Valentine's gifts for the teachers

Last week, I think, I got Hershey's Special Dark chocolate bars at CVS. They were 2/$1 and I had several B1G1 coupons. So each bar was .25! My choices were to save them all for myself or quickly commit to making them into gifts. Fortunately, I chose the latter.

I covered the wrapper with Valentine themed scrapbook paper. I cut a 12x12 piece of paper into 4 6"x6" squares. This was the perfect size for wrapping around the bar. But first I held the candy bar up to the window with a piece of white cardstock in front. I traced where the words SHE (in the middle of the word Hershey) and SPECIAL appear on the wrapper. I cut out those areas from my white cardstock. That became my template to trace and cut the four pieces of Valentine paper.

When the paper was wrapped around the candy bar, the words "she" and "special" were visible. With a Sharpie, I added some words to make the sentiment complete..."Mrs. Smith--(She) is a (special) teacher!"

I hope this can help someone with a last minute, inexpensive gift. I know that all of the teachers I made this for love dark chocolate!

Angie

Shopping for Christmas 2009

There is no denying it--I enjoy getting a good deal. But when it comes to gift giving, I really try to find/make a gift that will be appreciated by the receiver. So I shop the after-Christmas sales with one-part adrenaline rush, one-part list of recipients in mind. This gets more complicated when buying gifts for my husband's department at work.
This year he asked me to assemble gifts for 8 men and 8 women, most of whom I don't know. (I don't have pictures, so bear with me.) In the gifts bags for the women, I included a Glade candle, a loaf of pumpkin bread, packet of "good" hot cocoa, and a pack of Christmas napkins, all nestled in a holiday bowl. In the men's gift bags, I had the same holiday bowls with napkins, breads, bag of assorted nuts, and an outdoor wipe mitt (great find at Dollar Tree). Each gift, including wrapping, cost under $5!
I'm so excited to already have my idea for the co-worker gifts for 2009: At Walmart, I found large plastic red/green bowls with holiday motifs around the brim. They were 50% off ($1.20) and will make the perfect fruit bowl. At Michael's, I found large cellophane bags marked down to .49/each. They will wrap the finished fruit baskets, and I will tie them with a pretty bow. (Ribbon also found on clearance.)
I plan to fill the bowls with pineapple, clementines, apples, bananas, and whatever else is on sale. A few wrapped candies scattered on top will add the final touch. Once again, I think I can assemble these gifts for under $5/each.
What is your favorite gift to give to non-family members?