Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Surprise Treats

Surprise Treat #1

One thing I’ve quickly learned since becoming a parent is that certain holidays (Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Teacher Appreciation Day) are virtual days of obligation when it comes to getting a gift for the teacher. I learned the ropes rather quickly when I was ill prepared for Lily’s first Valentine’s Day and showed up empty handed while other parents (children) brought in elaborate gifts for each of the classroom’s teachers. The same is true for many other areas of life. Administrative assistants expect some type of recognition on that national holiday, grandparents on Grandparents Day, Mothers on Mother’s Day and so on and so forth. While I’ve known this for a while it has never been more clear for me.

So…armed with this information I set out to impress for subsequent holidays. You may recall my “You’re Dynamite” gift for Teacher’s Appreciation Day last year. Unfortunately on those “days of obligation” the person you are recognizing expects the gift and thus the power of your true appreciation is diminished. For all those who have children you know that the counters are lined with presents on those special days but rarely does a parent take the time to recognize and thank the teachers on any other day.

Out of this comes today’s creative idea. The thought behind it don’t wait until one of those special days to recognize someone. Okay, okay...I know this doesn’t sound terribly new or terribly creative but…consider this. St. Patrick’s Day has a special place in my heart and luckily lends itself to fun treats. So…in addition to those obligatory gift days I’ve decided to recognize Lily’s teachers on St. Patrick’s Day.

On March 17th I’ll present Rachel, Psasha and Miss "RoRo" with their very own St. Patty’s Day treat that exclaims, “I’m so lucky to have such a sham’ROCKIN’ teacher!” Not only do I get the privilege of recognizing them 1:1 instead of being one gift of many but for a few bucks (3 $1 buckets from Target, $2.99 cellophane at World Market, and $3 bag of candy means I spent about $3 per teacher) I can let my daughter’s teachers know that I REALLY appreciate them and not that I just felt obligated to give them a gift on one of the typical holidays.

So…my challenge today to each of you is to select a day…maybe it is Earth Day, National Dill Pickle Day, Crème Filled Donut Day, or just the 18th of every month to recognize someone in your life. You’ll see that this Random Act of Kindness goes a long way towards making someone feel truly special. So, what’s your day…let us know today what day you have selected and if you already have an idea for a fun slogan for your treat. Everyone who posts will be entered to win a seriously “shamrockin” treat of your very own.

Surprise Treat #2

For those of you who are new to the blog you might not know that one of our most loyal and enthusiastic readers is Julie Schnepp who happens to be a traveling physical therapist. Julie's latest adventure has landed her in Surprise, AZ and of course the HLA community couldn't ignore the fun name. So...we brainstormed fun stunts we could have Julie engage in during the time that she lives in Surprise. Today, I have the pleasure of sharing the first stunt with you and it is important because you each play a vital role.

We'd like Julie's first surprise for Surprise to play out on St. Patrick's Day. Based upon feedback from readers the first day we brainstormed we'd like for Julie to leave HLA rainbows around the town of Surprise with a note that says Follow the Rainbow to www.highlowaha.com. That is where you come in. We are asking each of our readers to make a HLA Rainbow in some way (paint, decoupage, paper mache, draw or come up with your own creative way) and write on it "Follow "your name's" Rainbow to www.highlowaha.com". Julie will place these rainbows around Surprise with instructions about logging onto the website to make a post. Not only will you earn a patch for sending a rainbow but any reader whose rainbow is followed and a post is made from Surprise on the blog will have a chance at a fun prize. Got it? Good. When you have your rainbow finished drop it in the mail to:

Julie Schnepp 16630 N. Reems Rd. #1064 Surprise, AZ 85374

And Julie, if you are out there let us know you are ready to have a Rainbow of fun sent your way.

Announcements

Gift of 218: Thanks to Robin and Ashley our first Gift of 218 has been successfully delivered. Robin and Ashley put in a huge amount of work to help make this first Gift of 218 successful and we are so happy that we were able to give the first gift to our very own Stacie, husband Chris and her beautiful son Lucian! Please visit the Gift of 218 link to see pictures of the "Gift Gang" delivering the news and to read more about Stacie's plans.


RAK Box: I've been informed that Claudia has received 14 postcards for her new RAK box. Don't forget that you can be the lucky winner of a $25 Target gift card if your postcard is the 18th one that arrives in her mailbox. Also, for everyone whose postcard arrives by Friday evening you will have a chance to win a $25 Target gift card through a random draw. Send your postcard by Wednesday the 4th to be sure it arrives in time!

Party/Theme Ideas: Just a quick note that we have now added a gallery full of ideas to the main page of the site. One of the best parts of highlowaha is the collective creativity so we invite you to submit your own pictures to be added to the gallery. Any cookie/cupcake/cake, theme parties, fun packaging ideas, Random Acts pictures, or anything else that you feel is up our creative alley send our way to highlowaha218@gmail.com.



25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there a rainbow size we're looking for?

Anonymous said...

Any sized rainbow you can mail will work...big, little, folded, fragile...it is up to you!

Anonymous said...

I have the faintest memory of a children's song that says something like, "You can paint a rainbow...." but maybe it just sounds like a song to me!

Jess said...

Melanie, you are talking about the Candyman song.

Who can take a rainbow
Wrap it is a sigh
Soak it in the sun
and make a strawberry lemon pie?
The candyman
The candyman can
The candyman can cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

Julie said...

I'm here ... and ready to accept rainbows! AZLori - do you want to come visit me?!?!

Maureen, can you please mail Ray to: 2202 Foxboro Court / Erie PA 16510. THANKS!

Heather, I'm stealing your St. Patty's Day Idea for the teachers I work with! Thank you!

Kristen, I AM GOING TO BE HOME IN LESS THAN A WEEK!! Tera, I can't wait to see you either!

Julie said...

Also, since we love numbers here ... today's date: 3/3/09 is a square root day!! Or rather, a square day?!?! Either way, I thought it was interesting!

Anonymous said...

Ooohh Julie first I'm glad you are up for the challenge and back in the posting world...also though..how fun that today is a square day.
Since I'm home with a sick baby maybe I'll take this as an opportunity to teach her about squares.

Now trying to get her to eat a square meal that will be a challenge!

Melanie, that song is from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...so fun!

Has anyone picked their date to do something random for those around you? Julie said she'll do St. Patrick's Day too...you don't want to miss getting in the drawing for this ShamROCKIN prize!

Katie said...

I'm thinking about doing Tax Day.... "I'm thankful to have your RETURN in friendship!"

Anonymous said...

We always do Pi Day 3/14. It's perfect because our kids go to a math/science technology school so it's a no brainer.

We also celebrate Square root day. Can you tell I'm married to a mathematician?

Anonymous said...

I am no mathematician, but I love the idea of Pi (or in my case "pie" day).

I love random holidays, so here's my two cents. Of course I celebrate Sweet Cereal Day, but what about the first day of summer, 4th of July, and the first day of school. Or maybe this year I will celebrate National Potato Chip Day (3/14) or Plant a Flower Day (3/13. Come to think of it, that's fun. I could bring each teacher a planter of flowers. Hmmmm...

Julie, the day is off to a better start because you posted. We've missed you. I am thrilled you are up for the rainbow gig. I've already got mine in the works.

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone! I love the ShamROCKIN' idea, Heather! You're too cute.

Julie, I can't wait to see you either.

The theme ideas are cute. I love having that all in one place.

Melanie...did you get my facebook post? Your email won't let me send FW stuff!

Anonymous said...

Hey HLA...I have two NCAA Men's Basketball 1st & 2nd round tickets that I'm trying to sell. My aunt and uncle had to back out of the trip.

*March 20 & 22
*Dayton Arena in Dayton Ohio
*Cost is $215/ticket which is what I paid for them
*There are 4 games on Friday and 2on Sunday...times are TBD

If you're interested or know someone who is, please let me know ASAP (tmichalski05@jcu.edu). I'm going to put them up on Ebay soon but thought I'd offer them to you first.

Chaotic Kristi said...

I like the RAK day...it fits nicely w/my "New Year Goal Fish" idea of sending a RAK to someone on the 5th, 10th, 15th & 20th monthly...

However, for an ANNUAL RAK day, I choose April 21st, being born in Houston, TX.. I could not resist... San Jacinto Day

On April 21, 1836, General Sam Houston led Texan troops in a surprise attack that sealed the future state's independence from Mexico. The location? The mouth of the San Jacinto River, near the present-day city of Houston. At least 600 of Mexican general Santa Anna's men were killed and more than 700 were taken prisoner in the 18-minute Battle of San Jacinto. Among Houston's 800 men, only nine lost their lives.

Texas pride abounds every April 21 as the state celebrates its independence from Mexico. The battle site is now adorned with a monument that, in true Texas style, was once the tallest stone monument in the world.

Chaotic Kristi said...

I got my DENIM!!! Wow, uber-cool!!
as soon as I get someone to show me how an iron works on cloth (vs paper) I'll get them on there!! the bag is already travelling with me; today's mission is decos to be mailed out.

Chaotic Kristi said...

oh, phooey... forgot to say I will be sending a rainbow to AZ, too.

Cheryl Houston said...

Okay. I'm going to buck the trend here a little because it's just not possible for me to send in a gift to each of my boys teachers at every holiday. I don't have the time, energy or funds for it and I will not allow myself to feel guilty about it.

And, that's why I love todays post. For $9 and not much time, Heather has come up with a great gift idea! I love it. ShamRockin'!

I have loved many of my boys teachers but I really love it when my boys like their teachers so much THEY want to do the giving. Cue in JB, my youngest son. He had a Student Teacher this year that left last week. As prompted by his regular teacher, he wrote her a note. But, beyond that he wanted to give her a gift card to Starbucks. He counted out his own money- $6.99 and he went in and picked the GC, paid for it and created another card for her. I love it because it's from him.

Okay- and as a Administrative Assistant- I don't expect anything on the "holiday". I know it's just a nice day of recognition but I find it kind of embarrassing.

I might wait to present my own holiday until tomorrow. I think the boys are old enough to be in on this decision. And, they have that fresh childs mind.

And lastly, sorry for the long post, I can't wait to get my rainbow ready to go to Julie! Must get thinking and get busy!!!

Cheryl Houston said...

Chaotic- I lived in TX all but 9 years of my life and I don't remember that bit of TX history but maybe that's because that's my brothers birthday and it overrides Texas History! :)

Anonymous said...

Hello HLA!!! I have been missing you all. I am on vacation this week...YEA!!

The Candyman song...love it. My girls love watching Willy Wonka and this song is in one of the opening scenes. It just makes you smile :). I will start working on my rainbow.

I pick April 10th (Good Friday). They say that April showers bring May flowers. Be good to your soul and take time to plant some flowers (take time to smell the roses). I think I will give a RAK to someone consisting of a clay pot, gloves, packages of seeds, maybe a GC to Home Depot...Something along those lines all tied up with a floral bow :) :)

Have a happy day...sorry for being a lurker lately...

Cheryl Houston said...

This is completely off topic. If you are a new reader you won't remember last year when we dedicated a whole week to cupcakes! That was the week when Claudia introduced us to Hey Cupcake in Austin. Well, I got an update in my reader from another blog I read, Laurelines.

I don't know much about her other than I love her work. And guess what she sketched this week. Hey Cupcake! You have to scroll down a little bit to see it.

http://laurelines.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/03/austin-does-its-thing.html

I don't know why but I just felt like I had to share that.

Anonymous said...

Who do we make the check out to for the "Gift of 218" ?

Anonymous said...

Misty... You can make the check out to me. I am gathering checks and will deposit on Friday.

Brian K. Root said...

Can we make more than one rainbox?

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Brian... OF COURSE!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Brian...I think it would ROCK if you had your staff make rainbows!

Julie said...

Tera Johnson!! You only think it will rock b/c that means I have that many more to hang up!