Special Events and A Freebie to Boot

Our school does a Parent Volunteer Tea as a thank you to all of the parents that work endless hours in our classroom. I could not run my program without them. They make countless books for me, trace pieces for art projects, and work with children to help them gain confidence and be successful learners. I have so much gratitude for the moms and dads that come through my door each week, filled with enthusiasm and energy! 

I wanted to do a few special things for the tea but I had very little time to pull this off. Here are some simple ideas if you ever get stuck and need "quick and easy" solutions. Any candy in little clear bags with a topper is appealing and easy to throw together. I had tons of skittles so here is what I put in a bright colorful basket (Dollar Tree is my friend). If you want the topper you can grab it here and use it for any special event. It says, "You are better than any treasure found at the end of the rainbow." Leave me a comment if you like this and tell me what you are using it for!

My daughters were in town for Mother's Day (so special for me) and suggested making shortbread since this takes very little effort and the results are gorgeous. We used Barefoot Contessa's recipe and then added a little flower on top to make it look special.

I used candy melts from Michael's for the flower since they would harden (set-up) easily and I just added a hit of pink. The center is just a tiny circular cookie decoration that are bigger than sprinkles and are also available in Michael's. The bags are quick and dirty to use since the ribbon is already woven through the bag and this made it so much faster to wrap!

Mother's Day turned out to be so special in our classroom. We have a grandparent who is a photographer and she came to visit for an entire day. She set up the lighting and backdrop with the help of her daughter. She brought a vintage desk and red apple... The kids were fascinated (so was I).

The results were gorgeous and parents loved them so much. The children told me their mom opened their card and started to cry. Wow! What more could I ask for? By the way this generous lady did this all on her own dollar and refused to let us pay for a thing. She then invited the teacher next door with medically fragile kids to come in and get their picture done. She got beautiful results snapping many pictures and working to get the perfect one. I AM BLESSED TO HAVE THIS GRANDMA IN MY LIFE.