My friend Krista is a genius when it comes to inexpensive yet meaningful gifts. I recently shared with her the high number of people on staff at our son’s school who are supporting him as he continues to grow and develop and that I had no idea what to do to honor these people in (affordable) ways.

Of course, there’s his inner circle of staff, like his classroom and special education teachers, his paraprofessional, and his bus driver, all of whom he adores. Those are people I want to spend a little extra on, while still not going crazy.

Here are a few ideas my friend shared with me that I thought were too good to keep to myself.

1. A cheery holiday mug – loaded with love.

  • At the Dollar Store/Dollar Tree, etc. pick out some cute holiday or winter mugs
  • Get some specialty hot chocolates to put in each mug
  • Candy cane
  • Give a card with a personal message of appreciation

2. Bake a pan of these Cake Batter Brownies by Sally’s baking addiction and cut and individually wrap a treat in colored cellophane and consider adding a gift card to a store or coffee shop that you think they would like (just $5-10 would still mean a lot). Some gift card ideas we talked about are Target, Caribou or Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

3. A hand decorated card with a meaningful message and a homemade coupon to buy them the next cup of coffee or meal you share with them.

So if any of you are having belated/spread out Christmas celebrations or parties and need something quick and easy, I hope this helps take one more thing off your list.

Merry Christmas and enjoy some time to slow down and thank God for the gift he gives each of us in the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus, our Lord.