Semi-Homemade Holiday Teacher Gifts

I always say: Teachers cannot be appreciated enough! What a tough job. They spend the day, shaping the minds (and manners!!) of our future. Wow! The holdiays are one of my favorite times to show our appreciation for the teachers in our lives.

I'm still working on my ideas for this year's teacher gifts, but here's a peek at last year's gifts for inspiration, as well as the semi-homemade 'how to!' I had 7 teachers and 3 director/administrators I wanted to appreciate, so 10 total gifts. The recession had begun... so I had to come up with 10 gifts on a budget. But I still wanted big impact, as these teachers had a big impact on our kiddos.

The container: I started at the mecca for semi-homemade budget-friendly greatness... Hobby Lobby. When they advertised glass containers for 50% off, I grabbed 10 cylinders. (I want to say they cost about $2.50ish each.)

The layers: This is where you can go from the semi-homemade to the totally homemade - whatever suits you!

1. Mnm's - My vision was to use red & green Christmas mnm's.... but apparently, I didn't share that part of the vision on my grocery list.... and Mr. Fix-It came home with the regular ones!

2. Brownies - If you've been reading awhile (or if you know me!) you've probably gathered
that I LOVE brownies. That I pretty much make them for every event. (Made some last night for the kids' school Thanksgiving dinner!) I've even gotten pretty good at them over the years, and my brownies draw their fair share of compliments!
So, I made these brownies.... but you could easily buy the brownie bites and use those!

3. Soft peppermints - I LOVE these! Mmmmm.... so minty and creamy! AND they take up lots of space, so they're an affordable filler!

4. Cookies - again, lots of wiggle room here for how time consuming you can go! Me? I bought some bakery cookies - shhhh!

Other layer ideas: nuts, craisins, red and green gummy candies, chocolate covered pretzals, homemade bread (I'm thinking cranberry orange or pumpkin), homemade fudge - I could go on all day!

The custom touch: I love personalization and giving gifts that custom touch! Remember the gift tags I made for all our presents last year? I used those for the teacher gifts, too! (This year, I like the "sweet" tag on the top picture!) And I tied it on with.....

....tulle, of course!! It's time to restock the Semi-Homemade tulle supply for the holidays and the new year! I get all my tulle at Nashville Wraps. They have THE best color selection at THE best prices right here. I need red, pink and green for Big Sis's bday gifts & decorating.... shades of blue for Christmas.... orange & black for OSU graduation gifts and bday gifts for my fav alums.... and a rainbow of colors for all the fun kiddie bday gifts! (Their ordering can be a little tricky, but you can email me with any questions. It's so worth it!)

The final touches: I wrapped the whole thing in cellophane (you can buy it in a roll, like wrapping paper!), so the yummy layers could shine thru! I added a personal note to the back of each tag and let Big Sis hand them out to the teachers. They were a huge hit! And at under $6/each... I felt like I was showing my appreciation in a BIG way... even though I wasn't spending big.

Have a great idea for semi-homemade teacher gifts? Email me at oursemihomemadelife at yahoo dot com with your ideas and photos. I'd love to share them here on Our Semi-Homemade Life!

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Don't forget to vote for me in the Design Dazzle contest! You can see G-man's Pirate Nursery here. Leave a comment and YOU will be entered to win $500 in super cool prizes for you and your kids!