If a person gives you his time, he can give you no more precious gift - Frank Tyger
All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey is one of my favorite Christmas songs, Christmas videos of all time. It’s definitely a fun and festive way to celebrate the season.
Please Come Home For Christmas by Bon Jovi is my other favorite. You can thank me later, for reminding you about this one. 
Household incomes across the country vary greatly from family to family.
Take my household… it relies solely on one income while most families I know have the benefit of two.
And some households have lost their only source of income.
You’ll find that in every neighborhood. In every city. Our checking accounts all look very different right now.
So I understand how difficult it can be for families to afford to give during the holidays.
But I just don’t understand how you can grumble about contributing to a holiday gift for a teacher or caregiver.
These people who educate and take care of our children have their own families to take care of during the holidays.
To support. To surprise with gifts. To cook holiday meals for. To take to visit family in other cities.
How can someone be upset about giving a $50 donation?
It’s not like you didn’t know weeks ago you would be asked for a monetary contribution.
Last year, I emailed my daughter’s class parent after asking if she made a mistake.
(I thought a holiday gift of $50 total for three teachers was too little.)
And she responded that the PTA was told by other parents they only wanted to do $30 per family.
So after giving in $50, Natalie also made a gift bag of products from The Body Shop for each of her teachers.
I just didn’t feel right not adding to that gift in some way because her teachers worked so hard.
This year, my son is in daycare and he’s there for hours every day as I work.
His caregivers comfort him as he teethes and console him if he wakes up Mr. Cranky Pants.
And because I can’t be there for him during the day, they are the ones who are taking care of him. I am so thankfully I found loving people who could do that every day for me.
But I don’t feel the amount being asked for for them is sufficient. And it’s disturbing some parents still complain!
How much is your school/day care asking for this year as the teacher’s holiday gift contributions?
posted in Family Affair, Holidays, NaBloPoMo, Share My World, The Kidlets
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The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is officially over.
I admit to waking up each day of the holiday weekend wondering what day it was and then breathing a sigh of relief I didn’t have to be anywhere but at home with my children.
But it’s now Monday.
Back to work and school.
No more eating homemade sweet potato pie for breakfast or ordering Chinese lunch specials because you crave a break from the candied sweet potatoes and orange infused green beans packed in your fridge.
No more everyone curling up on the couch or snuggling under the covers watching back to back holiday themed movies. Or making cups and cups of hot cocoa and making sure each cup had just the right amount of marshmallows in various sizes.
While Christmas break is on its way and this weekend can be relieved in all its food and fun glory; I thankfully have a few memories to hold me over. My favorite is of my children using water colors, stamp sets, beading kits and decorative hole punchers to entertain themselves after dinner. My kids are so crafty and I love it! And I’m so proud that TV can be turned off in our house and we survive.
This really is the most wonderful time of the year.
