Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas for Teachers, Daycare Providers, & Friends

A while back I had the opportunity to meet two amazing moms, Holly Homer and Rachel Miller.

They are the authors of 101 Kids Activities That Are the Bestest, Funnest Ever!: The Entertainment Solution for Parents, Relatives & Babysitters!

My boys and I have just barely scratched the surface of all the activities in this book but we love what we have done so far! And it got me thinking...the best part of these activities is that they give us a chance to slow down and do things as a family.  

Lately, I have been struggling to be there for them both physically and emotionally.  I get caught up in the daily responsibilities of working, blogging, housekeeping, cooking. (Well... to be honest that last one is not my strong suit!)  Anyway, I tend to overcompensate for my physical and emotional absence by buying the boys things or taking them places when in reality all they want is to be with me.

In speaking with other educators throughout my career, I think most of us struggle with "mommy guilt" from time to time. It's part of our teaching nature to try to be enough for every child in our lives, both our kids and our students. 

Holly & Rachel’s book has given us the opportunity to do simple, fun, memorable activities together. As a result of them giving me a copy of their book, I thought I would pay it forward by giving another copy of the book to someone else. 

My son’s first grade teacher also has two small boys.  As part of her Christmas gift, I created this gift basket along with Rachel & Holly’s book.

Inside the book, I attached this special note:

I also shared this concept with our youngest son's daycare provider.  She doesn’t have any little ones herself but she does have many little daycare buddies that love doing little projects so I pulled together all sorts of seasonal crafts (with a little help from Hobby Lobby.)

And placed them in a santa gift bag with this special note.

We took the gift to daycare on the 1^st of December so the kids would have the whole month to make their creations. Then at the end of the month, they can be sent home in a gift bag from my little Payton!

So fun and purposeful! Not just a trinket or two from the dollar store, but special decorations and memories from daycare. :)

Finally, one final special gift that will be given to friends and family this holiday.  Just a little something to remind everyone what really counts throughout the season...a wrapped box of chocolates! 

With a note on the outside that says ‘Wishing you Many Memories with Friends and Family this Holiday Season! From: The McDaniels' ".

And a photo of my boys glued to the wrapping of the chocolates that says "The best present you can give is the gift of presence."

I wish you all many holiday memories full of presence and love!

Merry Christmas, 

Lindy

Family Christmas Traditions

I have previously shared some family traditions to celebrate our birthdays  As we prepare for the Christmas season this year, I realize that we have some fun Christmas traditions too. In an effort to keep this year's surprises a secret (especially since E.J. is now a reader!), I am going to share photos from last year.  

First, we usually start December off with a Christmas activity calendar.  

I pre-program an old Santa advent calendar I got at Target several years back with slips of paper that share activities to do each day to prepare for Christmas.  

Things like making Christmas cards, videoing a Christmas carol for Grandma and papa, making Christmas ornaments, making a loop chain for the Christmas tree, making Christmas cookies, writing a letter to Santa, watching a Christmas movie, etc.  I intentionally program them so that longer more extensive activities are done on the weekends and little things are done during the school week.  School night activities include calling your cousins to wish them a Merry Christmas or reading a Christmas book before bed.  You know how it is....busy moms have to rig things a bit to make it all work!  Santa's little helper!!! ;)  

Secondly, we paint glass Christmas bulbs for family, friends, and teachers.  These are the same ornaments my students made for their parents throughout the years. Click here for more information about previous year's bulbs.  

Here is last year's family gift. 

  

Note: That on the ornaments the boys make for family and friends, I specialize the tag so that it denotes each boy's contribution to the bulb.  

Then each of the boys make their own ornament for our family tree as a memory of that year.  It also documents how they wrote their names that year and their artistic abilities. Thus the not so Santa looking bulb that Payt made as a two year-old.    

The boys also pick out their own Hallmark ornament each year.  Making it so much fun to decorate the tree each year! 

On each Hallmark box, I write a little something about what they were doing that year making great memorabilia to pass along to their families when they get older.   

It has been fun watching them grow and mature over the years.  EJ started with a little Fire Truck ornament, then Thomas Train, Handy Manny, Spiderman, Ben 10, and this year Disney’s Planes.  Payton started with a Teddy Bear, then Winnie the Pooh, and this year Jake and the Neverland Pirates. 

EJ’s choice, the Planes ornament, triggered a new tradition last year.  He decided that it would be neat to cover his whole tree with his toy airplane and helicopter collection.  

It turned out so cool that their bedroom trees will now be decorated with the toys of their choice each year.  Here is what Payton's looked like last year. 

In preparation for Santa each year, we decorate a plastic plate for our cookies and milk and leave a Santa key on the doorknob for Santa before heading to my parents for Christmas at Grandma and Papas. 

When we return, there's always a small gift and goodbye note from our Elf on the Shelf in the Christmas tree.  Last year's was candy in the tree. . .

With this note: (Daddy staged Chippy eating the boys' candy all season last year :) )

There were also notes in the boys' stockings that lead them to their gift from Santa. The notes read, 'Your big present from me is in the place that you sleep. Love, Santa.' 

They were quite clever gifts so I thought I would share them with you. Payton got EJ’s old bed with a new train comforter set on it to replace his crib. 

Here is a closer look at Payton's note from Santa. . .

And here is a pictures of EJ's much-asked-for bunk bed. . . 

and the note that went on his bed. . .

Lastly, I would like to share with you the tradition that keeps our memories of each Christmas alive.  I got this Christmas Memorybook from a school fundraiser several years back.  

Each year I paste our family Christmas card inside and then write what we did that Christmas.  

It is sits on our coffee table every Christmas season as a reminder of the holidays we have been blessed to share together. 

Hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday!

 -Lindy