Thanks for the tip!

I keep a box in the top of my closet & add to it as I get little trinkets from cereal boxes (my kids can’t read yet so this works) or as I get freebies. This year my sister & I will both be recieving (from Santa) the free travel kit from Victoria secrets that was advertised a few months ago. We got them, then left them in the box. Our Santa will fill stockings with free deodorant, chapstick,nail polish, razors & shaving cream from Kmart’s Doubles. This doesn’t work as well for my 2 year old, but he’ll be happy with the 2 for $1 matchbox cars coming up!

We also do toy drives every year and this year I purchased 4 games for $14 dollars & got back a $10 gift card from toys r us…so that makes it even easier to run out and get cheap mr. potatoe head tomorrow.

Tip: make out a circle pattern on some scratch paper and try it and trim it until it fits. You can insert the paper by wrapping it around a pencil and dropping it in. Use a pair of tweezers to hold it still and manuver it around with the pencil (don’t write on it!) until it sits straight. Put the ornament top back on with one prong on each side of the insert. This keeps it in place.

I am giving each kid a block to decorate with their paretns and then when you put them all together it makes the tree. This way each kids is participating and the teacher will have a decoration to remind her of the class for years to come.

Over 20 years ago my mom helped us make my 2nd grade teacher a quilt with each class members handprint on it The teacher tells me she still has it and loves it.

We used an old white sheet cut into squares and placed our hand in paint and then on the blocks.

I’m on the PTO Board at my daughter’s elementary school and whenever the board or the parents send teachers gifts for Christmas, it’s usually done the last day of school before break (for us it’s Dec. 22nd or 23rd). The children love to hand deliver them.

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This is a hard situation. I wish that everyone would be able to be happy to give and not have to get in return…. I know that is not feasible.

For my family, we just all had a very frank discussion a few years ago about expectations and we have not had any problems with it.

If it is a close friend, I would suggest having that conversation as well.

If it is someone that you do not know very well, you can thank them kindly for the gift. Lets be honest, if you turn around and spend money on a gift for them , you are now just perpetuating the problem. They will now expect a gift next year.

I know this is hard with younger children, but this is how people end up over spending.

Shannon, or anyone else who would care to give some insight, how do you personally handle the situation where __________ has given you or your child a gift, but you did not buy one for them? These holiday moments can be awkward and can most certainly lead to hurt feelings.

That is the most AWESOME way to do Christmas. After the holidays, I am going to write a post about how to plan for next year!

Thanks for this great idea.

I totally do.

For the sunday school teacher its the reusable tote that I posted earlier this month. I plan on going to the dollar store and buying one of those candle lighters and putting in a few free glade candles.

For the school teacher it is a mousepad of a class picture that i took at the class party earlier this month and I put her name and grade and year on it, I paid $2.99 for that, along with a personalized desk calendar for 2010 that I paid $1.99 for.

Are they nice gifts? They probably aren’t the most expensive, but I think they will like them, especially the personalized touch.