Classmate & Teacher Gifts!

Okay, peeps.

What a jolly day this has been. An excellent kick-off to this final week of school before we say peace out to real life, and let Christmas life take center stage.

We’re definitely feeling the holiday spirit ‘round these parts.

And here are some of the reasons:

First, we’re deep in the throes of theme days at school.

Today was Grinch Day, so naturally, the girlies were in green. And Chica drew this rock-awesome picture during art:

Last Thursday was Elf Day and the girlies were dressed identically, but I had a mom FAIL of not catching a pic of Chicklet, as she had to arrive at school early that day, so I was doing drop-offs in shifts, and the sun wasn’t up when I loaded her in the car, ha.



Oh well. At least I caught one of m’elves in the sunlight. 

We also had Plaid Day last Tuesday, which was lovely and very festive—and so photogenically fitting for the day we did this cute little popper project (alas, Chicklet shed her school clothes for pajamas before we got our craft on, so I also have no plaid pic of her. Are we sensing a theme here???).

Here’s hoping tomorrow for Reindeer Day, I snag them both.

And if not, I’ll try again for Festive Headwear Day on Wednesday.

Or Ugly Sweater Day on Thursday.

Or Pajama Day on Friday.

And I’m sure to get at least one of those recorded...right???

(Also, to answer your unspoken question: yes, Little Man is totally jealous of all these theme days and can’t wait to be in on the fun with his sissies next year!)

Anywho...in lieu of theme day pics, I do have these hilarious accessories shots of my crazies today, playing around with the bin of jewelry that was hidden away for nearly a year, but finally found its way to the forefront of their little minds until they bugged me to get it out yesterday.



I love it when something old becomes new again when it’s been out of sight, out of mind for so long. Also. It was a fun bit of silliness for Leaf to utilize last night for a fashion show. ;)

I mean...could they be any cuter???



Hilariously, this is pretty much what Chica looked like from the ages of two to four. Legit.

Okay.

Now.

With that frivolity out of the way...the second reason for the jolly vibes around our casa is a fantastic round of holiday doodling that Little Man and I enjoyed so much this morning:

Truly, madly, this is one of my favorite doodles he’s ever done. 

He even created his own pattern for the penguin’s scarf and hat all on his own. In the YouTube tutorial, each item was just a solid color.



I mean, his is way better than mine!



Here’s his final product with his holiday lights added in the background. I think this one is gonna be framed on the wall for the rest of the month.

And lastly, the third reasons for our holly jollies today...

We finished assembling the little treat bags for the kiddos’ classmates, and Chica, in particular, was my jovial little helper elf.

If you’ll recall, last week, we placed the lollipops in these cute little reindeer cutouts I found at Hobby Lobby:

Then today, we loaded the adorable little holiday bags (complete with cacti in the pattern—so appropriately South Texas) with candy and affixed the reindeer to the front.

They turned out so cute, and they were an excellent way to use up every last piece of leftover Halloween candy we never passed out. Win/win.

All 54 of the baggies (for each of the three kiddos’ classmates) are all locked and loaded and ready for their last day of school...along with the teacher gifts that have been my go-to for three years running.

Mini gift card trees!

I always buy a handful of these trees from the Target dollar bins each year for this very purpose. Along with some mini ornaments, or a strand of battery-powered lights for extra-festive fun. 

Then I procure and hang a few gift cards like additional ornaments on the tree (this year, I did Target, Homegoods and Chick-fil-A), and they always seem to be well received by teachers who love but probably don’t need another candle or bath bomb, ha.

They’re much cuter than these pictures show, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. And like I said, they always seem to be a hit.



So there you have it.

Theme days at school, gift assembling and holiday doodling certainly equate to a happy December Monday.

Hoping to carry this vibe through the rest of the week as we are sooooo ready for the holiday break and might be running on fumes by the time we get there!

Stay healthy, stay sane, peeps.

Over and out.