It’s Gift Guide time! For those of you who have been loyal blog readers, you know this is my 16th year of providing age appropriate gift selections through my holiday gift guides. If you’re relatively new to the blog, welcome! I’m here to make your holiday shopping easier. My 2023 Holiday Gift Guides are full of items…
Gift Guides
The Best Age-Appropriate Advent Calendars for Kids
When I was little, it was a family tradition to always have advent calendars to start the month of December. Each day my brother and I would open a little door that revealed a piece of chocolate, with the final one being opened on Christmas Eve. The tradition of advent calendars continues in our house,…
Gifts for College Bound High School Grads
Huge congratulations to the high school graduate in your life! As a parent, it’s so exciting to watch your child walk on the stage and off, diploma in hand. Celebrating 12 years of hard work is a wonderful thing before thinking about what comes next. After the high of graduation wears off, the reality of…
Gifts for the Best Dogs in Your Life
The links in this gifts for the best dogs guide are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link. Confession: I never had a dog growing up but now can’t imagine life without ours! Oliver, our first Yellow Lab, was a gentle giant alpha…
A Parent’s Guide to Giving the Best Teacher Gifts (by a teacher!)
When my kids were in elementary school, one of my favorite parent volunteer roles was serving as class room parent for my kids’ teachers because I LOVED shopping for teacher gifts. As a teacher, I knew first hand how hard my kids’ teachers worked each day, spending hour upon hour instilling important knowledge, skills, and…
2022 Gift Guide: Best Subscription Boxes for Kids, Teens & Adults
The links in this best subscription boxes guide are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link. Everyone loves getting mail but mail is even better when it’s a box filled with goodies you get on a regular basis. Just like there’s an app…
2022 Gift Guide: Best Gifts for College Students
The links in this best gifts for college students post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link. This year my daughter started her first year of college. Together, we did a great job anticipating needs and shopping before she left for school,…
2022 Gift Guide: Best Gifts for Teens (Ages 13+)
The links in this gifts for teens post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link. Parenting high schoolers and teaching middle schoolers provided an interesting perspective on ages 13+. We tend to think that teens are closed off and moody but they’re…
2022 Gift Guide: Best Gifts for Tweens (ages 9-12)
The links in this best gifts for tweens post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link. Being a middle school teacher meant I spent a lot of time with tweens. This age group wants to leave childhood far behind in favor of…
2022 Gift Guide: Best Gifts for Early Elementary Ages (grades K-2)
The links in this best gifts for early elementary ages post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link. Years before I became a middle school teacher, my first teaching job was as a first grade teacher. As challenging as it was to capture the…