But I just started my Christmas shopping I got the 3 teacher gifts I'll need. Each got a Vera Bradley mini umbrella. It was a tossup between that and the wristlet, but we've had all 3 teachers before, and I'm not sure which year I last bought that as a teacher gift. Each got a mini umbrella in Jazzy Blooms, on sale from $30 to $15.http://www.verabradley.com/catalog/...te=searchForm&keyword=mini+umbrella&x=3&y=11# And I'll chip in on the class gift as well for the classroom teacher. (The other 2 are the reading teacher and the audiologist.) Also, for all my inlaws, I'm getting everyone tickets for the Fireworks Dessert Party for next summer's joint Disney trip. None of the others have ever seen it, so it's an easy choice. And, best yet, I can ask our travel agent to book it, so all I really have to do is find a creative way to present it. Now if I could just figure out what to get the kids...
I would love one of those umbrellas as a gift! I stand recess duty every day and don't have a spare umbrella...I have a great big golf umbrella and rain boots in my car for when I know it's going to anI, but sometimes I get stuck in an unexpected shower at 3 o'clock and can't get to my car before duty.:thumb:
Just thinking.... this could be my last year buying teacher gifts. (Other than the Religion teachers.) Once they're in middle school, it's no longer realistic.
Wow-I'm actually impressed. Every year I say I will start sooner so I don't get hit with all those expenses at once, but I hardly ever do it!
This is just about the time I started last year, when all 3 kids got a tablet. The year they got a Wii, I started in July. 10 years ago, when I was pregnant and my dad was in hospice, I finished before Thanksgiving, not knowing how December would work out. (Dad made it to mid January.) I love Christmas, but I love it more when I give myself the time to find the right gifts at the right prices. I hate having to settle on something just because time is short.
I won't yell, Alice, because I started in July! I got my sister and Lauren hand-crafted earrings and some baking mixes for my brother-in-law at an artisan fair.
Kinder~I say the same thing but never get around to getting it done before Dec. I have gotten a couple of gifts for family members so far though.
I haven't started yet.. but your post got me started! I love Vera Bradley and have decided to buy all the girls something for Christmas (mom, MIL, sister and SIL).
I'm impressed! I need to at least get a list going. The biggest PITA is buying early for the kids. God only knows what they'll be into come December, lol. For the last couple of years, we've been drawing names for the adults in my family, which helps soooo much. My sister gets a little irritated about that, but I don't get the bonus ($0) she usually gets ($9,000). Beth
I started in February, when Sephora had a sale, and got a few more things last month when 31 Bags had a sale. I'll start for real usually in October, but I want to find out who is doing Christmas where, and how we'll be getting there first, because I sometimes have to factor in shipping costs.
Ok, I will yell! "Overachiever" LOL. I just mailed my moms birthday card to her today and it is her birthday! Luckily for me I ordered her present from Amazon so she had that. Has anyone ever just bought Christmas online???
We started Christmas shopping at the end of July/beginning of August when we were on vacation. My goal is to start wrapping soon.
You really do start early! I've never started Christmas shopping this early & I don't plan to ever. Something would really have to be at a good price &/or something specific I want for a specific person. That occasion has never come up yet. Happy shopping!
I've got the gifts for my gang of friends. I found some amazing recycled glass pelicans this summer. I just ordered another gift, too. Normally the bonus we get in October goes to Christmas, but I had a really bad lightning strike at my house and it didn't kill my computer, but it's crippled. I'll have to replace it.
I've thought about a few things and plan to start as soon as I get the Halloween costumes ordered (this week). I may order a few umbrellas though, VB is a big hit with the tween cousins we buy for.
Alice...you're good! By the time the holiday rush starts you'll be done and able to relax and enjoy the season with less stress. :thumb:I've semi started a mental list of gift possibilities.
Alice, I do cutesy stuff for middle or high school. Something like a bottle of water with a package of lipton tea stuff and a tag that says, "You are a tea-riffic teacher." Or a can of sprite with a tag that says, "Have a Sprite Holidays." One gift our neighbors liked was a package of paper plates wrapped with pretty ribbon and a box of plastic utensils and the tag says, "Don't let your dishes pile up this holiday break. Let our family "do the dishes" for you this week."
We also have exams immediately before Christmas, so after school is always overloaded with extra help. It may not work for others, but it works well for me.
I can't start until there is snow on the ground. It just isn't Christmas while I sit here in capris and a T-shirt! I need to be 'in the mood'. I also have lots of birthdays to do before then!!
LOL! I've started already also. I have my sisters and niece completely done, and I am working on my son and daughter right now. With the current stresses of my husband's job, I think it will be good to get done early.
I admire you. You always start early. I just went to a wonderful mall and didn´t get anything for anyone except me and my daughter. If I had been thinking ahead, I could have started some shopping.
I have a big chunk done. I think I am done for my boys except a book for each stocking and an outfit. I need to inventory all the other toys I picked up this summer on clearance and see if we are covered for all our nieces, nephews, and Godchildren. If we aren't, I shouldn't need much more!
Back to the Vera Bradley mini umbrellas, would it be cool to buy my girls' core teachers a gift like this, but not the PE, Art, Band, Choir, and so on, teachers? The core teachers have them for 2 hours each per day. They are in 6th grade (Middle School)?
Oh, I hate you (not really)! I don't get my first paycheck of the school year until October 31st and after paying for a new air conditioner and $8000 in medical bills, I think this will be a modest Christmas. I don't have any inspiration yet as to what to buy my young adult boys. Any fabulous ideas out there?
I'll be buying for my usual "angels" and then five people total...which is more than ever! My list has doubled, but I still don't think I need to start quite yet.
I can't. Every time I've tried, the it usually ends with the person buying it themselves or ending up wanting something different as Christmas gets closer. All of my friends and family are the type that if the mention something way before Christmas, they end up buying it for themselves.
I don't think anyone should ever, ever feel like they "have to" buy anyone a gift, just as I don't think anyone should expect gifts. (We don't do traditional gifts in my home.) I think the other teachers would LOVE a card from your daughters, though. Cards rock.
I agree that a card would be great! We sometimes get overlooked. My school does a Teacher Appreciation Week and each day of the week the students bring in a gift for their teacher. When I was a grade level teacher at my school, I received SO many gifts. They weren't necessary, but were appreciated. Last year as the music teacher, I didn't get anything. I don't need presents, but I just felt unappreciated. I would have loved a card!
Absolutely. Once you hit middle school, you really don't expect gifts from kids any more. We all realize that having 6-8 teachers per kid simply makes it unrealistic. When we do get gifts, they always take us by surprise. Besides, we don't compare notes. No one knows which kids gave a gift to which teacher. If you still want to get those teachers something, a $5 Dunkin Donuts gift card is a great gift. Otherwise, have your daughter tape a candycane onto a handwritten note.
Technically, I haven't bought them yet, but I'm getting my dad tickets to see Jay Leno live down in WPB. They go on sale in two weeks This is definitely the earliest I ever thought about Christmas shopping. (But I'm still mad that the Halloween candy is out already!)
I've bought a few things, and they are safely tucked away in the gift drawer. When packing up the rental house, I found a few I had bought but lazily put them in the wrong spot so I forgot about them!
One of my daughters keeps a running wish list on Amazon (she is 24). It is great for me and I am almost done with her. The other daughter - well, so far all she has told me is which color and brand of nail polish she wants!
I told my family to check out my pinterest boards. Not the school related ones, but the other ones! Lots of ideas there.
I'm thinking of getting each of the kids a single share of Disney (of course!) stock. I'm still in the "thinking out it and shopping around" phase, but I bet they would get a real kick out of it, and perhaps learn something in addition. There are a number of sites out there; right now I'm compiling a list to get back to over the weekend.
