More Gift Basket Themes

Thrifty Thursday

Last week's post, Christmas Gift Baskets, received a few responses with some great ideas. Here are some of the ideas that were shared with me and my thoughts on a few more themes for giving your extended family or friends a gift that will save you time and money and create opportunities for them to make lasting memories. I have included as many ideas as possible under each topic so if you want, you can pick and choose what fits your style and budget.

Family Game Night
Create a collection of games that the receiving family will enjoy. You can find Bible versions of classic games at Amazon. Add a deck of cards and the book 101 Best Family Card Games by Alfred Sheinwold. The card games we grew up playing, such as Old Maid and Go Fish, would make a great addition to this basket. For a finishing touch add popcorn, candy, or a gift certificate for their favorite pizzeria. Thanks to Christy @ Mercy Every Morning for this idea!

Puzzles Galore
A variety of puzzles can be bought at local discount stores. Be sure to add in educational puzzles and large-piece puzzles for the little hands in the family, or a floor puzzle for the classroom. You can find a variety here. Finishing touches include puzzle glue, a puzzle mat, and some snacks to enjoy while working. Thanks to Dawn @ A Home in the Country for sharing this idea!

Super Sundae
Ice cream would melt, but fill a basket with syrups, sprinkles, or other sundae toppings, and the receiver's heart will melt instead. Include gift certificates to your local ice cream shop, ice cream bowls, spoons, and a scoop. Add goodies like this ice cream shaped candle for extra fun. The book, A Passion for Ice Cream by Emily Luchetti, would thrill any dessert lover. Thanks to FLMom @ The Narrow Path for such a fun treat!

Crafting Fun
Fill a sewing basket with crayons, markers, paint, brushes, scissors, stickers, craft sticks, modeling clay, pom-poms… you name it. Discount School Supply offers a great selection of craft supplies at good prices. Print craft ideas and include to inspire the budding artists.

Bird Watcher's Delight
Have bird watchers in the family? If so, they will love this avian basket. Trust me, I would. Include a couple of inexpensive feeders. I have found them at Big Lots in the $3-5 range. Add some bags of seed. A variety can be purchased from your local grocer or from Wild Birds Unlimited. Birding kids love Audubon plush toy birds available from Ship the Web, and Identiflyer cards (if they have the device that plays them already). A field guide makes a nice finishing touch.

A Colonial Christmas
I put this gift basket together a couple years ago while my boys were studying the time period in school. Press flowers from your garden and glue them to blank note cards. Make authentic quill pens and homemade ink. Include a few batches of homemade Play Doh in different colors (and scents). Sew nosegays or include crosstitch wall hangings and make corn husk dolls for the girls. Create aromatic pomanders. Boys enjoy Colonial games from Colonial Williamsburg, or jacks and checkers, favorites of the time period. For a finishing touch, add a box of homemade gingerbread and a jar of homemade wassail.

The Sporting Family
For the athletic branch of your family tree, buy an assortment of inexpensive outdoor games and equipment. A soccer ball and cones, a football and colored handkerchiefs for flag-football, a nerf set, or horseshoes... just for starters. Make family pennants by cutting the triangular pennant shape from felt. Use glitter glue, fabric paint, or felt letters in a complementary color to add the family name. Add bottles of Gatorade and protein bars for an energy boost.

Computer Whiz
Include goodies such as pc games (our Dollar Tree offers a series based on The Beginner's Bible and Wal Mart offers a good selection in the $10 range), printer paper, software, ink cartridges, mouse pad, or memory stick. A lot of stores offer these items as doorprizes or at a great price on Black Friday. Check your local paper for deals available in your area.

Treasure Hunt
Wrap candy bars in gold wrapping paper. Add a copy of Stewardship Street from Doorposts. Make your own treasure map of where you have hidden a special treasure like a board game, a box of homemade goodies, or a Pouch of Ancient Roman Coins from Vision Forum. Is your budget really tight? Hide small gifts throughout the house. These could be inexpensive toys, craft materials, or whatever the intended family would enjoy. Create a series of clues that will lead the family from treasure to treasure. This will add the value of fun to gifts that might not be as exciting to unwrap.

Tea Party
This one is definitely for the girls in your family. Include a new tea set, tea bags, a recipe for your favorite cookies and the ingredients to make them, note cards for making invitations, and maybe even a guest… a new doll! Also include How to Be a Lady by Harvey Newcomb.

Homeschool Helper
Fill a canvass bag with school supplies and great educational games or fun learning kits. Some of my favorites are available at The Vision Forum, Lakeshore Learning, Answers in Genesis, The School Box, and Home Science Tools.

Literature Theme Basket
Pick a book you love to read to your family. Purchase a new copy and wrap it up with gifts that correlate to the story's theme. For example, a The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe basket could include a batch of Turkish Delight, a sword, a bow and arrow, a toy shofar, a bottle of perfume (for Lucy's potion), and toy crowns. For Around the World in Eighty Days, include an inflatable globe, a deck of cards and instructions for playing whist, chinese checkers, French pastries, toy elephants from the Indian forest, and a puzzle that pictures an iconic landmark from a country Mr. Fogg traverses. If your budget allows, you could also include a toy train or a DVD of the movie version.

Grandparents' Treasure
The boys and I put together this gift basket for both sets of grandparents one year. Both grandmas cried, btw. I made a t-shirt for the grandpas by using iron-on letters to emboss the tee with their grandpa names. For grandma, we used Print Shop to create an "I Love My Grandma" decal that we printed to iron-on paper. After ironing on the decal, the boys made hand prints on the back with fabric paint. As a part of their school assignments, they wrote and illustrated an original story which I scanned and printed two copies of. I laminated each page and created a published work with binding combs. I bought inexpensive canvases, and they painted a picture for each grandparent. Then I added pictures of the boys from various events during the previous year. These were all taken with my digital camera and printed at home. I placed a couple of the better pictures in frames purchased at the Dollar Tree and included scrapbooking paper and embellishments for the others. As an added bonus for the grandpas, I baked homemade apple turnovers, wrapped them in foil and added a cardstock band around each which the boys had decorated with rubber stamps.

Archeology Adventure
Do you have some adventurous boys in your family? Create an event that they will never forget. Start with a CD from the Jonathan Park Series available from The Vision Forum. Add one of these fossil sets for hours of fun. Include toy dinosaurs, usually available at my local Dollar Tree or Wal Mart. Make a batch of chocolate chip cookies and print and include these instructions for a cookie dig. Consider including tickets for an afternoon of archeology at a local museum that provides hands-on experiences. Finishing touches could include an Indian Jones costume or play set.

A Zoo, Aquarium, or Museum Adventure
Give the family you love tickets or a season pass to their local zoo, aquarium, or museum. Package it with the Zoo Guide, the Aquarium Guide, or the Museum Guide from Answers in Genesis. These guides give families hundreds of facts on commonly found animals or artifacts with a Biblical, creationist perspective. For finishing touches, include plastic toy animals found at your local dollar store or Wal Mart.

Meet the Orchestra
For music lovers, Suzuki offers a large assortment of rhythm instruments which are great for budding musicians. Include a good children's book, and let the kids play their instruments on key words or repeated phrases. Add a top hat and baton to the basket for the "conductor" of the family to wear, and perhaps, include a set of ear plugs for the receiving parents!

The Three Trees

Teaching Tip Tuesday

Most of you have probably heard of the Tale of the Three Trees, a traditional folktale, retold by Angela Elwell Hunt. It is generally thought of as an Easter story, but in our house it is a Christmas tradition to read and discuss this beautifully written and illustrated children's book. A few years ago, I found the set of Christmas trees pictured below at our local Kroger store. (This is the best deal I could find online.) I initially bought them because I wanted to spruce up (pun intended) the fireplace. Every time I looked at them, I knew they reminded me of something, but I just could not pinpoint what it was. I don't remember exactly how I finally made the connection, but something jogged my memory, and I ordered a copy of the book.

Each year, after we finish decorating our home for Christmas, we read the story of how three trees, growing side-by-side on a hill, dream of greatness. One hopes to hold treasure. The second wants to be a great sailing ship, and the third wants to grow tall and point to God. All three find their dreams fulfilled, but in the much humbler form of a manger, a fishing boat, and a cross. Though they are not fashioned to be items of significance, each one plays a significant part in the ministry of Christ.

After reading, we discuss our dreams. Just like the trees, we have to remember that the Lord said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness. " And we must respond as Paul did, "Therefore, I will rather gladly boast in my weakness, that the power of Christ may overshadow me." 2 Cor 12:9 We talk about how our hopes and goals must be grounded in faith and we must not consider anything that the Lord calls us to do insignificant. Instead we remember that "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q&A 1)

We also spread all of our Jesse tree ornaments (see this post by Counter-cultural school) across our table and talk about the purpose for decorating our tree this way. We teach that all of the Bible points to Christ, and that He was born to die. He came to earth to secure our salvation. The manger points to the cross, and the cross to the empty tomb. What a cause we have to celebrate!

Time to Vote!

The nominations are in, and it is time to vote. Thank you to all of my wonderful bloggy friends who gave me the nominations needed to be considered for the Best New Homeschool Blog award. This is a true honor, and you guys are the best. So, if you still like my blog, click the link above and make your vote count. Once on the ballot page, click the dot beside my blog name, Home School Dawn, and then click the "vote" button below and your vote will be registered. Thanks so much!

Merry Thanksbirthsary

Milestone Monday

This year brings a wonderful milestone for my family. Michael's parents and mine married the same year, 1968, making this their 40th year together as husband and wife. Michael's parents are coming to visit us for Thanksgiving, and we will celebrate their anniversary, the boys' birthdays, and Thanksgiving in one grand feast. My parents were married closse to Christmas, so our Christmas dinner will serve double duty as a party for them. Thus, this brings the birth of a new holiday season in our home, Merry Thanksbirthsary!

The 40th anniversary is the "ruby" anniversary, and so I have planned a table setting and dinner to match this theme. I will post the menu with links to recipes on a Thrifty Thursday and pictures of the decor after the big event. Today, however, I want to share some of the school activities I have planned in which the boys will make gifts for their grandparents.

Papaw and Nohnie on Their Wedding Day

First, I am going to help the boys research the year 1968 and create a presentation to give during our celebration meal. Given the decade of their marriage, we will probably title it "It Was the Best of Times. It Was the Worst of Times."

I am also going to have them write a "When Papaw Met Nohnie" story and anther similar story for their paternal grandparents. They are going to conduct interviews via e-mail and phone this week to gather the facts about their grandparents' courtships. Then, they will each write a story detailing the events, including illustrations or photographs, quotes from the honorees, and an ending explaining why their marriages mean so much to the boys.

In keeping with the "ruby" theme, I will have each boy paint a "red" picture. Sort of like Picasso when he was in his rose phase, they will paint a picture in which shades of red are the dominant colors. It will make for a good art appreciation lesson, and if the pictures turn out not-so-great, their grandparents will love them anyway.

I look forward to celebrating this milestone with our family and praise the Lord for sustaining their marriage over the years. I also look forward to helping the boys appreciate their heritage and recognizing the blessings that God has given them... their grandparents.

I Love Your Blog

Farewell Friday

Molly at Counter-cultural Mom honored me with an "I love your blog" award. How sweet! Thank you, Molly. I love your blog, too.

I decided there could be no better way to end my week in blogging than to pass this award on to seven of my favs. So, here they are in no particular order.



Mercy Every Morning is a wonderful wife, mom, and homeschool teacher. I have been inspired by her and the great co-op of which she is a member.


A Little Loveliness is so creative! Her blog is the one to visit for inspiration on making your home a place of special memories.


Simply Sisler is a special daughter of an incredible mother. Her mom is battling pancreatic cancer with unshakable faith. You will be moved by the love and faith of this Godly family.


Wonderfully Made is open and honest and has a loving spirit. Her blogs are genuine and encouraging. She has also started a prayer group through her blog, a great way to build an online community.


Heather's Blog offers "Great stories… obvious advice… interesting thoughts." She is my college roomy and a great lady of God.

The Homespun Heart always provides great ideas for making your home a haven. In fact, she is planning to dedicate next week to that very topic. I look forward to the encouragement.

My seventh fav is a blog in the works. I have a great friend from college with a passion for true conservatism. She is a Godly woman who is unafraid to speak the truth. I look forward to the launching of her blog. I'm sure it will be worthy of this award and so I am saving it for her.

I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do. To my honorees, thanks for taking the time each week to write and to share. You have a special place in my bloggy heart. Now, please, pass this honor on to seven of your favs.

Christmas Gift Baskets

Thrifty Thursday

The question of what to get my extended family for Christmas is always a perplexing one to answer. Michael and I have 13 nieces and nephews, all of whom we love dearly. We would give them each their dream gift if we had the money to do so. But alas, we just don't have the money to buy a gift for every member of the family.

We are blessed that all members of the family are Christians and have a proper perspective on the holidays and we have tried to find ways to show our love through giving without breaking the bank.

Last year, I experimented and found an approach that made everyone in the family happy.I made a movie-themed family gift basket for each of our siblings to share with their families. I did the bulk of my shopping at the Dollar Tree, our local everything-for-$1 store. I bought a red serving tray to use as the base and shredded paper to line the tray. Our Dollar Tree also sells a variety of animated movies based on classic literature such as A Christmas Carol, The Last of the Mohicans, and Don Quixote. They also sell books on c.d. We have added Wind in the Willows, Call of the Wild, and Anne of Green Gables, just to name a few, to our collection. I bought each family 3 movies and 2 audio books.

I added microwavable popcorn to the basket. I bought one large box and divided the bags so that each basket received an equal number. I also bought traditional movie theater candy like Junior Mints, Skittles, and Twizzlers. I found some of the candy at the Dollar Tree and bought the rest at Walgreens with coupons. If you have a Walgreens in your area, they offer great coupons and deals this time of year. I arranged everything on the tray and wrapped it in holiday-themed cellophane wrap (also bought at the Dollar Tree) and added ribbon and a bow for a finishing touch. I spent less than $20 per basket, well within my budget.

Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of my baskets to share. I wasn't blogging this time last year. I did, however, just hear from my sisters-in-law that they loved the baskets and want to do the same thing this year! They said that their families loved having a great movie night together, and the kids of course loved the candy and popcorn! Yippee!!!! A happy holiday solution!

Now, does anyone have a basket theme suggestion I could use this year?

The Strong Tower

Wisdom Wednesday

As with most Americans, September 11, 2001, started as usual for me. The boys were babies, so my mornings began early with diaper changes and feedings. By about 7:30 (CDT), they were settled, playing with toys. Then, I would grab my breakfast and turn on the television to get the weather report and news. I flipped on the Today Show and saw the towers.

By this time, both planes had crashed, and smoke billowed from the gaping holes in the buildings. At first, I wondered what movie was being promoted and thought that the special effects were over the top. I turned up the volume to hear Katie Couric and Matt Lauer explain that this was indeed real. Two hijacked planes had been flown into the World Trade Center.

Over the next few moments, a flurry of emotions swept over me.

First, I felt fear.

Who had done this? Why? What would happen next?

Then, I felt sadness.

My thoughts turned to a school in Tribeca, not far from the towers, where, two years previously, I had observed teachers. Most of the parents of children at that school worked in the Financial District. Were those children watching their parents die?

Next I felt helpless. I yelled at the television, "Those towers are going to fall. Get those people out of there, NOW!!!" I wanted to fly through the TV screen and rescue those who were trapped but could only watch.

Then, the worst happened. The South tower fell. The North followed. Smoke and debris flowed through the streets of lower Manhattan like a tidal wave as New Yorkers ran for their lives. The world stood still. I was paralyzed as this horror unfolded before my eyes. I felt sick and numb with grief. I knew that the United States of America would never be the same.

A few years earlier, two different towers fell.

Near the end of my first year teaching, I learned I was pregnant! Finally!!! We had been praying for a child for two years. After facing month after month of disappointment, we had finally conceived. How great our joy! I finished out the school year and resigned. There was no returning to work for me; I would finally be at home with my little baby.

We bought our first house. It was a beautiful, older home in a neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It had been lovingly cared for and retained its original Victorian charm. There was a wrap-around porch and a gorgeous foyer which led into a cozy library. The library had a fireplace, original light fixtures, and built-in bookshelves and window bench; it was a dream. It was going to be the most beautiful nursery that would later be the most beautiful homeschool classroom ever!

Soon after we moved in, I started experiencing pain in my lower abdomen. I kept calling my doctor and was told it was normal and to take it easy for a few days. Then the spotting started. Once again, I was assured this was common and was told to prop up my feet for a while. After a few days of this, I insisted on being examined and was checked into the hospital. As I lay in the hospital bed, feeling pains that I knew were abnormal, I was still being told that everything was okay. I didn't believe it and was consumed with fear.

About an hour later, I miscarried. I was 12 weeks into the pregnancy, but that was far enough along for me to see a child, my child. He had little arms and legs and blue dots where eyes were forming. He was fully human but seen as no more than a fetus by the hospital staff. Instead of him being carried home to our sweet nursery, he was placed in a Petri dish and carried off to a lab. I had never experienced such sadness.

My doctor encouraged us to try again, and we faced eight disappointing months before conceiving for the second time. This baby, however, only lived to 8 weeks gestation.

Over the next year, there were four more times that a pregnancy test gave a positive result. However, before I could get to the doctor for an exam, I was no longer pregnant. The doctor could not determine if I had miscarried or if those tests had been false positives. I was beginning to feel helpless.

My OBGYN suggested it was time to begin testing. She sat with me in her office and explained the possibilities; she wanted me to be fully informed before I began the process. It was her best guess that things didn't look good for me. She wanted me to be prepared to find out that Michael and I would never be able to have biological children.

That's when they fell… those two towers I mentioned earlier. They were the towers of my hopes and my dreams. Disappointment flooded me like a tidal wave. My world stood still, and I was paralyzed by the thoughts that I would not have what I had wanted for so long. I felt sick and numb with grief and worried that I would never be the same again.

But as I looked through the dust and debris of my fallen towers, I saw that "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." Prov 18: 10 This does not mean that I will never experience injury, insult, or heartache, but I am forever safe. Jesus is my strong tower, and His Kingdom will endure forever.

Furthermore, Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I had to come to terms with the fact that the hope and future that Jeremiah wrote about is not wish fulfillment. My hope and my future is Jesus. And I am to pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

The true prosperity of which Jeremiah wrote is that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom 8:38-39 Our Sovereign Lord reigns, and by His grace alone I am forever His. Nothing can destroy that.

So whether we face national disaster or personal pain, may we run to Christ alone. May our faith not waiver in the face of trials. But may we instead, by God's grace, persevere and proclaim , "The LORD giveth, and the LORD taketh away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21

Thar's Gold in Them-Thar Hills!

Teaching Tip Tuesday

Last week I completed two activities with the boys to help them understand concepts related to the California Gold Rush.

First, I scattered bite-sized pieces of candy around the office and living room. In certain places, I hid a single piece but hid a stack of 5-6 pieces in other places. I saved the largest portion of candy (about 20 pieces) for a hard-to-find spot. Before I allowed the boys to enter the living room, I explained to them that they were going to be prospectors just like the "49ers" only they had to find candy instead of gold.

As I had hoped, they were civil at first. Each boy happily took a piece from here or there, not paying much attention to what his brother was doing. Then, Bruster found a larger stash. Immediately, BT made a run for the spot where his brother was collecting. They jumped from spot-to-spot trying to get in on the best finds until finally, BT found the largest stash. Then the race for who could get the most in his bag was on. This led to a great discussion about what motivated prospectors, claim jumping, and the need for laws and government in the west. This discussion was rooted in Pro 16:8. "Better is a little with righteousness than great increase without right."

The next morning, I had them read Chapter 12 of The History of US: Liberty for All? by Joy Hakim. This chapter described in detail the California Gold Rush. After each boy completed the reading, I asked him questions from the text and paid him in play money for correct or well-thought out responses. Some of the questions were factual and some were essay-style. All were asked and answered orally, and the amount I paid them varied according to the difficulty of the question and the thoroughness of the response.

Later that day, I held an auction to demonstrate the effects of the law of supply and demand on the economy of the west. They used the play money earned from the Q & A session to pay for the items they won. First, I offered a piece of styrofoam. The opening bid was $1, and there were no takers. Other failed items were a used fabric softener sheet, a bottle of saline nose spray, and a dried-up glue stick. The high demand items were a Rice Krispies treat, some MnM's, and a new box of crayons. The demand was high, and the supply was low, and so the bidding was furious. The surprising items were a pencil and one green paper clip. The starting bid for both items was really high, $5, and no one was willing to bid. So, I continued to lower the opening bid until I reached $1. Both times, one boy decided that the pencil or the paper clip was useful enough to spend one dollar on it and bid. Then, the other brother decided that he wanted in on the action, creating a bidding war. The pencil eventually sold for $7, and the green paper clip sold for $6.

After the auction, we discussed how supplies were low in the west. As the number of prospectors grew, so did the demand for food, clothes, and mining supplies. The boys understood how merchants profited and made more money than most prospectors.

Book Giveaway!

Christy at Mercy Every Morning is giving away one copy of The Missing Link: Found--the first book in the Truth Seekers Mystery Series by Christina and Felice Gerwitz.

Christy says of The Missing Link: Found that it is"easy to get into, and filled with mysterious adventures, this book immediately reminded me of my love of Nancy Drew mysteries as a child, but quickly proved a little more 'meaty' than Carolyn Keene's series. The main characters are a homeschooled brother and sister, who in the midst of their adventures at an archaeological dig learn to defend their faith in the Biblical account of creation."

It sounds like a great read and a great giveaway! Visit Mercy Every Morning for details on how to enter.

Happy Birthday Bruster!

My Little Surprise

You are the greatest surprise of my life,

and how I praise the Lord for you.

It is a joy to be your mom.

Have a terrific birthday.

I love you, my baby.