Off Topic with Tammy

This year marks the end of our family's 9-year stint in our neighborhood middle school, Stephen Mack Middle School. We have loved our time here. The teachers and principals have taken the time and energy to get to know our boys, and they have prepared them well for high school academics. We are grateful for our 9 years here. On Josiah's last day, we sent in some homemade kettle korn for the teachers and staff, and I packaged it in a cardboard box, decorated with scrapbook paper, simply taped to the sides of the box. I added an extra sheet of paper taped to a paint stick that I attached to the back of the box so it stood over the popcorn bags. I added some popcorn bags and a cup for scooping, and here's the best part - I asked my boys to all sign the box with a note of thanks. I thought they'd just write a generic "Thank you" sentence, but their notes far exceeded my expectations. All four sides of the box were covered with heartfelt sentiments of gratefulness. I hope that the teachers and staff felt as appreciated as we intended them to feel.

I'm sharing this idea because I thought it ended up being a fun way to package an inexpensive food gift. I didn't realize when I was putting it together that it would turn into a giant 3-dimensional "Thank You" card, but I loved the end result - personal notes of appreciation packaged together with a yummy treat, made to feed a crowd!

(Sorry the above photo is a little grainy, but I'm posting from my iPad on vacation, and my photo-editing software isn't as good as what I have on my computer!)