Holiday Gift Ideas (Students, Parents, Colleagues)

I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that it is almost December! I have no idea where this year has gone. I swear, the older we get the faster time goes. It really makes me try to enjoy each and every moment because life is so short! 

Now that Thanksgiving is in the past, it is time to prepare for the Christmas holiday. I always have good intentions when it comes to preparing early for student, parent and colleague gifts....but I'm usually stressed out in the end trying to come up with something!

 Well I'm linking up with the Weekend Warriors to help me (and hopefully help you) have some inspiration!

This year, all of my students keep asking me for a 3x5 card that they can use as a bookmark. So I thought that they'd probably love to have a personalized bookmark with their name on it!

I found these adorable (FREE) bookmarks from The Brown Bag Teacher on TpT and am going to make them for my class! I plan on laminating them so they (hopefully) stay nice throughout the rest of the year.

(Click the picture for the link)

 I work at a Christian private school and think that a smaller version of this would go along nicely with the bookmarks.

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Last, but not least, I'm going to include two homework passes for each student that can be used on any homework assignment that they either don't want to do, don't have time to do, or just want a break from doing! I'm planning on copying them on colored paper to make it more fun.

Click on the image above to grab your own copy!

In the past I have made the Applesauce/Cinnamon ornaments with my kinders...but this year I've jumped up to third grade and want to switch things up. I still haven't decided for sure what I'm going to do, but here are some fun ideas that I've come across:

Funny pose ornaments:

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Fingerprint picture frame:

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Baby Jesus ornament:

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Stained Glass Nativity. This could be larger as a decoration, or smaller to be used as an ornament:

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I always forget about gifts for coworkers until the last minute so I'm going to be better this year!

I love simple, fast and easy ideas (as I'm sure you all do too)! Here are some fun and quick ideas I have recently come across:

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I LOVE this idea!
I would have a very hard time not eating all of the pretzels!

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I have decided this year I'm going to make Homemade Cinnamon Almonds for my coworkers (and probably our neighbors while I'm at it):

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Who DOESN'T like these!? And this recipe I came across is SO easy.
All you need is:
1 cup sugar
3 cups raw almonds (or any other nut)
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup water

Click on the "Source" link under the picture for the full directions! There are also multiple sites with directions or downloads to make your own cone paper holders.


What are you planning on doing for your gifts this year? Link up with the Weekend Warriors to share your own ideas.

Want more gift ideas? Check out my "Gift Ideas" board on Pinterest.


Last but not least....This is what I want for Christmas!

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Teaching with Hope shared a very easy tutorial on how to make your own. I just haven't had time to actually make mine yet...does anyone want to make it for me!?

Maybe it can be my Christmas break project since we're staying home this year.

I hope you all enjoy this wonderful holiday season with your scholars and are able to share with them the true meaning of the season by doing acts of kindness and spreading love throughout your classrooms.

Merry Christmas!

Do You Want a Warm Hug??

Who doesn't love warm hugs!?

Olaf does, that's for sure!

I recently got this in the mail and was so excited! All the little kids LOVE Frozen and Olaf. I remember last year when it came out....All I heard was *knock*knock*knock "Do You Want to Build a Snowman!?......" They would sing the entire song at the top of their lungs!

And then there was always "Let it Go! Let it GO!!!!!!....."

I knew all of the songs before I even went to see the movie! (Are you with me on that!?)

So when I pre-ordered my "Hug and Hide Olaf" in October, I was excited!

When you open it up, this is what you see:

It comes with a stuffed Olaf and a book. Now, when I ordered it, It made it sound like an "Elf on the Shelf" type of thing. BUT you could use this either in place of the Elf, or you could do it in January!

When I opened it up and read the book, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Still cute, but it doesn't preface an "Elf of the Shelf" type of thing.

It starts out with Olaf telling you he loves warm hugs. He tries to give you a hug, but can't because he's in a book! He asks if he plays a game with you, if you'll give him a hug.

 "What game should we play?     Leap Troll?"

"Ring-around-the-reindeer?"
(These would be fun games for a class party....just sayin'!)

"Hide-And-Seek!"

 In the end the book opens up when you find him and he wants a hug.

You can then hide the Olaf stuffed animal included and find him to give him a hug.

I would definitely switch it up a little bit to have it be more like an "Elf of the Shelf" thing, but I thought it was really cute and wanted to share it with you in case you want your own. Just click any of the pictures to go to Amazon and check it out for yourself!

Would you like a fabulous FREEBIE to go along with this!?

 Mary from Sharing Kindergarten shared this adorable freebie on Freebie-licious Blog. Click the picture above to go to the post and grab it for yourself!!

Try to give out some "warm hugs" today. Thanks for stopping by!

Winter Planning Giveaway Stop A-4

Welcome! I'm so glad you're here. Can you believe it's already December!? Well, pour yourself a cup of Hot Cocoa (if you already have candy canes, like me, you can throw one of those in too!) and get comfy ....we have a great giveaway planned for you! A giveaway that EVERYONE WINS!!

You heard me right. EVERYONE!

This is how it works. There are 3 different prize packs to choose from....but no one is stopping you, so why not grab them all!?!

You will visit each blog in the pack that you choose, follow them, leave some comment love for each one....you know, to let us know you appreciate us ;)

Each blog will have a "secret word" that you must find. Collect all of them and submit them to Erin at I'm Lovin Lit, and she will email you your prize pack. Simple as that!

You can start right here if you want the K-2 Prize Pack! Or click the top image to go to I'm Lovin Lit and join the fun!


 Let's get this party started!! 

This is everything included in Prize Pack A:

I'm very excited to give you all my "Roll Roll as Fast as You Can" game!

This Roll, Say & Keep game can be used as a center or small group. It will help your students practice identifying numbers 1-120.

I know if I add a dice to anything, my kinders are all over it! They LOVE games, and what better way to practice number recognition than a fun and engaging game like this!

Just print it, cut it, laminate it and you're good to go!

I can't wait to use this in my classroom this week, and I hope that your students will all enjoy it too!


Now, before I give you my secret word, I would LOVE it if you'd take the time to follow me! Just click the little blue "Join This Site" button at the top right of my blog. Then you'll get updates on other freebies and fun posts that I have!

You can follow me on Facebook to grab a Fans only Freebie, and Bloglovin by clicking the pictures below:

I also have quite a few Christmas freebies in my store! Head on over to check them out, and make sure to follow my store while you're at it!

In fact, I just posted this freebie in my store yesterday.
Just click the picture to grab it!

While you're there, take a look around and see if you can check anything off of your Christmas List! And don't forget about the huge TPT Cyber sale going on too. You can get 28% off everything in my store when you use the promo code.

Thank you for stopping by and supporting me by following! It really means a lot :)

Now it's time for your secret word:

Just click the image above to go back to I'm Lovin Lit and collect all of your secret words.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!