Coffee Themed Back to School Teacher Gift!

In just over a week Ariana will be stepping into her German Immersion Kindergarten class for the first time. 

I'm trying not to get emotional about it, but this is the beginning of her full time, formal education for the next 13 years. Not just preschool but "real" school.

Ariana's not nervous at all, and already knows her teacher since she's seen her around CLA. She's excited to have real school supplies this year. A primary notebook, folders, her own pencil box!

To help us prepare for the big day we put together a little coffee themed goodie bag for our teacher to help her get back into "the grind".

See more of our back to school teacher gift at The Shopping Mama and see what all we put in there or what other suggestions might work if you wanted to make something similar for your own kid's teachers this year.

There is also a free printable for the gift tag that I created to make putting together your gift a little easier!

Photo Scavenger Hunt for Kids {Free Printables}

I have moved to Craft and Crave! To check out more fun crafts and delicious recipes be sure to head over to www.craftandcraveblog.com

Ariana and I were thinking of something fun we could do one day and I came up with a nature scavenger hunt. Ariana loves any excuse to use her Fisher Price Kid-Tough See Yourself Camera so I added a bonus challenge for her by making it a photo nature hunt and she had to take photos of each item she found. It became a good way to document our findings. You can shop our favorite kid cameras on Amazon.

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This Nature Scavenger Hunt would be great for the backyard, local park, or a walk in the woods depending on what is around you.

 Print the Nature Scavenger Hunt

I whipped up the list one morning after breakfast and I printed it so that it was about half the size of my printer paper (about 5x7) and easy for her to carry in her bicycle basket.

We took her bike down to the local walking path and start our photo scavenger hunt. She was excited to start searching she hopped on her bike and off she went!

Some of the items were easy to find while others like the butterfly presented more of a challenge but it was fun to watch her and she enjoyed discovering nature around her and checking things off her list as she found them.

And for the city dwellers I've created a City Scavenger Hunt for you too. I tried to include things that I thought most cities would have and that would be easy for kids to find.

Print the City Scavenger Hunt

I included pictures and words to help with reading and word association that's perfect for preschool/kindergarten age but can also be used for older or younger kids too.

You can make your own version of scavenger hunt lists by just thinking about things you would see in your backyard or around your neighborhood! It's fun! Even I joined in on the fun!

Be sure to check out these other fun crafts for kids!

Teacher Appreciation Gift ($10, 10 mins)

I whipped these teacher appreciation gifts up in no time at all. I purchased clear plastic drink cups and skittles and viola!

Each cup took about 1.5 (14 oz) bag of skittles. And it only took about 10 minutes to sort the skittles by color. I printed out a cute tag to put on the straw to finish them off. We have 2 preschool teachers, a gymnastics teacher and a ballet teacher to give gifts too so I knew I didn't want to go overboard or have something that would take a lot of time and money. I'm sure you can relate. 

I'm sure you can design your own paper tags but if you're in a rush or creatively challenged feel free to use this free printable.

Click the image to make it bigger and then save and print!

 I resized mine to 40% on my print preview and printed 2 on each page then I just trimmed along the black lines and made a slit for the straw.

DIY Amaretto Hot Cocoa Mix

This is a perfect (super easy) last minute gift for teachers/friends/coworkers, or make a batch for the family on Christmas morning to sip while opening presents!

Amaretto Hot Cocoa

8 cups dry milk (10oz)

1, 1 lb box confectioners sugar 

1, 16 oz can of Amaretto flavored coffee creamer 

1, 8 oz box Hershey's Cocoa (natural unsweetened)

1/2 tsp. salt

This makes about 20 cups so be prepared to give a lot to friends or cut the recipe down. Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl until combined. Store in an airtight container.

To serve: stir 3 heaping tablespoons of mix into about 6 oz of hot water. Top with mini marshmallows if desired. Enjoy!

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We made this to give to the teachers at Ariana's preschool and we made cute little labels for them and topped the jars with fabric, twine and a candy cane.

Here is the label we made. Feel free to save and print them for your cocoa too!

Want more Christmas recipes? 

You might like Candy Coal,  Egg Nog Cake, or  Candy Cane Cupcakes

I'm linking up with Holiday Bokeh Party!