Cute Holiday Crafts?

Lisa Kless

September 26, 20050 found this helpful

Some great gift ideas for teachers would be gift certificates (small denomination--I know a lot of parents can't afford a lot) or gift cards for restaurants or stores (Bath & Body Works, Barnes & Noble, etc.), a nice tray of fruit and muffins or basket of cocoas, teas & coffees, or something that goes along with a teacher's personal interests (candles for a candle-loving teacher, for example). Crafts are nice and very thoughtful, but speaking as a teacher myself, over the years you tend to get more crafty gifts than you know what to do with! It's nice to get something a little "pampering" sometimes, since teachers are usually giving of themselves so much.

Suzanne

September 26, 20050 found this helpful

Here's an idea that you might like-- Go to your local craft store (like Michaels - because they have those coupons alot) and you can buy forms to mold your own chocolate. It sounds like alot of work but it's actually really easy. All you need to do it is a doubleboiler, a stove, a refrigerator, the chocolate and the mold that you pick out. Put the chocolate in the top of the doubleboiler with water in the lower part. When the chocolate is melted, spoon it carefully into the mold (make sure to carefully tap the mold with the warm chocolate in it on the countertop to remove any air bubbles.

Trust Me When I Write This...over half of my family members are teachers. The gifts that they truly love are ones that they can use. My step mother used to feel soooo guilty when she said that but I will never forget it either. I now make my child's teacher a "gift basket". Fill it with RED PENS, staples, baby wipes...ect from the Dollar Store.

Origami - Paper Folded Objects are beautiful and not expensive. They are also are an excellent way for family to do something together. This link below is fun. Gifts can be placed in a gift boxes they make.
www.oriland.com/index.asp

Kid's Crafts from Artists
This link shows how to use old CDs for art and other cool stuff. Maybe you can find something here.
www.artistshelpingchildren.org/artscraftstideascdcasescdskidsprojects...

HERE ARE SOME GIFTS FOR YOU!!!
I do not know if you have these but here you are...

Sites for paper toys
www.freepapertoys.com/

FREE GAMES @ KewlBok - Chicktionary to increase vocabulary
www.kewlbox.com/

EVERYDAY IS A HOLIDAY @ This Site
You may be surprised!!!
www.holidaysforeveryday.com/calmay05.shtml

Enjoy.
Please let me know if you this has been helpful.

Last year I went to a thrift store and bought wine glasses. They were .25 each. Then went to $store and bought the small candles. You put them in the glasses - then in the oven till they melt and you have great new candles. You could add scent or buy scented ones. Just have to watch that the wick doesn't fall in. The teachers loved them.

Chocolates...much easier and faster to microwave the chocolate to get it to melt. Just a minute at a time, though, you do not want to cook your chocolate, just barely melt it. Chocolates are a hit, no matter what age you give them to. Melt chocolate, pour/spoon into mold, tap mold to get air bubbles out, place in fridge or freezer to harden, pop out and you're done.

Some kinds I make that go over well...

White chocolate with crushed candycane in it.

Brown chocolate with peanut butter in it...tastes like Reese's peanut butter cups. Maybe add a few chunks of nuts also...or just use chunky peanut butter.

One thing to note when using molds....never, never wash them in hot soapy water. That takes off the film on the mold and they will stick from then on.

As a teacher, please no cutesy nic-naks that have apples on them or say Teacher. No fragrance unless you know for sure it is one we use. Gift cards or homemade food gifts, especially if we have families are super. How about a card telling the teacher not to bring lunch on a certain day, and you bring her a nice lunch surprise, complete with holiday napkin, etc. (Be sure she doesn't have any special dietary needs). When I was single, a parent invited me to their home for a homemade pizza dinner-I loved it! Gifts of your time are lovely, too-maybe a gift cert. to do a bulletin board, build a bookcase, make some games, come in one morning and do copying, laminating, etc.

organizedchristmas.com/article75.html

This web site has some great ideas for gifts.