Out of The Box Valentine's Day Challenge

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching.  What a wonderful day to celebrate those we love.  For the significant person in our lives there may be  a heartfelt card, a romantic dinner date, flowers and maybe even a beautiful gift basket full of things to pamper ourselves. This might also be the night where the evening ends with a marriage proposal.

School children will have their Valentine parties where they will exchange their cute Valentine cards.  Heart shaped cards will be cut out , glue and glitter carefully placed, along with a special message written and proudly presented to their parents as they get home from school.  What a special day!

It is easy to share our love with those closest to us.  This Valentine’s Day I would like to challenge us to think a little outside the box.  Not everyone feels all warm and fuzzy on this day.  In fact,  there are many people who find themselves feeling very isolated and lonely.  If we take time to look for these people we will find them in all walks of life.  You may find them sitting in a nursing home thinking about the loss of their loved one.  It may be a spouse who has recently gone through a painful divorce .  It may be that single person you know at church who has never found their life partner.  It may be that child in your child’s school that  just doesn’t quite fit in with the other kids.  It may be the family in the house down the street who live in difficult circumstances. 

So, my challenge this Valentine’s Day is to find one person who needs to know that someone notices them and thinks they are special.  We can find creative ways to show them that we do think they are special.  We could go to that nursing home and visit, helping someone to reminisce about their loved one who has passed.  We could send a creative gift basket to the person we know will be home alone  on Valentine’s Day.  It may just be a special card that will make the person or child feel as though they have worth to someone.  Maybe the family down the street could use a bag of groceries that has the makings of a special dinner.

Valentine’s Day is all about love.  As we share our love with our families, this year let us share our love to just one more person.  It  may affect someone in ways we will never know.

A Furry Best Friend

A Furry Best Friend

Our Guest Writer, Gretchen Bell, has written a fun recipe that you can use to share with your best friend. The furry ones, of course.

How Can I Say Thank You To Our Music Teacher?

What to give your music teacher…………….

Music is a wonderful thing.  Walking down Main Street at Disneyland would never be the same without the music playing.    A parade would lose its magic without music.  A funeral without music would lose its heart.  Music shapes our world.

While some people are born with natural talent most of anyone who can play a musical instrument has learned the gift of music from a music teacher. Music teachers are people we all should thank because without music life would be so much different.  Music teachers take the time to teach step by step piece by piece always moving a student forward. They inspire and add joy to the world one student at a time.

A music teacher must be patient, creative, and change their teaching style for each student they meet. So how can you thank these wonderful folks?  Here are some great thank you gift ideas to give a music teacher.

 thank you gift ideas for a music teacher

• A biography of their favorite musician (You can find these books at your local book store)

• Write a thank you letter pointing out all you appreciate about your teacher and make sure you point out how they have affected your life.

• A themed Music Gift is a great thank you gift basket idea for a music teacher (You can find awesome gift baskets on the internet.   They specialize in themed baskets and take all the hard work out of it for you.  You can find a perfect basket for the musician and they will even deliver.

• Write a letter to the editor at your school or local community. There is no greater thanks than announcing it publicly.  This costs very little but will mean so much to your instructor. Letting others know what a neat teacher you have will resound over and over again and is one of the highest honors a teacher can receive from his/her student.

• If you like to bake make music shaped sugar cookies.  This is a great idea for little kids who are taking music lessons.  You can find music shaped cookie cutters in almost any craft store.  You can decorate them and attach a note saying how special and how much you appreciate your music teacher. 

• Every music teacher can use a music bag.  They always have music and places to go.  You can even personalize a music themed bag with your teacher’s name.  You can get this done at Planet Gift Baskets as well.

It is a fun to thank your music teacher with a personalized gift or thank you gift basket. The important thing is to remember to say Thank You to those who serve you and your kids.

Saying Thank You To Your Child's Coach is Important

It’s that time of year again.  Summer is fading away, school will soon begin and before we know it the leaves will be falling and autumn will have arrived. I love this time of year.  The air is crisp and cool and as the leaves change colors so a new season is determined to begin.  It can be a beautiful but busy season for a family with kids.

 No long can they sleep in till noon, play video games and chat on face book, endlessly.  Pool days and summer time jobs will be replaced with homework and yep sports!  Sports are a huge part of our American culture.  Parents and grandparents, coaches, spectators, and the players themselves love the competition and work.  But let’s face it. It’s not just the kids who work hard.

  It’s the mom and dad the take and pick up, help buy shoes, find the perfect cleats, bring snacks on their turn, wash dirty uniforms that get placed in the laundry only hours before the big game and on and on. 

So if it had to be said all parents should get a huge thank you gift basket delivered to their door for each season.  But we all know if you are a parent, its part of the joy and work of being a mom or dad.  But there are those coaches that people want to thank.  You watch their dedication to your child and multiple others kids on the field. You know they are standing in the hot sun or cold field when they could be hitting balls or skiing on a mountain with their own family. But instead they are there, rooting, cheering, and training your son or daughter.  Are they perfect?  For sure not.  There are times you know if you could just offer your advice it would go smoother or better?  At least is seems that way. But overall you appreciate their dedication and the many hours they volunteer.  But as the season ends everyone is tired, and even though you thought about doing something great for the coach you have run out of ideas. Everyone has signed a gifted ball before, given a gift certificate and signed a cared. You want to do something unique.  Well, a thank you gift basket is the key.  It can be filled with the coach’s favorite treats, a gift card for a night on the town, flavored coffee and even a personalized shirt.  The possibilities are just endless.  But just think how grateful he will feel long after the games are played when he sifts through the wonderful thank you gift basket that was filled with love and fun from his biggest fans-the parents!