Tag: Christmas Presents

12 Days of Christmas – Day 9

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Would you rather always know what the perfect gift for someone else is or get the perfect gift from others?

Well this one is special to me because I think I’m a pretty good gift giver if I do say so myself. I would totally want to know what the perfect gift for someone else is rather than getting the perfect gift from others.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year for many reasons but one of the main reasons is the gift giving. I LOVE searching for the perfect gift for everyone in my life. Ha December is easily the month of the year my bank account hates the most. I feel like I’m financially stable up until holiday shopping comes around and then, not so much!

I definitely spend way too much on people but it’s just so fun to put together something you know they’ll love and truly appreciate. For example, my best friend is a Star Wars nerd as well as super into vinyl records. This year I got him the original 1978 Empire Strikes Back Vinyl that has the whole score for the first movie on it. Since it was an original from 1978, it wasn’t the cheapest but it was so worth it because he loved it!

I am the worst when it comes to buying things for my sister. (When I say worst, I mean I’m the best at getting her what she wants but the worst to myself because it leaves me broke!) I have a soft spot for her and Christmas really shows that. The first year I actually had some money in my bank account, I got my sister an iPad….I still don’t know why I did that but I know she wanted one so bad and I wanted to make her happy. (That easily cleared out my bank account that year.) When she was little she LOVED anything pink and sparkly, so one year, everything I got her was pink and sparkly. Just seeing her so happy makes me happy. (She’s also obsessed with bows so I always get her a giant one every year to embellish her gifts with because it adds just a little big more of that joy to her face!)

Now that I’m a teacher in the real world however, I don’t have much money to spare when it comes to Christmas. I know how over the top I can be so I’ve started a tradition to buy custom mugs for my family members. It’s a cheap thing to do that is also super personalized to them. I’ve loved watching their faces these past few years when they open their yearly mug.

I am going to add that I wouldn’t mind getting the perfect gift from someone. I have to admit that I am a hard person to buy for so if I was surprised by something perfect, I would love every minute of it.

Come join our 12 days of Christmas Blogmas fun!

To join in on the festivities, go check out our amazing leader Abbey’s page at Three Cats and a Girl! If you find her 12 days of Christmas tab, you’ll see her posts from this Blogmas along with her past 3 YEARS worth of Blogmas posts!! If you want to read more Blogmas fun, go check out the pages of my other friends; AJ at Petite Slice of Life and Amber at To the Great Western World!

Go check out my Instagram page @lifeoftherookieteacher for more day to day fun and live activities!

Year 5 what!? When it’s 80 degrees in Minnesota for the first time in 8 months, you take your reading test outside. ☀️ #teachersofinstagram #teacherlife #teachersfollowteachers #5thgradeteacher #5thgradelife #teacherstatus #teachergram Who stole Cinderella’s slipper?? Enjoying this wonderful weather while we have it! #minnesotalife #teachersofinstagram #teacherlife #teachersfollowteachers #teacherfeaturefriday #sunshine #summerwhereyouat 🚨 LIFE UPDATE 🚨 🚨PRE STATE TESTING ALERT🚨 Also, jumping on the virtual holiday class picture bandwagon!! I love my little elves!! ❤️💚 #teacherlife #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #holidayseason #teachingin2020 #happyholidays #pixtonedu When it’s officially Christmas break and you can say peace out to teaching in 2020! 🙌🏻 We survived people! 2021, we are SO ready for you!! Blogmas Time!!

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Blogmas Day 10 – Favorite Present Given

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Blogmas Day 10 – Favorite Present Given

I LOVE Christmas because I LOVE giving gifts. I tend to pride myself on my gift giving skills. I love to find the perfect gift for each of my friends and family. My favorite site to look on for gifts is Etsy. I love finding personalized gifts that you can’t get or find anywhere else.

I can’t think of any specific gift that I have given that is my favorite but I do have a favorite gift giving tradition. I love to give my parents and sister the same thing but personalized to them. I first print off an 8×10 picture for each of them representing something we did together that was special that year. I have them framed and wrapped. I love pictures and I think giving pictures for Christmas adds a special touch without paying too much or trying too hard.

I also give one another gift to each of them that I find awesome and hilarious at the same time. Each year I give them a customized/personalized mug that fits their personality. This year, I think my dad’s is my favorite.

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Click Here to Buy on Amazon

I found some pretty fun ones for my mom and my sister as well.

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Click Here to Buy on Amazon

 

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Click Here to Buy on Amazon

I love giving gifts to anyone and everyone in my life. I just LOVE this time of the year!!

 

Want to participate in Blogmas 2019? Check out the following guidelines!

Last year you might have followed along with the 12 Days that I did with some of the gals listed above and we had such a good time that we decided to celebrate again together this year! So without further ado here are the guidelines for my 12 Days of Christmas.

  1. use the image provided in each post, so that way anyone who might jump in later can see what the plan is for the month.
  2. for sure link back to me, Abbey@ThreeCatsandaGirl, so that way I can celebrate your Christmas with you and maybe get some ideas of how to create festive enjoyment!
  3. spread Christmas cheer in the way you know best!

 

Blogmas Days 5 and 6 (PLUS Hot Chocolate Craft!)

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Blogmas Day 5 – Tree Skirt

This is a hard one for me. I know some families have a tree skirt that they may have used forever and it has sentimental value….not our family. We would usually buy a tree skirt every few years from Target, but they’d always be the cheapest one they had. My mom always said that it’s better to focus more attention decorating the tree itself than buying something expensive to go underneath. We also would have a ton of presents for friends and family under our tree, so we never really could see the tree skirt.

When I moved out into my own place, I wanted to buy a nicer looking skirt for my tree because I wanted it to have a full and finished look. I got a pretty white and red one from Hobby Lobby last year and have it again this year.

Blogmas Day 6 – Anti Wish List

This one is hard for me!! I usually don’t even have a wishlist for myself on Christmas. I’m a lame person who prefers giving gifts rather than receiving them. I am appreciative over anything I get. Being a teacher, I get a lot of amazing gifts but I also get a lot of gifts that I don’t really have any use for. I am grateful for anything and everything I get. Because of that, I don’t really have an anti wishlist.

Want to participate in Blogmas 2019? Check out the following guidelines!

Last year you might have followed along with the 12 Days that I did with some of the gals listed above and we had such a good time that we decided to celebrate again together this year! So without further ado here are the guidelines for my 12 Days of Christmas.

  1. use the image provided in each post, so that way anyone who might jump in later can see what the plan is for the month.
  2. for sure link back to me, Abbey@ThreeCatsandaGirl, so that way I can celebrate your Christmas with you and maybe get some ideas of how to create festive enjoyment!
  3. spread Christmas cheer in the way you know best!

 

School Fun – Warming our Hearts

In school yesterday we did one of my favorite projects of the year that I wanted to share. It is one of my favorites that we do during the holiday season. The project I got off of Teachers Pay Teachers a few years ago from Counselor Keri‘s shop for $2.00. It was totally worth it! We start the activity with a mindfulness activity that gets them thinking about what makes them happy. They pretend they’re holding a cup of hot chocolate and think about the warmth they feel. We talk about how that warmth is like how our hearts feel when we’re happy. After the activity, I hand out 4 paper marshmallows and ask them to write something that makes them happy on each one. They then cut them out and put them on a hot chocolate (paper) mug they already have colored. They always turn out so cute and sweet.

 

 

For more day to day action and activities, go follow my class’s Instagram @lifeoftherookieteacher!!

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Blogmas Day 4 – Opening Presents

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Blogmas Day 4 – Opening Presents

This is one of my favorite topics! As much as I’d love to say, “I don’t care about opening presents,” that would be a total lie. I love opening presents! There’s something so sweet and exciting opening a gift that contains a surprise just for me. Who doesn’t love that? I will be honest and say, however I LOVE watching others open gifts that I have purchased for them. I love buying and wrapping gifts for my friends and family and I love watching them open them.

In my family Christmas Eve is spent with my parents and sister. This is the day we open all of the gifts we have gotten each other. When we were little, my sister and I opened all of our gifts first because of the little patience we had. As we grew older, we started to enjoy taking turns with our parents. We now take turns from oldest to youngest opening gifts. My dad always starts, followed by my mom, then myself, and finally my sister. I love watching the three of them open their gifts.

I’m not going to lie, I think pretty highly of myself when it comes to gift giving. Ha, I take my sweet old time picking out the perfect present for everyone in my life. My favorite resource is Etsy, AKA the BEST personalized gift giving site to exist. There’s something so fun for me watching them open the gifts I spent so much time picking out.

On Christmas day we follow a similar pattern. We celebrate Christmas with my mom’s side of the family. We take turns (from oldest to youngest) opening gifts. It is always a family joke that my youngest cousin has to go last because, even at the age of 20, she constantly wants to open all of her gifts first and hates to wait. In recent years, with everyone getting older, we have started a new tradition where instead of buying gifts for everyone individually, we buy one gift at a certain price cap, wrap it up, and then play the dice game together. It’s a new twist on our family tradition.

This year I am so excited to watch all of my friends and family open all of the gifts I have gotten for them. They are all sitting underneath my tree waiting to be opened.

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Want to participate in Blogmas 2019? Check out the following guidelines!

Last year you might have followed along with the 12 Days that I did with some of the gals listed above and we had such a good time that we decided to celebrate again together this year! So without further ado here are the guidelines for my 12 Days of Christmas.

  1. use the image provided in each post, so that way anyone who might jump in later can see what the plan is for the month.

  2. for sure link back to me, Abbey@ThreeCatsandaGirl, so that way I can celebrate your Christmas with you and maybe get some ideas of how to create festive enjoyment!

  3. spread Christmas cheer in the way you know best!