Travel Gifts

I've posted a couple travel posts about roadtrips and flying in a plane and one of my favorite things to do is to pack some travel gifts. I don't just pack them for my son. I also pack them for my husband sometimes. I'm definitely going to repeat some of the ideas I've shared in previous posts so this is going to be a large list of all my ideas in one place.

For those that don't know, travel gifts are a way to make traveling just a little more fun (especially for kids). I know some people will just go out and buy a bunch of new things to pack in their carry-ons and call it a day. Well, I think it's just a little more fun to open them as presents to add a bit more whimsy to the trip.

For Adults:
1. Sudoku book (or crossword) – or any kind of puzzle book that you're into
2. Fancy Pencils – to go along with those awesome puzzle books

3. Magazine – We don't have a subscription to any magazines for my husband so he loves it when I go to the store and buy him a Wired magazine for the trip.
4. Gum – This is especially useful if you're riding in a plane and need some to pop your ears.
5. Sunglasses – (this is on the kids list, too) These are useful if you're traveling someplace sunny or if you're going to be in the car for a long time.
6. Fun Snacks – I usually buy my husband some snacks that he doesn't get on a regular basis like beef jerky or my homemade seasoned crackers.
7. Travel Pillow or Travel Blanket– If you don't already have one, sometimes it can be great to have something to relax with.

8. Book – I know a lot of people like to have a new book to read while they travel.
9. Power Bank – While on your travels, sometimes you can't find an outlet when you need one so this will let you charge your phone on the go!

10. Book Light – So that you can see your puzzle book, magazine, or book on the road when it's dark or in your hotel room while your traveling companions are sleeping.

For Kids:
1. PlayPack – they come in all sorts of characters from Mickey to Blaze to Princesses to Frozen

2. Small Lego Sets – they make these in every interest known to man! (well, not quite, but it seems like it) Plus, if you have a travel Lego lap tray like we do, these aren't even messy.
3. Coloring Books – they make these in full size and mini sized (perfect for when space is tight).
4. Candy – Clearly, we don't want our kids to be on a sugar-high while stuck in the car, but a fun candy necklace is entertaining and delicious!

5. Pen and Journal – Even for my little 5yo son, he absolutely loved the 6-in-one pen I bought him with the different colored ink and a sketch journal to draw in. Add some stickers and you've just provided hours of fun.
6. Sunglasses – This is an especially great gift if you're traveling somewhere sunny or traveling in the car.
7. Pez Dispensers – You could include this with candy. But my son especially loves all the characters you can find!
8. Books – I usually keep a small supply of new books that my son has never seen in the closet. I buy them from Scholastic during the school year and keep them for gifts. Now that my son is starting to read, these are especially great!
9. Movie – This doesn't have to be expensive! Haven't you seen the $3-$5 movie bins at Wal-Mart? Or how about all those cheap movies you can buy on Black Friday.
10. Create-A-Scene Magnetic Playset – Search it on Amazon. They have so many different ones! I found a Star Wars one for my son last year. He also has a farm one and I know they have a ton more!

11. Small toys – So, sometimes, I save up McDonald's Happy Meal toys to use as travel gifts or stocking stuffers. I take them out before giving the Happy Meal to my son so often that he doesn't even think it's strange or unfair anymore.
12. I-Spy Books – I put this in a separate category from regular books because they hold an entirely different level of entertainment. These books come in all types of characters and themes. Plus, they come for all different age levels. And to top it all off, they come in different sizes (I love the small ones for traveling).

13. Travel Pillow or Travel Blanket – They make these for kids, too! And I know at least my son loves to be comfy when we're on the road or in a plane.

14. Fun Waterbottle – You can buy a bottle with just about anything on it so I like to theme ours around our destination!

15. Collapsible Beach Pail – Seriously! This is only helpful if you're going to a beach. But come on! I don't know how many times we've gone to a store and bought some cheap beach toys after we got to our destination just to leave them at the hotel or throw them away so that we wouldn't have to put them in our luggage. This eliminates all of that!

I hope that some of these ideas are useful to you! And have fun on your trip!

A cute teacher gift basket (mostly from Etsy!)

I'm only a substitute at a preschool so I've never actually received any teacher gifts. However, since my son started preschool this 2014-2015 school year, I have given a couple. Now, as I am preparing to make a couple more for the end of the year, I am looking around for a couple ideas. Now, I will not be using these for myself because I think some of these wouldn't be necessary. After all, in my son's preschool, the teachers don't even have their own desks. However, as he grows and has teachers that are in elementary school, I want to keep some of these ideas for later.

Now, before we get started, I would like to point out that I don't think teacher gifts are always necessary. I have had some terrible teachers growing up that were mean and didn't care about me as a student at all. Personally, I don't think they really needed anything. However, there are so many amazing teachers that go above and beyond when it comes to caring for their students and I think we, as parents, should recognize that and give them a little something extra. That doesn't mean that you need to spend a ton of money on gifts. Especially if your child is in junior high or high school and they have like 10 different teachers! Yikes!

And honestly, most teachers would probably appreciate just a gift card more than anything else. But that's just not my style. Sorry teachers. So this is what I've come up with.

Personally, I like gift baskets. They are my bread and butter when it comes to gift giving. For a really successful gift basket, you have to start with the vessel. This doesn't necessarily have to be a basket. It can be some kind of drink container. Or a bag. Or a crocheted basket (I sell those!). Or go to Dollar Tree and look for something. I know sometimes these can look cheap, but honestly, it's not the basket that matters. And if you think it does, then get one of the things I suggested earlier. You can find something small or large there:

Like this mason jar

or this basket

or one of these

Now, for the stuff you're going to put in there. Again, gift cards are great. Or personalized items. Or practical teacher things. Unless you know the teacher you're making this for loves a specific food item, I would leave any edibles out. Here are a couple things I've found on Etsy:

Personalized stationary like these chevron apple notepads are a great choice. They come in 3 different sizes ranging from $6-$15. Add some cute pens or pencils to make this gift even better.

I love this cute personalized desk name plate that you can get for $14.95.

So of course I had to choose something from my own shop to put in here. But seriously! How cute are these little pencils! They come in 3 different sizes and range from $10-$14

And for my personal favorite, this amazing personalized stamp. How cute is that? It costs $10.50. And trust me when I say this (because I've recently bought something from this woman's shop), from the time that you order it to the time that you receive it is very fast compared to most things you will buy on Etsy. Now add in a stamp pad and you're good to go!

Now, if you were to buy a nice basket and buy every single one of these things, it could easily cost you $100. I don't think any teacher expects you to spend that much on them unless that teacher happens to work at an exclusive private school that costs as much as college. I would only buy one or two of these things and then fill the rest with cheaper items like drink mix-ins or pencils and pens.

At the very least, I hope this helped to add some inspiration for a clever teacher's gift.

Let me know in the comments what you've given to your kids' teachers.

DIY bottle opener

I wanted to make my husband something to put in our 'drinks corner' in our basement. We have a mini fridge and shelves to keep glasses and booze on. I thought he needed a bottle opener. And I don't mean just any little dinky bottle opener. I mean a nice wall-mounted one. Well, all the ones I found online to buy were just so cheasy. They all had these random sayings on them that my husband just wouldn't be in to. So I decided to make him one.

Supplies:
round decorative piece of wood (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)

paint (I chose black for the background and blue for the accent)
paint brush
bottle opener (I got mine for just a couple dollars at Hobby Lobby here)

Steps:
1. Paint the round decorative piece of wood. I chose black because I thought it would be a good neutral background color. Then let it dry.
2. Paint your accent letter on. I actually just freehanded an L on there, but you could easily use a stencil or something. I chose turquoise because honestly, it's my favorite color. Let that dry.
3. Here's the important step. FIND A STUD. Seriously, when you decide where you want your bottle to go, find a stud to put it in. Then, attach the decorative piece of wood to the wall with a 2” screw. The reason I think this is so important is because of how much force you use to open a bottle. If it's not in a stud, your bottle opener will rip out of the wall the second you try to open your first bottle.
4. Now screw the actual bottle opener into the wood. I used 2” screws again and put them right in line with the stud so I have 3 screws into a stud. I know my bottle opener's not going anywhere.

Say Cheese (Decorating with a photography motif)

If you, like myself, have an interest in photography and want to decorate a studio or just a hobby room or something, I have some ideas for you. I can honestly say that I want ALL of these!

Smile Retro Camera Art Poster Print ($9.99)

Camera Vintage Style Pop Art Poster ($9.99)

Sterling Home Portrait Camera Decorative Accessory, 12-Inch Tall ($48)

Ojia Decorative 18x18-Inch Cotton Blend Linen Throw Pillow Cover Cushion Case, Vintage Cameras ($14.95)

Camera Bookends ($39.95)

How do you decorate with photography in mind?

Mother's Day Gift Basket

Alright everyone, I know that Mother's Day is long over, but this can be used for any holiday or birthday. I have one of those mothers that has everything. She wants for nothing and is incredibly hard to buy for! So what did I do? I made a relaxing gift basket. I decided to just go to Target, find a basket, and go from there. This is what I came up with:





Basket $7
Food Network Magazine $4
Wine $7
Candle $5
Candy $4
Magnetic Note Pad $1
Total $28

I made this basket personalized to my mom. She loves finding new recipes. She loves drinking wine (I did have to call my sister to find out what kind she likes though). She loves sugar free candy. What are some things that you would put in your gift basket?

S'Mores Housewarming Gift

If you've been following my blog, you know that my husband and I are buying a house. We actually close on Friday! Ah! We're so excited. Anyway, I was on pinterest (of course) and I saw some housewarming baskets. What? Awesome! I mean, I've heard of housewarming gifts. I've heard of gift baskets. I don't live under a rock. But I was thinking about how nice they sound. It's a good way to show your friends that you care. And you DON'T have to spend a fortune to make one!

It seems like everyone we know is buying a house right now! My sister just bought one last fall, 2 of our friends that are getting married this summer built a house this past winter, and 2 of our other friends literally just moved into their new home a week and a half ago. I thought it would be nice to bring them something just to show that we care. Since we're currently packing, we don't have a ton of time to make something extravagant. We also don't have a ton of extra money. Here's what I came up with and it cost me less than $10! (Sorry about the bad quality pictures. I made this pretty quick and brought it right over to our friends.)




I wrote a little poem for them. If you're not into poems or you think they're too cheesy (cause let's be honest, they kind of are), just put some kind of tag on it that says "Welcome to your new home!"

I bought this lantern from Hobby Lobby. It's originally listed for $9.99, but there's almost ALWAYS a coupon online for 40% off one regular priced item, making it only about $6! They come in almost any color, too. The little 'can' that you see at the bottom is like a Sterno can. You open it up, light it on fire, and use it to roast your marshmallows. I got this one from Dollar Tree. I put enough stuff in there to make 8 s'mores (4 skewers, 8 marshmallows, 16 graham crackers, and 2 chocolate bars). I originally put the marshmallows and graham crackers in Ziplock bags, but then I remembered that I had some leftover treat bags (which you can also get at Dollar Tree). It looks much classier with these bags.

This is what you get! Our friends loved their gift!

Here's a rundown of the costs:
Lantern $6
'can of fire' $1
chocolate bars $1 (I actually got a package of 6 that cost $3)
Marshmallows FREE (I already had some)
Graham Crackers FREE (I already had some)
Treat Bags FREE (I already had some)
Skewers FREE (I already had some)
Total Cost $8

Even if you have to go out and buy everything, it should cost you less than $15. That's still a pretty good deal in my book.

Leave your ideas for what to put in a Housewarming Gift Basket in the comments below!