teacher gifts

As a teacher, my students bring a considerable number of gifts to show their appreciation before they leave for Christmas vacation. Now that my children are in preschool, my experience has made it a lot easier to know what to buy for their teachers. Here’s my two cents on the subject.

I always get lots and lots of lotion, mugs, hot cocoa, and notepads for Christmas. If you are going to go this route I would suggest adding a personal touch to the gift such as including a personalization on the notepad (Vistaprint is a very inexpensive source).

 

I had one student who gave me a paperwhite bulb planted in a cute pot every year. Others have given small poinsettias or bamboo plants.

Dry erase markers, notebook paper, index cards, and boxes of tissue make great gifts for the classroom that any teacher would be happy to not spend their own money on. Especially with the recent NC budget cuts, supply-type gifts are greatly appreciated!

Some of the best handmade gifts are ornaments, scarves, and homemade cookies. Of course, teachers appreciate handwritten notes from their students. These are special treasures on those rough days in April and May.

One of the best *purchased*gifts I ever received from one of my students was a small pottery bowl. It was very practical and useful.

Other practical ideas include kitchen linens, seasonal Pampered Chef cookbooks ($1), stationary and stamps, or a frozen meal like a homemade chicken pie.

Target and Starbucks gift cards are great even in $1 or $5 amounts. They all add up!

Another of my favorite ideas came from a family with multiple children in the same school. The mother checked with the administration and then volunteered to supervise each child’s class at lunch one day. It only took a little over an hour of her time on her own lunch break and the teachers got to enjoy a duty-free lunch. They weren’t required to open anyone else’s milk or to ask anyone to pick up their trash and throw it in the garbage. I’m sure any teacher will agree that’s about the best Christmas present you can ask for.

From the perspective of a middle school teacher who’s students have seven or more teachers each, we know that it can all add up to a lot of money. Therefore you should always remember that no matter what you give to your children’s teachers this year they know that it’s the thought that counts.

the weather outside was frightful

Julianna and I had a quick ten minutes in between two Christmas celebrations last Sunday so we quickly drove to downtown Kernersville to watch a bit of the parade.  Jonathan was at home so that Josh could nap so Julianna and I took a chance at finding a parking spot downtown real fast and then running to the edge of the main street.

Other than at Disney World, it was the first parade that Jules had been to.  It was so extremely cold and like an idiot I did not have a coat.  I was driving Jonathan's car so I looked through the trunk and found an extra T-shirt and thermal underwear top and put it on over my shirt.  Fortunately, Julianna did have her thick coat on.

We found a parking spot one block away and hurried to the edge of the street just in time for the parade to go by.  The crowd was not too thick, probably because it was so cold, so we got right up to the front.  We saw lots of old cars, fire trucks, police cars, dancers, marching bands, and cheerleaders.  We also saw a jump-rope squad, the mayor, and some bag-pipers.  In that first picture up there is one of my dad's old friends who was elected several years ago to the NC House and the second picture is of students from Oak Ridge Military Academy.

We stayed for about the first 15 minutes until we could no longer take the cold.  It was the perfect little parade and just the right amount of time for a 4 year old.  It reminded me of the days in high school when we were required to participate in the parade each year for our dance team.  I hated it then, but it seems like such a fun part of starting the holiday season for a small town.  I'm glad we found a small amount of time for the parade this year.

Frosty Fifty anyone?

My goal a long time ago was to complete at least one race every year for the rest of my life.  Actually, I think it was just to run in a race every year for the next ten years, but I believe I will just go ahead and change it to "particpate in a race each year for the rest of my life."

In 2008 I succeeded.  Last year I failed miserably.  I don't know if it was being pregnant for the majority of the year or what but that should have been no excuse and I should have at least completed one event.  Anyway, I thought about doing the Running of the Lights race at the Tanglewood Festival of Lights on New Year's Eve last year just to meet my goal but when I realized that it actually started in 2010 and therefore wouldn't count, I quickly decided against it.  So I didn't meet my goal for last year.

This year, however, I have done much better.  The events I have completed this year are as follows:

• Mission Mile 5k on 7/31
• Ramblin' Rose Sprint Triathlon on 8/22
• Tanger Outlets 5k on 9/11
• Crop Walk on 10/17
• JDRF Walk on 10/23
• Mercy 5k on 11/6

Nothing spectacular, but I certainly met my goal and I'm proud of myself.  Besides, a lot of these races donate quite a bit of the proceeds from the participant's registration to charity and I'm happy to support that.  Next year I just want to get started earlier in the year and since I won't have a newborn baby I have no excuse not too.

Now, who's going to join me?

on my daughter’s Christmas list this year

Bedroom slippers


Zoobles

A marshmallow shooter

A clapper

Every year around the holidays I struggle with the same dilemma. Like most families we have our standard Christmas events and celebrations that we try to go to: a visit with Santa at the mall, our small group church party, the Christmas program and choir party for Jonathan’s Grandmother’s church, watching certain Christmas shows on TV, sometimes a Christmas Love Feast, the Festival of Lights at Tanglewood, decorating a Gingerbread house, etc.


Then there are the other events going on in our town: various productions of A Christmas Carol, various Christmas Tree Lightings, holiday parades, holiday celebrations at local Museums, live nativity displays, choral concerts, special craft workshops, ice skating, newly released movies, downtown carriage rides, and holiday open houses. The list could go on but, quite frankly, my brain is fried already and it’s only December 3rd.

My trouble lies in choosing which traditional events to keep in the schedule and which new events to try out. How do you find balance between both when there’s simply not room?  It seems like you have to skip one of the traditions in order to try out something new.  When we have somewhere to be every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of December, I find it extremely hard to squeeze in anything but the same old things we do every year even though I hear about so many awesome things going on around my town.

What does your family do each year? Do you try to stick with the same traditional events or do you see what your city has to offer new each year? Do you try to do a mix of both and if so, how do you find the time?  And how do you decide what to do?  Take a minute to vote below and if you choose option three, please share with me in a comment.  I really have trouble making these kinds of decisions.

What kind of holiday events does your family attend each year?
	We try to stick with traditional events because those are the things that are most important to us.
	There are so many fun things to do at the holidays. We try to do something new each year.
	We try a mix of both.
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words

No lie.  My little guy told me, "Bye bye Mama" when I left for work today.

Now my heart is mush.

hey! what's going on over there?!

Oh! What's that noise?!

Look Mom!  The neighbor is doing something cool with that leaf blower thingy!  I want to try!