Teacher Appreciation Gifts: Favorite Things & Free Printables

First off, thank you so much for all the kind, encouraging comments about my last post.

When I hit the "Publish" button, my stomach did a little somersault, knowing that I was exposing some very private moments from our lives.

But God has shown me time and time again that exposing my faults, and sharing my story, helps others who are experiencing the same thing. It gives a tremendous amount of comfort to people knowing they're not alone in their struggles.

So, thank you again for embracing our story and giving me the courage to continue to share so openly here on this blog.

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Now on to a much lighter topic... Teacher Appreciation gift!

I don't know that we officially celebrated "Teacher Appreciation Week" when I was growing up. But I am so glad that we do now.

Teachers are one of the most important people in our children's lives. They often spend more time with the child than the parents do on a daily basis, and they do so much more than just teach our children "book knowledge."

They show our kids how to socially interact with other children; how to express themselves when they have an idea; how to foster that idea and create something wonderful from it; how to take pride in their work and excel at things they never knew they could do. They are the cheerleaders, the counselors and the hug-givers. They are often times a role model and a superstar in our child's eyes.

I could go on and on, but I'll save my "Love Thy Teachers" speech for another post.

Today, I wanted to talk about what I'm giving my kids' teachers next week.

I am very fortunate to be friends with all four of our teachers. I really, truly like each one of them and have gotten to know them well throughout the year. So instead of just giving each of them a Target gift card (which all 4 of them requested) I thought I'd add a few more goodies to the bag and share with them some of my go-to favorite things.

These items don't cost a lot, but are such fun little things to receive.

First up, snacks and treats!

Emerald almonds are my all-time favorite nuts. They are a healthy snack and they taste great. I always have a couple containers of the "Dry Roasted" almonds in the house, but for a special treat, sometimes I'll get the "Cinnamon Roast" almonds. They are so addictive! These little boxes have (7) 100-calorie packs in them. So I bought both the Cinnamon and the Dry Roasted and I'll include a couple in each bag.

All of our teachers also like "Sweet & Salty" so this "Monster Mix" from Target was perfect. It has nuts and M&M's and chocolate chips. The perfect blend. And I thought it was just too perfect too pass up considering the teachers have to deal with my little "monsters" sometimes. :)

I also purchased two bags of these Dove chocolates. One dark and one milk chocolate.

I am a choc-o-holic. I love chocolate. And I've tasted a LOT of brands. Dove always reigns as my favorite. And it's on sale this week at Target!

Next up, some practical everyday items:

 How cute are these travel Kleenex? I love the new designs they have come out with, and I am never without a travel container of tissues. Especially during this horrible allergy season!

Another item you'll rarely ever find me without is Wet Ones. I'm kinda obsessed with them. They're great for cleaning little hands after the park or before a snack; they remove stains from clothing; they work well in a pinch if your kids are at a public restroom and there's no TP... the uses are endless.

I particularly like these Citrus-scented ones. They smell amazing...like pineapple or something tropical like that. Try em, you'll love em!

Then last but not least, I wanted to share a couple fun beauty items with my favorite teachers:

This Aveeno hand lotion is amazing. It's the perfect size for a purse or desk drawer, it doesn't have a strong scent, it gives you great moisture, but doesn't leave a greasy residue behind (gross!). I love it.

The little pot of rose-colored Vaseline is just too cute not to share. It's literally smaller than a golf ball, so it can travel with you just about anywhere. It has the slightest pink tint to it, but not so much that it looks like lipstick.

And finally... my little beauty secret...NYC liquid lipshine in "Nude York City." I'm telling you, this is the most universally-flattering lip gloss out there. It's not sticky, it's not wet, it's not too much color, it's just all around perfect. And the real kicker...this baby only costs $1.67!!! Can you believe it?!? SUCH a steal! I've only ever seen this NYC brand at Target though, so I'm not sure if it's available anywhere else.

And of course I'm also going to include little Target gift cards as well. Our teachers deserve to be recognized for all of their hard work throughout the year, and I intend to do so.

As for packaging all these little goodies, check out these adorable free printable tags:

This one is available at Dimple Prints:

 

  These cute apple ones are available at Tip Junkie:

 

These fun bright ones can be downloaded at My Frugal Adventures:

 Or maybe you prefer a softer pastel palette? You can snag these cute flower tags at Diva Entertains:

 

Whatever you choose to do - even if it's the sweetest handmade card from your child with a sincere note from you as well - please be sure to let your precious teachers know how much you appreciate them next week.