Just a heads up–May 8th is Teacher Appreciation Day. Many families choose to show their appreciation with a gift at the end of the school year, instead. But it doesn’t matter when you say it, as long as you say it.
New moms have so many reasons to be thankful, starting with each of the ten little fingers and toes on their new arrivals, and extending to the friends and family who so generously showered them with gifts. When these new moms sit down to write thank you notes, their appreciation is heartfelt.
With several new babies arriving in the Pear Tree family this past year, we wanted to find out what new mom gift ideas they most appreciated during that exciting, but exhausting time in their lives. Here are their favorites: Continue reading
Spreading holiday cheer to those who perform important services for us all year long is what Christmas is all about. A gift for your child’s teacher or day care provider may be obvious, but there are plenty of other people, including the mail carrier, school bus driver, newspaper delivery guy, doorman and garbage collector who shouldn’t be forgotten.
Everyone appreciates a little recognition or extra tip around Christmastime. It’s a simple gesture, but one that means a lot, to tuck a little cash inside a notelette or holiday thank you note. In lieu of cash, enclose a gift card to a local store, restaurant or coffee shop. A teacher might appreciate a gift of stationery, supplies for the classroom or a gift card to a book store.
Thank you ideas don’t have to be extravagant—it really is the thought that counts—but your thoughtfulness creates goodwill that lasts far into the new year. Brighten someone’s day with a little green, and see if that warm feeling doesn’t brighten your own holidays.
There are many kinds of gifts, some extravagant, some simple, some thoughtful, some obligatory. This time of year we bring gifts wherever we go, and the expense can really add up—especially when the gift wrap and card cost almost as much as the gift itself!
Gone are the days of attaching a card to every gift. These days, if I buy a card, the card IS the gift, usually with cash or a gift card tucked inside. But sometimes I do want to write a special message to accompany a gift—when I can’t hand it to the recipient in person, for example. For these occasions, I look for creative gift card ideas, and have found that our notelettes are perfect for this.
Notelettes are about the size of a gift card. They’re too small to be mailed, but are perfect for tucking into a bouquet of flowers, attaching to a bottle of wine, or taping to a gift like a gift tag. A notelette gives you just enough room to express your thanks or good wishes without doubling the cost of your gift. And sometimes that’s all you need.
The most thoughtful gifts are the ones with a personal touch, the ones that say, “I thought about you, and I know you’ll love this!” What’s more personal than personalized stationery? It’s a gift that only they can use, chosen with care and imprinted with their name or initials.
This Christmas season I decided to give personalized note cards to all the women in my family: sisters, sisters-in-law, mother and mother-in-law. In choosing the designs, I carefully considered each woman: her style, her personality, her needs – and found a design for each that matched her style perfectly. I then personalized them, some with a first name or initial, some with the family name, and some with both, depending on how I thought she’d use them. It was fun to do, and I can’t wait to hand them out at our Christmas gathering.
All-occasion note card sets also make nice stocking stuffer ideas, because they are gifts everyone can use. We all wish we had a spare birthday card or get well card on hand for those occasions that take us by surprise. And a special stocking-stuffer-size gift for moms or kids are our little notelettes, for those times you want to leave a message for someone you love. Just like a handwritten note, the gift of stationery says, “I’m thinking about you.”
