Monday, November 24, 2014

12 Days of teacher gifts

Hi.
Welcome to my blog.
It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything but I thought this would be the easiest way for those of you who are interested in my 12 days of Christmas project to find it and look it up for reference.


Last year was my first year doing the project.  I think it went over well with my kid's teachers and they seemed to like their gifts and having a little something to look forward to each day.

 This year my son is in middle school, and he has many teachers now, so we will only be doing it for my daughter's teacher since she is still in elementary school.

I start out by counting back from the last day of school before my kids go on their winter break.  This year it happens to be on December 22nd.  So i know her last day of school will be on Friday, December 19th.  I count back 12 days.  This is because we are using the theme of the Twelve days of Christmas.  So, I will start the gift giving on December 4th.

I found these cute printables on Pinterest.  You can use anyone of them!

http://breannadesigns.com/12-days-of-christmas-tags/
http://www.whitelightsonwednesday.com/wednesday-whatsits-89/
http://todaysmama.com/2011/12/printable-12-days-of-christmas-tags/

The last one looks like this:


Aren't they cute?!


On December first I will send a card with this saying in it with my daughter to school to give to her teacher.  

It reads:     It's that time of year, the most WONDERFUL time of the year.
                  During all the hustle and bustle, we'd like to spread a little cheer.

                  Following the 12 days of Christmas,
                  12 little gifts for you, 
                  To show you a little joy and bring some happiness too.

                  So look for a little something, a little surprise each day
                  Because  "Thank You"  is what we would like to say!

                 Thank you for caring, for your leadership and time, 
                 Thank you for helping so many children, especially MINE!
                
                 We know teachers don't get paid enough dough,
                  So this is our little way of saying "Thank You" for helping Lilly to grow!  


You can use this and change the child's name in the last sentence to your child's name.


Here is the break down of what gifts and sayings we are doing this year.  I have many other sayings and other little gifts that I have ideas for, so if you have one on here you don't like, feel free to leave a comment and I can help you come up with another one.  Otherwise, if you look on Pinterest, there are lots of them on there too!

I get one little gift to go with each saying for each day.  I use the printables to make up little cards with some cardstock and stickers to put each little quote on.  I find cute little ways to wrap up each gift for opening.  

Day one - We wanted to star your 12 days of Christmas off with something "fun"
( I got some fun-sized candy bars to wrap up with some ribbon)

Day two - Santa always "chex" his list twice to see who's naughty and who's been nice!
( A bag of chex mix)   - The picture is the one I did last year.  After we put it in a cute gift bag, we taped the tag on the outside of it.

Day three - Day number three, chocolate and some ornaments to hang upon your tree.
( A chocolate bar and a pack of ornaments that came in three)

Day four - A little "note" of appreciation for you.
(sticky notes, sticky list pad and sticky page flags)

Day five - There's no "sub-stitute" for you!  Here's $5 to prove it's true.
( $5 gift card for s sub sandwich shop) 

Day six -  A helping "hand" we give to you - for all those kiddos who say  Achoo!
( hand soap or hand sanitizer)  
Thought this was cute:  http://happyhomefairy.com/2011/12/15/inexpensive-christmas-gift-ideas/


Day seven - Day seven reminds us that there are 7 days in a week.  By the end, you must be so beat!  Enjoy this "little man and his special treat"!
(a little nutcracker and some nutcracker trail mix that I found at Target)

Day eight- Here's a little something for day number eight.  It's sure to bring a "smile" to your face - so hurry up and open it, please don't wait!
( a smilie face balloon from the Dollar store - wrap it in a paper box and tape the bottom of the string to the bottom of the box.  It will float up but not out) 

Day nine  - Hustle, bustle, running out of time?  A stop at McDonald's for a little something divine. or you can put dinner time.  
(A gift card for McDonald's .  They can use it for coffee - which her teacher likes.)

Day ten - You have 10 fingers and 10 toesies.  So here's a little something to keep them colorful and cozy!
( nail polish and a cute pair of socks and a cute pair of mittens)

Day eleven - From one smart "cookie" to another, have a treat that looks and tastes like heaven! 
( getting a cookie from Uncle Mike's bake shop)  It's a specialty bakery in our town that makes awesome decorated cookies that are as big as your hand.  

Day twelve  - Twelve is the day our fun must be done.  We're off to celebrate that holiday with loved ones.  May your time off be happy, your heart be light, your Christmas be Merry and your New Year's be bright!  See you next year!
( a calendar and a nice smelling candle)

There you have it.  That's what we plan on doing for the 12 days of Christmas for this year.  I will try to get on and post pictures of the progress and how they are wrapped and what they look like.  

Any questions or comments - let me know.  
Feel free to use this or a variation of it for your own kids.  If you do, let me know.  I'd love to see what you do!  Happy crafting and Merry gifting! 

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Pancakes and French Toast

So I have to say that I have been following our monthly schedule of meals.  ( It's only been 6 days though ) !

This morning I made 6 batches of egg-less pancakes from scratch.  My son is allergic to eggs so that is why I make them egg-less.
  Anyway, I have a nice big electric griddle that cooks them 6 at a time, so it goes pretty fast.
After I make the egg-less pancakes, I use our same griddle to make a couple of batches of french toast.
If you'd like the recipes I use, leave a comment and I'll post them for you!



Then we freeze them like this - 12 to a bag.   If you plan on using them during the week, you can just refrigerate them as well.



 I pull them out the night before we are scheduled to have pancakes for breakfast and then we re-heat them either in the toaster or the microwave.  Makes for a great easy breakfast for the kids before they head off to school.

It's been a nice fall day to warm up the house while cooking this morning.  It's a big chilly outside - bout 42 degrees Fahrenheit.  And what is better than a chilly morning with a warm breakfast and full tummies.  :)

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Nothing can go wrong with a recipe with beer and whiskey - right ?    It's very tasty and moist.
Got this one from a dear friend - it's one of our favorites.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Easy and satisfying.

This is one of those recipes that you can make on the weekend and then have it for breakfast the rest of the week ( if it lasts that long. )
Mmmmm. . . yummy!