It is day 5 in the countdown to Christmas, but if you ask my tween, the countdown has begun until school lets out for the holiday break. “10 more days of school, Mom!” is what I heard this morning. And this year, I am planning a “Homemade Christmas”, and that includes a gift to her teacher.
There are many different ways you can approach a homemade gift for a teacher.
You could take a spa-inspired pampering approach, with homemade bath fizzes or sugar scrubs. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Homemade Bath Fizz DIY from Martha Stewart
Vanilla Bean Sugar Scrub from Good Life Eats
Or you can go the caffeinated or beverage treat direction, and get creative with the presentation.
Festive homemade coffee sleeves from Better Homes & Gardens
Drink cups from Lisa Storm
Or how about the yummy treat option packaged in a gift tin or pretty box?
Chocolate Cookie Dough Truffles from Eat. Drink. Smile.
Cookie Cutter Fudge from Betty Crocker
Whatever homemade gift direction you take, your thought and sincere gratitude will most definitely shine through. When something is homemade, the recipient knows you put time and thought into their gift.
We will be crafting and featuring more homemade gift ideas this month, so stay tuned. And keep in mind they can be used for neighbor gifts, Girl Scout Troop leader gifts, friends and family gifts.
And now for the $25 Gift Card Giveaway!
In honor of teachers and how much they do for our kids, we wanted to sponsor a $25 gift card to help teachers and students in need.
DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need.
Here’s how it works: public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class.
Then, you can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires you. Once a project reaches its funding goal, DonorsChoose.org deliver the materials to the school.
The gift-giver gets photos of the project taking place, a thank-you letter from the teacher, and a cost report showing how each dollar was spent.
We love this! You can choose to pick the project you would like the gift card to go to, or re-gift it and include it in a teacher gift. It is a great way to come full circle with the gift giving.
Four ways to enter:
- Leave a comment below and share your homemade holiday ideas.
- Tweet or RT about the giveaway.
- Like us on Facebook.
- Subscribe to be on our mailing list.
Giveaway ends at midnight December 11, and winner will be announced December 12.
Good luck and Happy Homemade Holidays!
This is an awesome giveaway! Thanks for sharing this with your readers. I might be inspired to do the same. My latest homemade holiday ideas include a scrappy wreath and a candy garland. Both very old fashioned an so easy to make with tweens. Check them out over at peepthread.com 🙂
Love it! We are definitely going to have try out your crafty ideas. Thanks for sharing! Happy Holidays!
I am a kindergarten teacher. One of my all time favorite homemade gifts is a clay flower pot that was painted by the student with his name and the year on the bottom of the pot. I still have it and use it! Mine was very simple. I’d love to see what tweens would do with it! BTW, he graduated from high school last year. 🙂
Thanks for the chance to win a DC giftcard.
MJ – new subscriber 🙂
mj.coward[at]gmail.com
Thanks Mary Jane. What a sweet and personal homemade gift. I will have try this idea with my tween. Good luck and thanks for entering and sharing.
If you try it, I hope you post a picture!
We sure will!
I subscribed…
Liked you on FB – Mary Jane Coward
We do a sharing of homemade meals. Everyone makes two delicious meals and freezes them in containers—-some get fancier than others in terms of holiday-ish tupperware. Each sibling picks a day to have a eggnog-and-dessert gathering—-or host a walk in the woods with dogs, if you are my brother, who does not do desserts. We show up for a little low-stress holiday visit, and fill each other’s chest freezer with homemade goodies to be used to feel better during stressful or busy times in the future. NO stress is the rule—nothing fancy, nothing complicated.
wow, what a fabulous idea! Thanks for sharing!
I am returning to your post to gaze once more at that picture of the cookie dough truffles. Could be in my dinner boxes this year!
I liked you on Facebook!
I tweeted a link to your blog!
I subscribed to your list—and I embarrassed my brother with a comment above about his lack of hosting ambition!
Love it! Thanks for entering and subscribing! Good luck!
We make home made banana bread to give to the neighbors and family as a special treat. We also have a tradition of each going around the room and saying what we are thankful for.
I wish I could pop one of those cookie dough truffles off the screen and give it a nibble!
I’m going to make these for a cookie exchange party we are having with my daughter’s girl scout troop. I’ll let you know how yummy they turned out. = )
Thanks for such a good website and for finding the time to create such a great read.
I truly enjoyed it. I’ve bookmarked your internet site and subscribed to your RSS feed so I could revisit.