Day 12: Photo Cards of Your Humble Abode

This is not my house. Let's just get that straight. But pretend for a moment that it is. Today's gift idea came from my next door neighbor (this isn't her house either), and it is simply CHARMING! She asked me to help her make photo cards using a little painting of her house that was done several decades ago. I told her I would be delighted to do that! There are lots of websites that allow you to create personalized photo cards, but I am most familiar with Snapfish, so I'll show you the simple process I went through to create a set of photo cards for my neighbor.

1. Have a photo of your house.

2. Scan the photo into a digital .jpg format (or get your neighbor to do it for you as was my case).

3. Go to Snapfish.com

4. Click on the products tab, and select "cards."

There are many styles of cards to choose from, as you can see here:

5. Select the card style you prefer. You will have to narrow your selection to a specific card after this stage.

6. Click "create card."

7. Click on "get photos" and then "upload."

8. Upload your house picture to Snapfish.

9. Drag your photo to the front of the card. After you do this, you can make adjustments in lighting, positioning, and amount of zoom if you wish.

10. Edit the inside of the card. (You can add more photos to some designs, or you can leave your card blank as I did.)

11. Edit the back of your card. This is a great place to say a little something about the picture you are featuring. Here is an example:

12. Be sure to double-check your spelling and make sure you're happy with how the card looks. Then order as many as you like!

I ordered 5 X 7 full photo cards, which were $2.00 each for 1-19 cards. If you want 20 cards, the price drops to $1.75 each. There are less expensive options as well.

Here is a coupon code for free shipping during the month of August, 2012: fsaug30. I found this code by simply Googling "snapfish coupon." It knocked $6.99 off of the total price!

So, after I created these cards as a favor to my neighbor, I decided to make a set for my hubby! (Forget I told you that and go on with your life as usual.)

TALLY:
11 Friends & Family: CHECK
10 Neighbors: CHECK
45 Piano Students: CHECK
4 Charitable Gifts: CHECK
Stockings: GETTIN' THERE
Hubby: Something nifty today!

Day 11: "Bright colored packages tied up with string..."

Today was sort of an odds 'n ends day. I'm really happy about the musical ribbon I found, completely by surprise, which will be the perfect finishing touch to yesterday's project. Is this cute or what?

I'm still not seeing any Christmas wrap in stores (go figure), but how is this for a killer combination? Zebra print ribbon with solid red paper. I love it!

While I was out, I found a nifty seasonal item (marked down 75%) and snatched up three for stocking stuffers. When I got home from my little shopping trip, I found that UPS packages have started arriving! These two contain our neighbor gifts, and they are fra-gee-lay, so I'll have to be careful where I stow them away. My husband just saw what was in the top box as I was typing this, and he said, "I want one!" Excellent.

Last thought for today: FLAT RATE BOXES from the good old United States Postal Service. These are so easy to assemble. Actually, the longer ones (bigger than shirt boxes, but along those lines) don't require packaging tape at all. The taller and shorter one I'm showing here did require tape, but these boxes are FREE, and it doesn't really matter how much you stuff inside, the postage rate will always be the same. I highly recommend these for easy packaging of gifts to out-of-town family or friends.

TALLY: 

11 Friends and Family: CHECK

10 Neighbors: CHECK

45 Piano Students: CHECK

4 Charitable Gifts: CHECK

Stockings: Something added today!

Day 10: Piano Student Gifts!

Today's challenge was a toughy, but I finally found decent gifts for my huge and assorted group of wonderful piano students. When you are a teacher, you like to give your students treats from time to time to show them that you are proud of them and enjoy working with them, right? That's really not easy, especially when the age range is gigantic, the group is made up of boys and girls, you don't have a fortune to spend, and you don't want your gift to be completely lame.

One year, I baked cookies and little cakes for all of my students. I thought I was amazing. I think most of the kids enjoyed this (besides the few who still had them in their piano bags when they came back for lessons in January!), but that was a long time ago. I have twice as many students now, several kids with food allergies, and much less time to bake.

Last year was sort of fun. I decided to go to Big Lots and Dollar Tree with a list of my students in hand. I actually bought individual gifts (all different!) for each of the kids and wrapped them as well. Some were gag gifts (Play-Doh for a 14-year-old, fake blood for a student who liked to make strange movies), and some were relatively awesome. The point is, I tried to match personality with product, at least to the point that a $1-$2 item would allow. Everyone seemed happy, but I know a few had to be scratching their heads when they opened their presents. :)

This year, I'm going with 45 very similar gifts. Because I'm doing this really early (while it's so hot outside that I need a glass of ice water and a desk fan just to comfortably get this blog post typed), I have more options than usual. I don't want to spoil the surprise for any student readers who might be among us, so I'll give you the general gist of things.

• Online companies such as For Teachers Only and Oriental Trading Company sell lots of items in bulk. That's a great thing in my case.
• Gift bags containing more than one item increase the odds that each student will find at least one thing inside that he or she actually likes.
• If you're on a budget, a colorful cellophane goody bag is easier to fill than a larger gift bag.
• It's great when the gift has something to do with the subject you teach and/or the occasion you are celebrating.
• Something that indicates that you really like and appreciate your students is also cool.

I browsed teacher blogs looking for gift ideas for students and found that I'm not alone in the budget department. It seems to me that most teachers aim to spend between $1 and $5 per student, probably depending a bit on demographics, class size, and location. I haven't determined how much I spent per student yet, so I'm a little nervous about finding out. Here are the numbers:

$18.00 Wrapping/Bags/Presentation

$28.00 Appreciation Item

$155.00 Various other items pertaining to the subject and season

I don't do math in my head. Do you? Let me get the calculator...

Okay, the total amount spent was...$201.00. Divide that by 45 students, and you get...$4.46 per student. 

I can live with that. The truth is, I'd like to do a lot more for them, but hopefully my students will feel loved and will know I'm proud to be their teacher!

Christmas in August TALLY:

11 Family and Friends: CHECK!

10 Neighbors: CHECK!

4 Charitable Gifts: CHECK! 

45 Piano Students: CHECK!

Day 9: What about the neighbors?

We good people here in the neighborhood tend to give each other a little something the week before Christmas. Nothing lavish or over-the-top, but a little something to let each other know that we enjoy living in close proximity to one another. In the past I have given baked goods, coffee, and stuff from Starbucks. This year, I'm going with humor, so y'all who are within a stone's throw of us...get ready.

As a rule, I think neighbor gifts should be cheap. I mean inexpensive. And I certainly don't expect the people who live near me to give me stuff. I admit, though, that I get a nice warm and fuzzy feeling when I set a little something by a neighbor's front door during the winter holidays. Gee, I even feel a happy sense of community when I dole out candy to trick-or-treaters, despite the sobering fact that (I hope you're seated) Halloween is one of the holidays I'd like to destroy for all time. Don't get me started. I guess I like feeling as though I'm a part of a neighborly sort of family, and even though we don't often get to spend time with the people in this "family," we do want them to know that we appreciate them and are glad to have them near us. Pass the Kleenex.

TALLY:

11 Family & Friends: DONE!

10 Neighbors: DONE!

4 Charitable Gifts: DONE!

Stockings: Not empty!

Day 8: Hobbies to the Rescue!

There are a few family members on my list who are very difficult . . . to know what to do with for Christmas, and they're all men. The main reason these people are challenges is that: A) They would be fine with getting nuttin' for Christmas, and B) They already have everything they want. But we haven't reached a point in our familial evolution at which it has become the norm to not exchange gifts. We've definitely simplified and streamlined as our children have gotten older (and what a relief that has been!), but we still like to give at least a little something meaningful to each person in the family (unless we have an agreement - in writing - that neither of us will give each other anything).

I just went ahead and called my brother today and asked him what he wanted for Christmas. His first reply was, "Nothing." Expected that. We eventually got around to the idea of gift cards, and the baby brother finally gave me the go-ahead to get him some magical plastic (that's a gift card) from an online photography site. He loves photography, so yay!

I'm not a person that thinks gift cards are impersonal, but I know some people do. If you're one of those, consider making them more personal by focusing on your recipient's favorite hobby. Here are some thoughts:

Bakers: Bake It Pretty
Coffee Lovers: Starbucks, Keurig
Cooks: The Cook's Warehouse Online
Writers and Readers: Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble
Jewelry Makers: Fire Mountain Gems
Musicians: Sheet Music Plus, J. W. Pepper, Musician's Friend, Amazon.com
Runners: Running Warehouse, Super Runners
Scrapbookers: Scrapbooks.com, Michaels, A.C. Moore
Yoga: Gaiam, Yoga Accessories

I don't have experience with some of these stores, so I can't vouch for their awesomeness (or lack thereof). Nevertheless, it's a starting place.

What do you do if your challenging recipient doesn't have any hobbies that you know of?  Or what do you do with someone who loves to give but hates to get? Stay tuned...I'll have to tackle these issues soon, whether I like it or not!

TALLY:
11 Friends and Family: DONE!
4 Charitable Gifts: DONE!
Stockings: Half Full! (Leaving room for Santa, of course.)

Day 7: Geeky Stocking Stuffers!

Alert! Major headway was made in the the stocking stuffer department today. I discovered an online store called Think Geek and immediately filled a cart with hilarious and fun mini-gifts for my manly brood. I won't post the items I actually bought for my men, but take a look at these treasures:

Okay, so I actually did buy the Like/Dislike Stamp Set (for myself) and the Cosmic Catnip Bubbles (probably for the cats). How could I resist? This place has unique gifts I haven't seen anywhere else, such as Star Trek iPhone 4 covers, light saber pens, a whole category called "Wacky Office Supplies," and Ice Princess Ice Cube Straws. What more could you want? Right now they have free shipping on orders over $75, or $5 off any order over $35.

Here is what my disguised master list and calendar look like as of this evening:

TALLY: 

10 Friends & Family: DONE!

4 Gifts for Charity: DONE!

2 Gifts for the cats: DONE!

Stocking Stuffers for Manly Brood: About halfway there!

Day 6: Charitable Giving and the Salem Red Sox

There is a wonderful organization in my city called the Roanoke Valley Interfaith Hospitality Network. It's basically a cooperative, non-denominational effort between churches and volunteer workers with a mission to assist families who have encountered significant financial difficulty, including the loss of a home, to get themselves back on secure footing. From the RVIHN website:

The Interfaith Hospitality Network is comprised of 26 congregations and over 1,000 volunteers who provide temporary housing and meals to homeless families. Each congregation provides private rooms, meals, and volunteers for one week at a time.

Isn't that wonderful?

Like many people, my husband and I love to share our Christmas giving with those who are less fortunate than we. I know you can relate to the desire to help make a child's Christmas wishes come true, particularly when you know that some parents simply can't make that happen on their own.

I spoke to a friend today who is the president of our local IHN board, and she pointed out that there is an overwhelming outreach to children at Christmas time, which is fantastic. Parents, however, often go without. Her suggestion was to give a few Walmart gift cards to the parents who are being hosted with IHN so that they can buy whatever they want or need for Christmas, which may include gifts for their children. I thought that was a lovely idea.

According to the store's website, Walmart gift cards never expire, so I was able to confidently purchase my gifts for IHN now without worrying that they would become worthless by Christmas. Gift cards ship for free if ordered from the Walmart website.

Rounding out my Christmas shopping today: two stocking stuffers! I found these in the gift shop at a Salem Red Sox baseball game this evening. The pink and green ball is for our cats. The shot glass is for the hubs (who will never know about this unless one of you tells him, so don't tell him). :)

TALLY: 10 friends and family covered, 5 stocking stuffers ready, one cat treat, and 4 charitable gifts!