Thinking of You Gift Idea

For a fellow teacher and her family who lost a loved one recently, my coworkers and I put together this "sending you sunshine" gift basket. Everything in the basket included YELLOW items to brighten their day.

Yellow Items Included:

• hand soup
• hand sanitizer
• candle
• taffy
• happy notes desk calendar
• Various candies: gummies, gum, chocolate bars, cotton candy
• Daisy plant
• Stuffed bunnies for her 2 children

The notes said "let the sun shine in" and "sending sunshine your way to brighten your day" 

Get Well Gift Idea

For a fellow teacher's husband who just recently had hand surgery I organized this super easy and inexpensive get well/speedy recovery care package:

What's inside?:

• little basket I got from the Dollar Tree
• lots of candy
• gum
• tic-tacs
• hand soap
• pain reliever 
• some magazines I purchased and some I "borrowed" from my husband's subscriptions 

Other items you could include in the care package:

• tissues
• Chap-stick
• books
• movies
• I-Tunes or Netflix gift card
• back scratcher
• notepad/journal

Valentines for Kiddos

Need super easy and inexpensive Valentines for your students or your child's classroom?

I would have loved to make some super creative crafty valentine this year that I've seen on other amazing blogs, but I'm recovering from surgery and needed a low-stress idea. Plus, I miss my kiddos so much and wanted to give them something that would really excite them.

Go to your local Dollar Tree or Target's $1 section. They have so many cute valentine items to make a simple treat bag for all the kiddos. It's so easy!

The loot!

And more!

I chose to go Dollar Tree and found these goodies:

• Heart plastic treat bags
• Frog jumpers
• Rings
• Magic Wands
• Valentine themed pencils 
• Smiley face spinners/tops
• Conversation heart candies 
• Stickers 
• Coins
• Valentine themed erasers
• Insects
• Heart shaped doilies

I put them in the little plastic bags and attached the heart doily as a gift tag:

Simple but cute, right?

What are you doing for your kiddos' valentines this year?

Engagement Gift Idea

When one of my besties got engaged last Christmas, I knew I wanted to get her and her hubby-to-be something special to celebrate. I'm obsessed with Etsy so I knew I would find something cute and unique there for them.

I found these perfect hand-painted champagne flutes on Etsy that I thought were fabulous.

They say "Lucky Mr." and "Future Mrs"

What a great way to toast to the happy couple!

I got these at the etsy shop lgrn22 

Cheers!

Mother-in-Law Gift Idea

This post is for all those getting married or newlyweds who are looking for a unique gift for their Mother-in-Laws. 

Looking for something special to get your current or future Mother-in-Law?

The beautiful frame with a pic of my mother-in-law and hubby

I got this beautiful frame from the Etsy shop DeSiLuCoLLecTioN for my mother-in-law Tammy on her birthday after we got married.

For the direct link for the frame, click here.

On the frame it says:

"Thank you for raising the man of my dreams"

Needless to say, my mother-in-law loved it! 

This etsy site has other great wedding party gifts too!

Birthday & Thinking of You Gift Idea

Gift Ideas for the Ladies in your Life

Just wanted to share a great Etsy jewelry shop with you that I found and love: BellaMantra. So many great gift options. Below are a few of the items I purchased as gifts.

Check the shop out here. 

Here's BellaMantra beautiful scissor jewelry that I got for my sister-in-law Tiffany who is a hair stylist:

Scissor headband and necklace for her birthday this year

scissor bracelet for her birthday gift last year

 She loved them and gets complements on them all the time!

My beautiful sis-in-law Tiff wearing the necklace!
 

Just this week I ordered and sent this arrow necklace to my best friend, Jill:

Beautiful packaging with hand written noted included in shipment

How cute is this?

 She is going through a hard time as her and boyfriend broke up so I also sent along a note in the package that said this:

"An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means it's going to launch you into something great. Focus, and keep aiming."

My hope was by her wearing she would be reminded to stay strong and positive.

She loved it and says she wears it everyday!

I love everything in her shop and highly recommend her. She offers amazing gift ideas, fast communication, and super quick delivery.

Baby Shower and Graduation Gift Idea!

"Oh, The Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss: Baby Shower or Graduation Gift Idea

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I had to try it for my co-teacher's baby shower and for my little sister, Kristen, when she graduated from Suffolk University.

As a preschool teacher, I am in love with this gift!!

The book "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss is such a wonderful story that includes so many great quotes on life, thinking positive, and looking forward to your future. For example, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...". Dr. Seuss was such a genius!

When a teacher in my classroom was having a baby I picked up the book for her at Target and wrapped it up in a nice bow. I then found this great printable to include as a gift tag that reads:

"For a fun tradition, sneak this book into  your child's teacher at the end of each school year and ask them to write a small note and sign it.  Give the completed book to him/ her as a gift at their high school graduation"

For the printable gift tag and the inspiration for this gift click here. 

I printed the tag without words and hand wrote the highlighted wording above. 

The mommy-to-be loved it and even cried when she read the gift tag!

For my sister's graduation gift, I bought the book and wrapped in up nice and included a little personal note in the inside of the book cover for her with this quote from the book:

“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!” 

My beautiful sister Kristen

It makes such a great gift for a new baby with so many possibilities ahead of them and for anyone starting a new adventure in life!

xx Kimberly

Gift for Husband: Year's Worth of Dates

A Whole Year of Dates

For the first year of marriage, the traditional gift is paper. So although, I wasn't really thinking I'd get him a paper gift I thought this idea fit in nicely with the tradition. Here's what I did:

On first wedding anniversary was in July last year so starting that month until June of this year I planned 12 dates for us to look forward to. I mixed purchased items (gift cards, tickets) with things we could do for free either at home or around the local community. I created a word document to write a detailed page to explain each date and added pictures/clipart of what we would be doing. I put each printed date along with the tickets/gift cards, etc. and some cute items that went along with the date into a large envelope.

I placed all the envelopes into a nice box along with this note explaining everything to my hubby:

"Happy Anniversary Dex!

For our first wedding anniversary I want to give you the gift of time- just you and me. Here are 12 envelopes, one for each month over the next year. Each envelope contains a pre-planned, (mostly) pre-paid date just for us.  Some of the dates will take place in the comfort of home, some are planned for the local area, and some will take us out of town.  All 12 dates are different.

The plan is to open the envelope together at the beginning of the month, look at the calendar and decide on a date.  So right from the beginning of the month, we’ll have a fun date on the calendar to look forward to.

I love you and can’t wait to spend all this time with you!"

Here's a pic of all the items I used:

An example of the January Date: Bowling, Movies, & Ice cream:

October Date: Haunted Happenings Tour

September:Recreate First Date

Geeky Fun Date: Museum of Science

August: Mead Tour & Hike

July: Paint Nite

Here’s the breakdown of the dates I thought of:

1.     July-Tickets to Paint Nite. Included a paint by number set.

2.     August-Mead Tour & Tasting in NH. We went to a great Meadery in Londonderry, NH called Moonlight Meadery. check them out here! 
I included a map of a local mountain that we could visit to go for a hike and snacks and hiking stuff.

3.     September-1^st date site- Gift card to the Cheesecake Factory. It's where we went on our very first date.

4.     October-Tickets to a ghost tour in Salem, Ma. I inncluded a gooey spider for the Halloween theme.

5.     November- Geeky fun date. Trip to the Museum of Science
 I added a menu from restaurant near the museum that we could visit after.

6.     December- Restaurant Crawl. A night of exploring our local neighborhood. We will plan to go somewhere for drinks, then somewhere else for apps, and then again somewhere else for dinner and dessert.

7.     January- Movies, Bowling, and Ice cream. Included gift cards to the movies, bowling, and our favorite ice cream spot J.P. Licks along with some movie treats

8.     February- Recreate our engagement weekend. Stay in the same Bed & Breakfast we did when we got engaged in Newport RI. Included some bubble bath.

9.     March-Home spa. I listed fun stuff he could choose from: foot rub, back massage, etc. Included massage oils and bath petals.

10. April- Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum visit. FREE from library. I added a map of the museum along with a menu from a pizzeria near the museum.

11. May-Revisit the Scene of the Crime- Gift card to the restaurant where we first met: Ruby Tuesday

12. June-Bike ride along Minuteman Trail near our house. Included trail mix and a map of the routes.

My hubby loves that we have something fun to look forward to on the calendar each month!

My cousin gave my idea to her male friend for his wife for their 1st anniversary and she loved it too of course, so anyone can get creative with this idea! 

All the envelopes ready to go!

Here's a link with the idea that inspired me: click here!

If your interested I could send you the word documents I created to make the pages for these dates!

:) 

Gift for Dad: Xmas, bday, or Father's Day

For my Dad this Christmas I gave him: A Year of Father-Daughter Dates!

My dad is so hard to buy for. He’s not the kinda guy who likes to receive pjs or slippers so it makes it really hard to figure out what to get him. However, this year I wanted to do something really special for him.

I decided to give my dad the gift of time-with ME! He loves spending time with his first born daughter so I thought this would be a great way to show my dad how much he means to me.

First of all a year of dates can get very expensive, so I got creative. I mixed in some great planned, pre-paid dates that I bought but added in several father-daughter dates that are absolutely FREE. My dad loves going to museums and at my local library they offer free passes so I included dates to these fun local places. Once a month you can get free passes to great museums here in Boston at local libraries as long as you book earlier (usually the month before). 

So I organized an explanation for each date for each month in a word document, printed them out, and got a nice box and envelopes to put all the dates in. I also created a word document and created 12 boxes and typed the name of the month in each box to print and put on each envelope.

Here is the note I included in the box to explain the dates to my dad:

Merry Christmas Dad,

For Christmas this year I want to give you the gift of father daughter time- just you and me. Here are 12 envelopes, one for each month over the next year. Each envelope contains a pre-planned, (mostly) pre-paid father-daughter date.   All 12 dates are different.

Let’s look at a calendar and decide on our days of fun ahead of time.  So right from the beginning of the month, we’ll have a fun day on the calendar to look forward to. 
I love you Daddio and can’t wait to spend all this extra time with you!

Starbucks Date

Movie Date

 Here’s a breakdown of all the dates with my dad:

1.     January- Starbucks Date, included $25 gift card

2.     February-Movie Date, included $25 gift card to the movies

3.     March-Tickets to a live show at his favorite theater: Oliver at Trinity Rep in Providence Rhode Island

4.     April-Tickets to Paint Nite. A night of painting a famous painting and drinks at a local bar

5.     May-Museum of Science- FREE from Library

6.     June-Run along Charles River together-FREE

7.     July-Block Island trip, we will plan a weekend to go to one of his favorite places. I’ll buy the ferry tickets

8.     August-Bike ride in Boston, I’ll pay for us to rent bikes

9.     September-John F. Kennedy Museum-FREE from library

10.  October-Isabella Stuart Gardener Museum- FREE from library

11.   November- Four Seasons Date- grab lunch and tea at the restaurant in the hotel (1 of my dad's favorite spots) on me

12.   December- Musuem of Fine Arts- FREE from library.

Tickets to Oliver

September: JFK Museum

My Daddio really loved this gift! It was so easy to do and packed a big punch! I think it would be perfect for a birthday or Father's Day present!

All the dates in their envelopes

Helpful Tips if you want to do something like this for your dad: Be creative, many of these dates are free! Also, livingsocial and groupon are perfect places to purchases good deals on date ideas!

**This gift for my dad was inspired by my first wedding anniversary gift for my husband which I will include in my next post!**

New Year, New Blog. Plus Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

Hi there!

I am so excited to finally enter my first ever blog post. I've been wanting to write a blog for a while now to share my teaching, party planning, fitness motivation, outfit inspiration, and gift ideas with others. I am also really pumped to start reading other blogs to get the creative juices flowing.

I thought I start my first blog by sharing one of my recent Christmas gift ideas that may be helpful for you out there who are struggling to come up with an idea for your significant others for Valentine's Day.

For my hubby this Xmas I did: 12 Days of Christmas! 

This year for Christmas I couldn't think of anything to get my husband Ray. What do you get someone that has everything, right? So I thought I'd get creative. I saw this idea on Pinterest to do 12 Days of Christmas. The 12 days before Christmas you begin giving your hubby a gift a day leading up to Christmas. I knew I wanted to make sure he had a gift to open on Christmas Day so I made sure the 12th day was the 25th. I tried to mix in inexpensive gifts with some pricey ones to not break the bank as 12 individual gifts can get a little crazy. I found these really cute gift tags on Pinterest here. I printed out the tags along with a little card explaining how the gifts were going to work and attached those tags as I wrapped up his gifts.

The tag

The card

Here's what the little card said:

"The 12 days of Christmas is the song that I sing, for the next twelve days, a present I will bring. Today is the day when you may start. Unwrap one a day with love from my heart. Having you as a husband is a dream come true. This is my way of showing you: Merry Christmas to YOU!"

So I gave my hubs the card on the first day of Christmas along with his first gift: tickets to a burlesque version of the Nutcracker called “The Slutcracker” playing at our favorite local theater.

I’ve never seen him so excited about going to a live show before!

Here’s the list of all the gifts I got him:

1.     Tickets to the Burlesque show

2.     2 thermal long sleeved shirts

3.     His favorite underwear

4.     Nice ski socks

5.     Beanie ski hat

6.     2 TV series on DVD

7.     Tickets to Ice Bar in Boston (bar made out of ice)

8.     Flannel shirt

9.     Headphones for ski helmet

10.   Folding Poker table and set (got a really good deal at Home Goods for $40)

11.   Tickets to Medieval Feast in Boston (live show and dinner)

12.   Ski poles he really wanted

You could do this for Valentine’s Day if you wanted! Give your significant other a gift a day starting on February 1st!

I was also inspired to maybe try this 14 Days of Valentines idea for my husband this Valentine's Day, which is a nice inexpensive but creative idea: click here

Here's another great inexpensive idea to make an "All About You" basket to include your honey's favorite things along with 101 reasons you love them, click here:

The idea is to be creative with the gifts, you don’t have to go crazy and spend a whole lot of money but you can make your significant other feel really special!

Thanks so much for checking out my first blog post! :)