watermelon caddy teacher gift

another summer is upon us and as usual i'm feeling nostalgic

i'm not sure if it's just that my girls are so big now or that it feels like time is slipping away really fast or both, but when summer comes around it always seems bittersweet ...anyone else with me? anyways i saw these watermelon caddies at michaels last month and knew i wanted to use them for teacher gifts. 

caddy gifts (see here & here for instance) tend to be my go-to thing when i have to come up with gift ideas, i don't know why except all i can figure is that to get a gift that's filled with lots of little gifts just sounds like the best thing ever to me :) it's like the gift that keeps on giving ... and it's organized and compartmentalized #ocdprobs

if you hit that "make" tab up in the navigation bar, you'll find a bunch of gift ideas

 i've done over the years and most of them are the same ha!

these two tins were for my youngest daughter's 5th grade teacher and our bus driver

(we've had the same bus driver since the kids started school! we love her so much. 

i have her number in my phone on speed dial haha)

i filled it with mostly fun things for summer that i picked up in my shopping travels

sunscreen, candy, notepads, straws and an insulated cup from target

filled it with crystal light packets and put the cup in one of the back sections of the caddy :)

threw some tags together in my design program and tied them on, that's it! fun right?

there are so many gift fillers to be found at the dollar store or in the target dollar spot!

just think outside the box a little ;)

these patriotic pencils were in the target dollar bins and i couldn't pass them up

there's just something about the red white & blue during summer time

my daughter plays flute in the school band and wanted to bring a little something extra in for her band teacher - simple ideas for a few dollars make for cute gifts and smiling faces

who doesn't love to feel appreciated? it's so easy to go about our day to day without recognizing what so many people do for us or for our kids. don't underestimate the power of giving guys! 

it feels so good to give - and doesn't have to be material or expensive it can be your time or a particular skill set to lend a favor that can be given as well

i feel like most days out society is so focused on what we can get for ourselves that to teach our kids to put others first has become even more challenging! since it's become so counter culture - so don't underestimate the power of giving and involve your kids!

speaking of ... when did my kids get so big?

last day of 5th grade right here folks

hard to believe they were this little when i started this blog (sniff sniff)

thanks for following along with me here over the years, you really are loved & appreciated ♥