. As we were hopping around Northwich, planting little gifts and going live on Instagram, people were following us.

"We were watching people find the gifts and it was really cute. It was just really wholesome. We both got home and felt so good.

The parcels contained books and baked goods, such as brownies and blondies (Image: Leah Massey) "We had so many messages. One woman in particular messaged just to thank us for doing what we did. She said she’d got in from work and had a really dump day, and it really helped take her mind off it.

"Just knowing we had helped somebody, else like I needed helping, was really nice.

“I didn’t know what to expect when Jess asked me to get involved, but it was really heart-warming.”

Jess and Leah will be doing two hunts on December 10, one at around 12.30pm in Northwich town centre and one in the outer edges of the town at around 6.30pm.

Jess and Leah will be doing another treasure hunt on December 10 (Image: Leah Massey) There will be six parcels hidden on each drop, with the pair gifting more than £100 of stock.

Each hunt can be followed on the pair's social media accounts - @thebakeboxcheshire for Jess and @thecheshirescribbler for Leah.