teacher gift

I was tearing up listening to her say goodbye to the class.

My son had the MOST amazing teacher this year. AMAZING.

He just got out of school on Friday and I sooo wanted to do something fun but that also showed how much I appreciated all she did this year. Trust me, it was a lot!

I saw and idea to fill a water bottle with Crystal Light packets and attatch a note saying, "thank you for quenching ______'s thirst for knowledge this year." It was cute but I wanted something just a little more. I found my inspiration while walking around Target. It is very easy to do isn't it?

After I had all the items, I had to come up with some sort of note to make sense of everything! You know how some things make sense in your head, but then once you have shared it out loud...it doesn't quite sound right? I do that a lot!

When I shared it wth my daughter (12 )and asked what she thought, she shrugged her shoulder and said, "hmmm, it's not as bad as what others do." Nice.

So here we go... ( I didn't write out the whole thing, sorry!)
" I know it took a lot of ENERGY to have Ivan in your class"= V8 Energy drink

"You deserve to relax in STYLE (People style watch magazine

"while SOAKING up some SUN" (beach towel and some Sun chips)

 "You are SIMPLY the best" (Simply brand lemonade)

"we would CHEWS you again for a teacher" (gum)

" You have QUENCHED Ivan's thirst for knowledge" (water bottle)

"Although every day was not a PICNIC (the basket it came in)

"and some days were full of lemons but you turned them into LEMONADE" (individual lemonade drink packets)

"It was such a TREAT for him to be in your class" (Rie Krispy treats)

"We hope you have a wonderful summer BREAK" (ice breakers)

I grabbed some inexpensive ribbon at Michaels and tied it all over the basket handles.

Ivan wanted to do something just from him so we got a Lego City book (he is a Lego maniac)  to donate to her class and put his picture inside of it. We wrote a little note and he wrote his name with the date.

How about you? Did you do anything for teacher gifts this year? Do you do a gift? Card?

Sigh, this also made me cry as she told Ivan how much she loved him and how proud she was of him.

10 shop local ideas

You may have read my last post and felt like you want to shop local, but just aren't sure of what you can do.

Now I want to go on record as saying, I am not AGAINST mass merchandisers. I am a frequent shopper in many of them. However, I also know how much those little purchases, at your local stores help. So here are just a few ideas to help keep some of your Christmas budget local...

1. Going out shopping? Hire a babysitter! There are many looking to make a little extra money, and they are not all teenagers. Do you know a mother with older children? Or a friend from church, school, work?

2. Hire a housekeeper. This time of the year is so crazy busy, think of hiring someone to come in and help you out a bit. Maybe for a special night (party?) or to help you get some of those big jobs done.

3. Hit up a bakery, instead of the grocery store. Need pies? Cookies? Or other sweet treats for your holiday table? Go to a local bakery instead of grabbing one out of your grocery store!

4. Tired after a whole bunch of shopping? Head to a local restaurant for that lunch/dinner.

5. While I don't drink coffee myself, many people rely on it to keep their energy up while shopping. Once again, go to a local place instead of a big name brand company that rhymes with shmarbucks.

6. Hire a local friend or photographer to take your family picture for a Christmas card, instead of heading into a studio.

7. Many places, while have a "name brand" company are individually owned and operated. For example, our local Hallmark is owned by a local family. I can still use my Hallmark coupons, but am helping to support a local store.

8. Attend a craft fair. People are selling things they have made and they are neat, one of a kind items! I love attending craft fairs.

9. Buy gift certificates to your local stores. Who wouldn't love to recieve a gift card for a local bakery or coffee shop? Think teacher or neighbor gifts, people who live local and would really enjoy it.

10. Host a party for your favorite direct sales company. Earn some fun rewards and help out a friend.

Any other ideas? I would love to hear them!

Product Review and GIVEAWAY

**I was provided the shirts free of charge from Crazy Dog Tshirts but am not recieving any sort of compensation for my review. Opinions are all mine.**

I told you I would be back fast with another giveaway!

Are you a child of the 80's? OK I am not really, but it doesn't mean I can't love their movies right?

Crazy Dog Tshirts, had some really funny t-shirts that you can't find in stores. It was like a trip down memory lane, looking at the fun 80's (and some early 90's) movie shirts.

The shirts came very fast, were of a high quality material and a good price.

I am kind of **cheap** but I thought these would be a fun gift idea for the men in your life. I mean how hard are guys to shop for right? I was able to get Ben a Hoverboard shirt and he loved it. Wore it all over Legoland! (:

I also found one for my brother that I am so excited to order for him at Christmas! I know he will love it!

If you are interested in looking at some funny t-shirts, head over to CrazyDogT's

But, the generous people from CrazyDogT's have offered a great giveaway for the MarthaWannabe readers!

Enter for a chance to win either:
A free mystery t-shirt (you select size) and you will recieve it in the mail

A $15 g/c to use on their site (a code will be sent to you via email)

Here is all you have to do to enter (and trust me, you have plenty of ways to earn additional entries!)

1st entry: leave me a comment telling me what your favorite 80's movie is!
2nd entry: become a follower of MarthaWannabe
3rd entry: like MarthaWannabe on Facebook
4th entry: become a fan of Crazy Dog Tshirts on Facebook
5th entry:Post a comment on the Crazy Dog Facebook wall, telling what your favorite tee is or asking a question
6th entry: Like one of their products on their website

Giveaway will be ending a week from today on Nov. 6th!