Holiday Loves

It's the day after Christmas and I'm having a hard time parting with the holidays.  I had such a wonderful time with family and friends. Like past years, there was some stress surrounding this holiday seasons.  But, as I grow older, I'm beginning to appreciate the little things (or the most important things).  Gifts are a part of the holiday and there is no changing that now...at least in my house. But, even my teenage children are starting to realize that family and friends make the holidays!

Gifts can become overwhelming...and break the bank at times!  Although, I did have some wonderful gifts (given and received) that didn't cost a lot, but certainly meant a lot.  This post is about those gifts...thank you to Pinterest and some other sources for the inspiration! 

First, I am the PTA president at my intermediate school.  We PTA officers were trying to think of a heartfelt gift to give each member of the faculty. We wanted to show our appreciation of all that they do each and every day. Someone suggested we reimburse them for a few of the "out of pocket" expenses, such as pencils, books, and other necessary supplies. That idea was fine by me, but how to do it in a holiday-themed manner that isn't impersonal, like writing a check.  Yuck!  

I quickly went to my go-to inspiration spot...PINTEREST! :)  My love of Pinterest is immeasurable.  

What came about was an idea that would take some time out of my busy schedule, but was well worth it. Let's give the teachers some cash as reimbursement that they can spend any way they see fit. The cash must be displayed in a way that says "Happy Holidays" and "We appreciate you".  This card displayed with a folded money tree "fit the bill".

The tree theme was a big hit and the classroom cash was much appreciated.  

I also made some holiday pennants for people as gifts. I wish I remembered to make one for myself. Sigh...

Lastly, one of my favorite gifts from my husband was an Alex & Ani bracelet. At about $30, these bracelets are fantastically affordable. My team is doing well this year!  Love this bracelet! 

Well, it's December 26th and I couldn't be happier...now I get to organize!  Yay!

Teacher Gift Time

It's that time of year again...time to show the teachers who you work with how much they are appreciated. I give gifts to the teachers in my building who I work with in various capacities. 

Everyone knows that I love to personalize my gifts. Actually, I love to personalize everything!

I purchased a bunch of goodies from the dollar store last week. As promised, many of the items are included in my teacher gifts.  

My new passion is personalizing binder clips. It works great when you are teaming with other teachers. I have clips with all of the names of my teammates so I can keep the paperwork well organized. Decorative tape from The Dollar Tree actually works better than the expensive stuff from Staples and Micheal's.  

This year's gift creation is a small, personalized, burlap pouch which holds two personalized binder clips, two great mechanical pencils, three dry-erase markers adorned with pom-pom erasers, and a holiday anti-bacterial soap & PocketBac from Bath & Body Works. 

First, I personalize the bag (found at Michael's stores for $0.50) with a letter stencil and acrylic paint. Then, while the paint is drying, I lay out all of the supplies that will be put inside the bag.  Next, (when the letter is dry to the touch) I stuff the bag with the "teacher essentials" and pull the drawstring.  Last, I tie a ribbon around the top using some adhesive, fabric tape on the back to keep the ribbon in place. I'm done!  Ready for the next bag to stuff...

I love leaving these little, burlap, goodie bags for teachers as they come into their classrooms.  They always bring a smile.

The entire gift cost $6 to make!  Such an adorable bargain! 

Cheers!

#5 Holiday Gifts Under $5

Want a designer purse for under five dollars?  This designer purse actually fits inside your designer bag. How adorable is this notepad?  

It opens at the top like a real purse.  It's filled with light pink pages.  My favorite part is the metal key tag.  So authentic!

You can find it at Party City.

I think I'm going to write "Happy Birthday" on the first page and give it to my mom.  Her birthday is December 25th.  She wants a coat for Christmas so I will tie a ribbon through the "purse" straps and loop it through one of the button holes.  

Cheers!

#4 Holiday Gifts Under $5

I found the cutest little trinkets at Pier 1 Imports.  It's been quite a week and I'm so excited to be back on the blog writing about something fun.  Don't get me wrong, teaching fifth grade is often fun, but there is something about taking the time to write about organizing, shopping, and holidays that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  

The first on the list is a lollipop pen that lights up when you write!  

I spent the entire day cleaning and organizing...washing floors, raking the lawn, and rearranging furniture.  My hands have taken a beating.  Looks like a glove mask tonight...

The only bad news about these cute lollipop pens is that I don't want to give them away as gifts.  My students would go crazy if I whipped one of these out and began grading papers.  At $4 each, I may have to get a few to give as prizes to some of my teacher-created BINGO games.

There were some other fab finds at Pier 1 for my "under $5 hunt". 

The top, round bottle is anti-bacterial hand gel.  It's made with vitamin e and it smells so festive.  The piece of "wrapped candy" is lip gloss and the "mittens" are bubble bath.  So cute to add to the top of a gift, droop from a Christmas stocking, or tie around a wine glass stem as a party favor.  The ideas are endless! 

Remember... you don't have to go bankrupt to be jolly and festive.

Cheers!

#3 Holiday Gifts Under $5

Ok...so this is really gift idea #1 on the blog, but I jumped the gun and posted two ideas to my facebook page...
Click on the coffee mug to check out the first installments if you missed them.

The next gift idea is a health & beauty product and think it would be fine for a man. Of course, my son would disagree.  

My daughter is really into these new lip balms called eos (evolution of smooth). They are packaged in a round, plastic sphere (math teacher alert!) with a smaller sphere inside. The smaller sphere is a solid, all-natural, antioxidant -rich lip balm.

The eos lip balms come in a variety of flavors and plastic shell colors.  They cost around $3.  Some retailers are promoting a holiday package of 3 eos lip balms for about $9.  

evolution of smooth - eos

I am going to hot glue a stick to one end of the eos sphere and wrap with cellophane.  Then, tie the cellophane with a ribbon to create a "lollipop" effect.

The cost will still remain under $5. 

Cheers!

Holiday Gifts Under $5

There are so many gift ideas out there that you don't need to break the bank. I'm venturing out to find 50 gifts in 50 days! There will be at least one post per day highlighting a gift idea that costs no more than five dollars. 

All efforts will be made to cover a variety of items. I tend to gravitate towards "female" stuff...it's just a force of nature. But, I'm making a conscious decision to search for "male" items as well.

The featured gifts will be a mix of consumer products and DIY creations. 

The gifts can be used for, but not limited to:

• stocking stuffers
• secret Santa exchange
• co-worker/colleagues 
• extra gifts for unexpected guests
• hostess/host gift 
• babysitter
• hairdresser
• postal carrier
• party favors
• secretaries
• neighbors

Have fun with gift giving. The holidays are a wonderful time of year to spend with family and friends. Make it even better with low-cost fabulous gifts!

Cheers!