Mrs. Grisham's Christmas Vacation and the best Student Gifts Ever!

Hello everyone!!

This first week back from break sure has flow by. I have 3 meetings this week, yes THREE!! Who does that the first week back from break?! Thankfully I work for an amazing school district that pays us extra for all those extra, after-school meetings so I don't mind too much :)

I have a great New Year Resolution Writing/Craft FREEBIE that I will share tomorrow because of course I left my flash-drive at school, bummer. My plan was to share that today, but seeing as I don't have the file, I will share about the adorable gifts I got my from kiddos and my vacation instead!! I also have a fun gingerbread unit I'm working on with my kiddos that I hope to share soon but back to the gifts and vacation!

We rarely see my husband's family (they almost all live out of state), but once every few years everyone flies in from various parts of the country to gather at grandma's house and spend a week together. We spent 12 hours driving to grandma's house and the trip was great! It was BEAUTIFUL!! While it was weird to experience Christmas without cold weather, a little vacay in the sun was nice! My body loved that vitamin D! We were able to have lots of family time, go hiking, explore the beach, wine tasting, and we even saw the magical musical "Into the Woods". Such a great trip! After 5 days we were ready to go home, but of course we missed everyone the second we left.

Before we left for vacation, I had a Christmas party with my class where we watched Frosty the Snowman and ate candy canes, yum!! My sweet class brought me the best gifts ever! I worked at a private school for 5 years and while we didn't get many student gifts, they were often expensive, nice gifts their mother had picked out. While I sure loved those Philosophy gift bags, the students often had no clue about the gift and there wasn't a ton of love behind them. 

These public school kiddos are so different and I love it!! While the gifts are not extravagant at all, I can tell that the students actually took the time and thought about me. I love that they care about me as a person just like I care about them. I wanted to share a few of my favorites this year because they are just so adorable. I sure felt loved when I received these gifts!!

This was a Thanksgiving gift but I still love the heart behind it! Granola bars with a note about how awesome I am in addition to all the "teaching and learning" ( This inspires some new writing mini-lessons)

Half used gel pens, some colored paper, and a candle tin with the candle already melted away (I'm actually going to put paper clips in this tin, I love the pattern!)

A "teacher" pen that was being sold in the student store for $0.50 with a lovely hand drawing of an ornament.

Here is some others from mostly students and a few co-worker gifts. Just love it!!

I of course gave all my kiddos a little something too. Candy canes, a fun Christmas pencil, and a free book certificate to Scholastic!! Usually I actually order books for them, but I was a bit behind this year with that schedule so coupons it was!

I'd love to hear about your vacation or your favorite student gifts; comment below! Happy Holidays!!