And a few MORE CUTE GIFT IDEAS WITH FREE PRINTABLE TAGS

Buying little gifts for lots of people can quickly add up to lots of $ so I decided to come up with a few cute and inexpensive ideas that won't break Santa's bank! 

This time of year everyone is super crazy busy & hurried so it's nice to have 

a few things wrapped up and ready to give when you realize you need them-

for teachers, co-workers, friends, neighbors, etc.

For the past two years I have posted some CUTE & QUICK CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS

HERE and HERE for gifts that are great (& inexpensive) 

to give to co-workers, teachers, or neighbors

or just to have around during the Christmas season.

I've already post a few new ones this year that you can find HERE

and below are some new ones I recently came up with 

that are super easy and super inexpensive!

Idea #1:

I usually have several Sonic and Starbucks gift cards 

on hand just in case I need a quick, easy gift. 

I decided it was time to create a little printable tag to go with them!

For a bigger gift you could even add a gift card and tag to a cute cup or mug.
(Cute bag found in dollar spot at Target)

Total Cost= $5+

Idea #2:

Flair pens are the BEST and every teacher I know loves them so!

This little printable is perfect to go with a set of Flair pens.

They come in tons of sets, in tons of color 

so you can purchase either a large or small package!

Total Cost= $6.29 on Amazon or $11.45 on Amazon

    

Idea #3:

I saw this idea late one night on Pinterest

and knew I had to make some for folks in my office. 

Because sometimes, you just need chocolate, right?

I purchased the containers at Hobby Lobby for $2.99

and the candy at Wal-mart. 

This could also be done with seasonal candy

 (Valentine's Day, Halloween, Christmas)

but I made mine generic so it could last all year. 

I purchased 6 small bags of candy 

and that amount filled all 6 of my containers 

with a few left pieces of candy left over.
I also added a $5 bill so they could get a
Sonic or Starbucks drink when needed. 

Total Cost= $7.99 + cost of candy

Idea #4:

I love our mailman and decided I needed to create a little printable 

to add to some cookies so I could leave him a Christmas treat. 

I kept the printable fairly generic so you could add anything you'd like to it- 

candy, cookies, a gift card, etc. 

Total Cost= $4

Idea #5:

I love Gingerbread house kits and think they make a great gift for a family!

I purchased this one at Wal-mart for less than $9 and they 

had TONS of different versions- both big and small. 

Total Cost= $9

Note: 

I printed my tags on white cardstock- sometimes in wallet size and others in 4x6 

but they are all in JPG format so you can print them in any size you'd like!

You can find all of tags from this year and last year in the folder  HERE. 

Scripture Bags

A few months ago I went to a fundraiser for our local maternity home. I drove home that night thinking that I wanted to start doing something for the sweet mamas staying at the home each month. I decided that surrounding them with scripture to remind them of God’s great love for them would be my goal and that each month I’d give them a bag full of scripture. As I finished the bags for this month and prayed for these sweet mamas this morning, I thought I’d share what I put in each bag in case you have someone that needs to be reminded how loved they are. It only takes a few minutes and can cost almost nothing!

In the bags this month I included:

A “ Who I am in Christ” image that I laminated. This was written by my precious friend Terri’s mama and I love it so. You can print a copy here: https://goo.gl/hCidkJ .

The Comparison & Envy Scripture Writing Plan for this month. Last month in their bags I gave them the plan and a notebook. This month’s plan I put in a page protector. You can print a copy here: https://goo.gl/eoX1Lw.

A bookmark I created and had printed. You can make your own or purchase one.

This super cute magnet I found at Hobby Lobby. It was $2.99 and found in the check-out area.

A printable of 2 Chronicles 20:15 (which is one of my all-time favorites) and an army man. I love this reminder that the battle is His, not ours.  You can print a copy here: https://goo.gl/Bn8jzT .

Micah 5:5 verse printable that I created and printed at Walgreens and placed in a $1 frame from Michael’s (that was on sale for 50 cents). You can print a copy here: https://goo.gl/rLojGL .

Everything in the bag I already had except the magnets and the bags themselves. Total it cost me about $20 for 6 bags. It doesn’t have to be expensive at all- you can truly use what you have! 

Pray for God to show you someone who needs a little encouragement and a reminder that they are loved and create your own Scripture Bag surprise for them today!

Bible Blessings

My precious friend Betty is one of the most amazing ladies I've ever known- 

she is godly, so wise, and has the biggest heart of anyone I know. 

She is an incredible teacher, friend, mother {and Gigi}and

 is such a fabulous example and role model to everyone in her life.

She is truly beautiful- inside and out! 

We became friends shortly after my mother died and

 although she's a little young to be my mother she definitely has helped

 to fill that mama role for me and I thank God daily for her. 

Betty recently retired from teaching and moved several hours away 

to her new lake house {I see lots of lake trips in my future!}. 

I'm so happy for her but will miss her SO!

As we prepared for her retirement party 

I began trying to think of a gift idea for her. 

What do you give someone who has made a huge difference

 in your life and in the lives of so many others? 

As I sat down at church one Sunday morning and 

opened my Bible, I had an idea. 

Here's a picture of a page in my Bible.

As you can see I write the date of a verse when I read it. 

I've been doing this for years and absolutely love looking back 

and seeing when I read a verse- 

and thinking about what was going on in my life during that time. 

It's like a history of my scripture reading and I love that! 

As I looked at my Bible I thought of how neat it would be to give

sweet Betty a new Bible to take with her- 

full of all of her friends favorite Bible verses. 

So I purchased a new Bible for her along with some pens and highlighters. 

At her retirement party I set out the Bible with a sign for everyone to find

and highlight their favorite verses and then write their name next to it. 

It was so neat to see what verses people highlighted as their favorites! 

I plan to do this at Madison's graduation party {just 2 years away- eek}

and let all those people who have impacted her life highlight 

their favorite verses and then send it to college with her. 

How great will it be to have godly wisdom and advice from those she loves? 

I {heart} Sonic ....part 2

So Angie {a sweet commenter} asked if I would change my
This home runs on......sign to This classroom runs on.....
so it could be used for a Teacher Appreciation gift along with a Sonic card. 

Isn't that a fabulous idea?

So below is the sign with the word classroom instead of home.  

Yay for giving your child's teacher Sonic gift cards!

It's truly the fuel that keeps us going!

This Classroom

Big Girl Panties

I love the saying

Put on your big girl panties and deal with it! 

and say it fairly often. 

{usually in regards to myself}

As I mentioned the other day our school district is doing some major cuts and my position is being cut from 6 ladies down to 3.  I work with some amazing and fabulous ladies and this situation is difficult because we all truly love our jobs.  Knowing that only half of us will remain in our current position next year is hard and the not knowing until this summer is REALLY hard. 

We are getting together this week for a belated Christmas celebration

 {two of us were out for surgery in December} 

and I decided that perhaps we could all use some "big girl panties" 

so that is part of my gift for them.  

Here's what I did:

First I grabbed one of the tons of Crystal Light

 containers I have saved 

{I drink LOTS of it and the containers are awesome- 

you just have to cut off the wrapper and 

you have a perfectly clear cute little container!}

and cut off the wrapper. 

Next I purchased some plain ladies underwear. 

{of course you could use any kind of panties}

Next I rolled each pair of panties into a tight little pantie burrito

 and taped them with a piece of scotch tape.

Then I typed up a little paper with a cute pair of panties 

and the big girl pantie saying. 

{I'll post it below in case anyone wants a copy}

I printed them on a regular sized piece of white paper

 and cut off the space at the bottom. 

I took a pantie burrito and wrapped the piece of paper around it 

and secured it with a piece of double stick tape.

I slid the pantie burrito into the Crystal Light 

container and put the lid on. 

I then added some fun ribbon and my big girl panties were ready to go!

big girl panties

 

Disclaimer: This is meant to be purely a visual representation of a very 

COMMON silly expression and is certainly NOT meant to offend anyone.