As the school year comes to a close, parents and students are putting together gifts for their teachers. Some people go simple and easy by doing gift cards or even just a card. While others do flowers and candy.
Since my kids have been in the mild special needs programs for preschool, these teachers and aides go above and beyond the typical. Therefore, I try to make my gift baskets as thoughtful and unique as I can. I also try not to go broke at the same time 😋
So, here are some simple Ideas of things to put in your gift baskets that won’t cost you a fortune and how my baskets turned out!
Themes
So before you start, decide on a theme. Whether that is a color theme or product theme.
Color theme – Everything in basket is one color
Product theme – All snacks or all picnic items. I’ve even done pamper baskets
Items – Cost and where to get them
$5 Tumblers – I usually go for bright summertime cups at either Michaels or Walmart
$1 Snacks and candy – As long as you pick and choose, the 99 cent store has some decent items
$1 Air fresheners – Target/Walmart
$1 Hand soap – Target/Walmart or even the 99 cent store
$1 Drinks – 99 cent store
$1 Face and Hair Masks – Target and Walmart
$1 Chapsticks – 99 cent stores
$5 Hand Towel Bundle – Target
Now for the bigger gift baskets, I did spend a little more for them.
$10 Cleaning Supplies – Target; I got all purpose cleaner, dish soap, and hand sanitizer for two baskets
$15 Shaving Supplies – Razor and shaving cream
So, if you don’t know what to get or do for your teacher, I hope some of these ideas and example are useful 😊
This past Saturday, I attended the Spring Tea at my church. It was a get together of about 500 women – we got to enjoy tea, brunch and a great message from the wife of our lead pastor.
Initially, I was nervous to go – I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t know many people going to this event. However, I really wanted to be a part of this and get to hear the message of “Spiritual Ambition”.
Arrival and Mingling
On arrival, there were men leading everyone to the main auditorium to find their assigned table. Once I found my seat, I left my purse to wander and admire all the beautifully decorated tables. Each table had a different theme and was elaborately styled – I had to wander to each and take a picture. It felt like I was at a wedding expo, viewing all the different styles and themes you could choose from. I ran into a few of my friends and our pastor as well. I’ve know the pastor since I was about 4 years old so it’s like he is family.
Me and Pastor Mike
My table
Brunch and Some Humor
After about a half hour, the servers brought out brunch and tea for everyone. Pastor Mike came and spoke for a minute and prayed for us before we ate.
It was so enjoyable to just sit and be able to chat with other likeminded women. Then they played a few comical videos for entertainment. One of my favorites was a video about the difference between a man and woman’s brain.
The Message
After brunch was cleared away, Pastor Mikes wife – Carlynn – began to go into the message for the spring tea.
She started by explaining who Charles Spurgeon is and what he did with his life (I love him so I already knew so much). But then she started to tell us about his wife, Susannah, and all she had to endure during her lifetime. As busy of a man as Charles was, she rarely let that bother her because she knew he was doing what God wanted him to do, preach the Word to people. She was also bedridden for 20 years of her life! She didn’t let that stop her, she went on to help get Charles sermons published and out to other pastors through her charity called “The Book Fund”. In one year’s time, Susannah distributed 3, 058 theological books to impoverished pastors. Nine years later, she distributed 71,000 copies. When Susannah passed away in 1902, she had distributed throughout England a total number 199, 315 theological resources.
I found this story to be amazing and spiritually moving! It made mequestion “In what way could we, as Christians, use our lives for the expansion of the Gospel?”
So I pray,
Lord,
May we each develop a drive and passion to share your Word and draw closer to You.
May You guide us and give us the tools to do Your Will.
Let us learn from Susannah, that even in brokenness and suffering, we use it to grow closer to Him and be able to open doors for others. Doors that wouldn’t be there without the suffering we faced. She always felt during her sufferings that Jesus Christ was “a very present help in trouble.”
Amen.
I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this even and hope I was able to share some valuable information and inspire you to find what God has called you to do.
Cloe 💋
*This post was late due to a medical emergency. All is ok but didn’t get to update post until later.
If any of you are like me, you forget or procrastinate until the very last moment for everything. I love holidays but sometimes I wait until the last few days to get gifts or plan a day out. I also like to give unique, meaningful gifts – the ones that are never expected. So, I’ve created a short list of some last minute, special gift ideas for Mother’s Day.
Chocolate and Wine
Every mom loves chocolate and deserves wine, so why not give her both! I found this on Pinterest and loved the idea.
Erasable Message Board
This one is simple and cheap! Grab a picture frame from the dollar store and then you insert a blank paper and attach a dry eraser marker. You can write any message on it and change it whenever you want!
Mother’s Day in a Jar
Again, grab a huge jar from the dollar store and fill with some fun items like: nail polish, candy, chapstick, etc.
Cloe Pottorff 