End of the Year Gift Ideas!

I'm here today to share a few end of the year gift ideas from gifts I've received this year from my students. I love the ideas they and their parents come up with and I know that sometimes people have a hard time coming up with gifts for teachers, so I thought I would share a few of the more creative ones I've received this year!

These chocolate pops were a hit with one of my classes. One of my students made these for everyone in the class and used a pointe shoe mold to make them dance-appropriate, so cute!

This water bottle with Hershey kisses inside was really sweet and it was even sweeter that they included a gift card to a local restaurant inside!

Simple, but adorable. A mason jar full of wrapped candy is a great idea! Mason jars are cheap and a great way to store items, and the candy inside is such a delicious treat!

One mom went so far as to crochet flowers for her daughters to give me and the other teachers. How sweet right?! I love it!

Another mason jar idea- but I thought the top was adorable- you are "tutu" sweet! How cute is that?! I love the idea of giving a mason jar full of candy (just make sure it's wrapped candy. A lot of people will not eat food that isn't wrapped for cleanliness reasons!)

Those are some cute homemade items I received as gifts for this end of year. I will keep you updated if I receive any other cute ideas before the year is over!

Do you have any cute homemade ideas for end of the year gifts?

End of the Year Gift Ideas!

Well, it's the end of the school year again- the time for giving gifts to people you appreciate! There's also tons of other events this type of year too which adds up to a big jumbled up mess of gift to hand out! 

Some events I've had to get gifts for lately are: mother's day, father's day, multiple birthdays, baby shower, engagement, graduation, and recital. I know many of you out there might have children and need to give gifts to your kids teachers, coaches, and care givers. 

I'm going to share a few ideas that I have done recently, and also share some ideas that I haven't done but I think would be great for gifts!

On Sunday I went to a baby shower and gave my friend Kayla this gift...

Here are closer looks at each side of the basket...

Here's how I put this gift together...

First I took a laundry basket that I purchased at Walmart for about $5 and then I filled the bottom layer of it with four packs of diapers (which I got couponing!). I bought a few items at Target- stuffed animals, a blanket, rattles, etc...and piled those on top. I stuck her card right in the center. I thought it looked pretty nice and I felt good about bringing it into the shower but I was FLOORED when everyone started oohing and ahhing about how cute it was! I was so happy that my plan had worked and I managed to make such a cute gift for cheaper then it looked!

I also had a birthday to celebrate this past weekend, and I put a little gift together for Rachel.

I gave Rachel one of my FAVORITE gifts to give, a diamond candle! If you haven't already checked them out, definitely go to diamondcandles.com and see what they're all about. I picked out the cupcake candle for her in order to celebrate her birthday. (I recently gave my mom an apple slice candle for mother's day- which she loved!)
I also gave her three little lotions from Bath and Body Works, all that were named after cities in Italy which she can bring with her when she travels to Italy at the end of the month!
I also threw in a Glamour magazine. I received an extra one in the mail this month and thought she might be able to read it on her plane ride to Italy!


For an engagement...

Champagne seemed in order! I huge bottle at that! =)

I also have a bunch of people to get gifts for at the annual recital...

I know from these pictures you cannot see what is inside, but I found these little pails at Target in the dollar bin and thought they were adorable. Then at Walmart I found a bunch of beauty items in the dollar bins. I have five lovely girls who assist me at my dance studio and I wanted to get them each a little something. Inside each pail is a foot soak, lotion, and a decorative soap. Total cost for each gift? $4. Amazing.

For the seniors who are graduating the dance studio, I wanted to do a little something for them as well, but again something cheap because I am definitely not made of money. I dug through my extra gift bin and found three body wash, lotion, and loofa sets which I will be giving them. Those sets were purchased at Kohls when they were on sale for less than $3 each! Nice =)

I have a few more gifts to purchase and figure out- but here are some ideas for those people in your life you greatly appreciate and want to honor during the end of this school year...

1. Get a bin (either a laundry basket or another kind of huge bin) and fill it with something that you know the person loves!
2. Buy a beach bag and fill it with sunscreen, towels, and other items that they can bring to the beach!
3. Plants are always a great gift since everyone loves to see flowers bloom and grow!
4. I would generally stay away from homemade baked goods- most teachers honestly throw them away because they don't know whether your kitchen is clean or not! Stick with something wrapped- it makes them feel more comfortable!
5. Gift cards- coffee shops, spas, restaurants, store- it doesn't matter where it's to- your teacher will appreciate it! I love to get $5 or $10 gift cards and pair them with something else, such as a $10 spa card and some beauty supplies!
6. Fill a canister with mints or candy!

To see more gift ideas- I would definitely check out Pinterest there are always a ton of great gift ideas floating around the cyber-universe!