Simple and Thoughtful Gift Idea!

Happy Tuesday friends!!

I hope your week is off to a good start!!

I am a person who loves to find things that "work" and really stick with those items/systems/rhythms. We have A LOT of set routines in our house that we repeat over and over again. We have set meals that we eat on a weekly basis. We have a special traditions that we do for birthdays and holidays. When it comes to gift giving- I buy the same gifts every year for our teachers, I gift my in-laws the same thing...you get the picture! I have found that by having special types of presents assigned to specific groups of people- it makes gift giving NOT stressful. It also allows me to plan in advance which is so important to me! I am very protective of my time during the month of December. It is important for me to be full present to celebrate Advent and do all the Christmas-y things I enjoy the most (bake, listen to Christmas music, spend time with my family)!

So with all that being said AND with the holidays literally just a few weeks away,  I wanted to share a simple and thoughtful gift idea that is not only a lovely Christmas gift, but also a wonderful hostess gift. If you are going over to someone's home for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving- this gift would be perfect to bring your hostess.

You are going to need to purchase, at minimum, two items, for each gift.

First item: a Festive Bath and Body Works soap

I wait for these soaps to go on sale and then if possible, stack a coupon with the sale. I just bought a BUNCH of soaps and with the sale + my coupon- I was able to get them for just under $2.70 a soap!  Before I shop for my soaps, I make a list of all of my kids' teachers, decide how many soaps I want to give them and then think about anyone else that is on my gift list (e.g. friends, school secretary, etc). When I go to shop, I know exactly how many soaps I need to add to my cart. I always add a few extra for those last minute "I need a gift" situations!

After you've got your soaps purchased- you need to pick up some cute holiday hand towels. You can get these at TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Kohls..anywhere! I like to get mine from Target. These are the specific ones I get! They come in a pack of two, are very soft, super cute and are only FIVE DOLLARS! (as I type this blog post- they are currently on sale for $4.00!!)

Just like the soaps, make a list of who you are shopping for and decide if you are going to give that person one or two towels with the soap or soaps you have purchased!

I didn't even go in the store to get my towels from Target! I placed a big order of towels for pickup and it was just SO easy.

Ok. So we have our soaps and our towels.

Now it's time to decide if you want to gift certain people just one soap and one towel. Or do you want to do two soaps with two hand towels?

I think for a hostess gift, one soap and one towel, wrapped in a pretty gift bag with a holiday themed thank you card is PERFECT.

If my child has a teacher's assistant in their classroom, I gift him/her a soap, a hand towel and a $10 gift card with a hand written note from my child.

For our teachers, I give them 2 soaps, 2 hand towels, and a $25 gift card.

And obviously, if you wanted to enhance the gift even more, you could add in a hand lotion and a larger sized gift card!

I always want to give gifts that are simple, practical and thoughtful. I also like to give things that I personally would love to receive! Festive soaps from Bath and Body Works feel special to me and I love having fun hand towels to put in our bathrooms at the holidays!

I have been giving this gift for over 8 years now. I LOVE having a "set" gift I give every year to our teachers. Our teachers love their gifts. And I love being able to plan ahead, stay within my holiday budget and give a lovely and thoughtful gift!

I'd love to know- do you have a certain gift you buy every for certain people?

And just for fun- have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

Also- I didn't get my usual Monday blog post up- but I did get our meal plan done for the week! Here is what we're having for dinner this week in case you need some ideas!

Here's to having an awesome day!