Teacher's Gift Ideas

We’ve never appreciated how valuable teachers are more than we do today.  The pandemic threw many of us into a home-schooling reality that we never thought we’d face.  We were stretched thin, our patience was tested, and the pressure was on.  Fortunately, for a majority of American students and their families, children are back in the classroom inperson.  As parents, we couldn’t be more relived and also grateful.  It’s clear that the debt of gratitude we owe these special people – our teachers – is a large one!  

We will always advocate for a heartfelt, thoughtful note to your child’s teacher. As a parent, take a moment to reflect on the year’s ups and downs.  Be specific about the growth that you have seen in your child, what he/she enjoyed, or how he/she overcame a challenge and has flourished. Teachers appreciate knowing what specifically they did to contribute to the growth of their students.  Sometimes a tangible example of how they affected change can be really powerful.  Take a few minutes to really think about the impact this teacher has had on your child’s life and be sure to write it down thoughtfully.   Of course, More Than Paper has plenty of stationery options from which to choose when you are ready to write your note! 

 

We also suggest that your children take a moment to write thank you notes to their teachers. (We have personalized stationery options for kids, too, of course!) This handwritten note from your child can mean the world to the teacher! The same advice applies --- have your child be specific about the school year and what he/she enjoyed in the class.  

 

Beyond a thank you note for teachers, consider small tokens of your appreciation. More Than Paper has a few gift ideas that teachers will find delightful and useful.  All of them are affordably priced, and we love that they are personalized.  Of course, many teachers love the slew of Starbucks cards they receive but these heartfelt, personalized gifts for teacher will really speak volumes.  Here’s a round-up of some of our favorite teacher gifts.  

 

1.     Make a statement with these teacher appreciation banners.  These indoor/outdoor vinyl banners are available in three sizes and are customizable with the teacher’s name and students’ names as well!  The banner is waterproof and comes with adhesive, removable tape for easy hanging.  We also have upgrades available with stakes and grommets for other ways to hang!  Imagine your teacher walking into school with this large, customized vinyl banner displayed for all to see.

 

2.     Teachers are constantly needing to jot down reminders, write notes home to parents, and take notes.  This notepad is an adorable way for your teacher to do all of that.  “From the desk of” personalized notepads make a great teacher’s gift. 

 

3.     If you are a teacher and you don’t have a mug with your name on it with an apple, are you even a teacher? Kidding, of course! If your teacher hasn’t been gifted a fabulous, personalized teacher mug yet – consider these ones by Pen and Hand.  They’ve been a top seller of ours for years! And in addition to personalizing the mug with the teacher’s name, you get to choose the hairstyle, hair color and skin tone to make the stick figure character in the teacher’s likeness. What fun! For added sweetness, fill the mug with candy, wrap in cellophane and tie with a ribbon. 

4.     Consider a stylish and handy personalized clipboard when choosing a year-end teacher gift. We love all of our clipboard options but especially this design.  This is a fun and functional gift that we love. 

 

5.     Another great idea is a personalized bookmark for your teacher! From your English teacher to your librarian, these personalized bookmarks for teacher are a great gift for the end of the year. 

 

 

 

Hard to believe how fast this year is flying by.  We hope you’ll consider these unique ways to honor teachers. Teachers spend many waking hours with our children and have the power to shape their minds, their personalities, and the course of their life.  We appreciate and thank all the teachers! 

 

 

Bridesmaids Gifts

When you are getting married and you’ve asked your closest friends to stand by your side as your bridesmaids, it means something special! Friends help get you through tough times and are people with whom you make lasting memories.  On your big day, will you give them a gift to celebrate your friendship and thank them for all that they have done for you?   

Whether it’s a destination wedding or a local wedding, it’s likely that your bridesmaids have incurred some expenses throughout your engagement and wedding so we love the idea of a small thank you.  Thank your bridesmaids for their long-standing friendship with these bridesmaids’ gift ideas.  Your bridal party will appreciate any of these personalized gifts!  

1)   Your girls will always travel in style with these garment bags!  Available in several colors, these personalized garment bags are made of heavy-duty canvas and will protect your suits, dresses, or clothes you don’t want to fold!  There are two roomy inside zip pockets for smaller 
accessories. 

 

2)     We just love these clutches that we have recently added by Quilted Koala! Choose from over 50 icons and text phrases.  These are truly custom in that you can select from many color bag options and choose the color, location, and sizing of your imprint (including glitters, foils, and solids!)   At More Than Paper, we are happy to guide you through the process or design it for you! 

        

3)     Sip in-style with any of our custom tumblers.These personalized acrylic beverage tumblers with straw are perfect for on-the-go hydration!  Available in a bunch of patterns and designs, this is a small token of your appreciation and make a great bridal party gift. 

        

 

4)     Insulated personalized tumblers are all the rage right now! These premium-quality double-wall vacuum insulated stainless steel travel tumblers will keep your cold drinks ice cold for up to 24 hours and your hot drinks hot for up to 6 hours!!  For a small fee, you can upgrade your lid to a sliding lid.  Choose from many tumbler colors and imprint colors, too.  You can customize these for your bridesmaids and bridal party with their name or even your wedding date and location.

         

 

5)     These super-cute, personalized straw tote bags are ideal for beach weddings or destination wedding bridal parties!!  They are handmade and hand painted with stripes and initials. Create your own color combinations and make it yours!  One of the best things? This is a Fair Trade Business and income generated helps women sustain their families. 

        

Whichever way you to choose to honor your bridesmaids, we also recommend that in addition to a small gift, you take the time to write a letter or note to your friends.  This will be perhaps the most meaningful of all the actions or gestures you take.  Here are some tips to help you write the best note to your bridesmaids:

1)     Recall when you met or how you became friends

2)     Recount a favorite memory or funny story 

3)     Be honest about how this person has helped shap your life and lead you to where you are today

4)     Be sure to thank them for their friendship and support during the wedding 

With those tips, you are sure to write something that they will treasure and will certainly feel appreciated.  Check out all of our bridesmaids gift options at More Than Paper by visiting here. 

Groomsmen Gifts

Plenty of people get engaged to be married year-round of course, but we often see a spike in engagements over the winter holidays and Valentine’s Day. Congrats to all those brides and grooms-to-be!  We hope the wedding planning is not stressful for you and you can enjoy what’s really important – starting a life together! 

When it comes time to asking your bridal party to be in the wedding, or it comes time to thank your bridal party for being in the wedding, More Than Paper has you covered with gift ideas for your groomsmen (and bridesmaids, but more on that later!)  We find that personalized items are so much more meaningful and touching as opposed to non-personalized gifts.  We also appreciate gifts that are actually useful and that your groomsmen will use often (e.g. cufflinks…..do they really wear them again?)

And the good news is that you don’t have to break the bank!  Here’s a roundup of a few of our favorite gifts for groomsmen.

1.     For the grill master.  We love this custom engraved grilling BBQ set with case. There are three utensils that are engraved with the same design that is engraved on the case. It makes such a great gift for the groom who loves to grill out! 

       Not your average money clip.  Personalize these with a single initial. They come in a variety of leather finishes and have magnetic closures to keep money tightly secured. They’re perfect for your pocket. 

3.        For the cigar lover. This custom engraved cigar case comes personalized with your choice of monogram / style.  The case also comes with a cutter.  It’s available in black or luggage style coloring.

 

4.     For the drinker.  This whiskey decanter set comes with 4 lowball glasses and up to 2 lines of engravable, personalized text.  This is an elegant gift for those who appreciate a little nostalgia.  

5.     For the drinker on the go….. This cork covered flask carries 6 oz. of his favorite beverage.. You can personalize it with up to 2 lines of 12 characters each.

See more flask ideas here!

We also recommend including a handwritten, thank you note with whatever gift you choose to give your groomsmen.  This is perhaps the most important part of gift-giving! Be sure to take the time to show appreciation for ones’ friendship and contribution to your life.

 

 

 

 

Camp 2021 Preview

There was plenty of heartbreak and disappointment in 2020 due to the pandemic and all of the events that were cancelled as a result.  One of those disappointments was that many of our children were not able to attend sleep away camp – something that they look forward to year after year and hold so close to their hearts.  Since many missed camp in 2020, camp for this summer is more anticipated than ever. Camp Season 2021 just might be the best summer yet, and we’re sure they’re really going to appreciate being there! 

 

More Than Paper prides itself on being a provider of a lot of really great camp gear!  Not camp gear like flashlights and sleeping bags, of course, but the fun stuff like camp stationery, laundry bags, shower caddies, personalized pillowcases and things to make packing easier – like accessory labels and clothing stamps!  Here’s a roundup of all the things we love for summer camp 2021. 

 

1.     Fill-in Camp News Notepads.  For any parent who has sent their child to camp before and received no letters home, this one is for you! Now there’s just no excuse.  These fill-in pads prompt your camper to write a letter and give you actual information about bunkmates, the food, favorite activities, the weather, and more.  You’ll get real information from you camper. Wouldn’t that be nice? They also come with envelopes and include free personalized return address labels for your camper.  We recommend you pre-address and stamp a few to yourself and Grandma and Grandpa.  

Want more? Here are some other great camp notepad sets to consider here! 

 

2.     Peel & Stick Clothing and Accessory Labels.  If you’ve sent your child to camp before, you likely know the pain of writing your child’s name with a laundry marker onto every single item of clothing. Or perhaps you’ve ironed on labels to everything they own.  Finally, there’s a solution that doesn’t require ironing or writing names over and over again! Meet these peel & stick clothing and accessory labels.  These include 90 labels and can be used for clothing but also things like goggles, flashlights, sports equipment, toothpaste, shampoo bottles and more. You can choose your own background color, too!   

And if you want to reflect your child’s style, there are many with patterned backgrounds too! Visit those here. 

 

3.     Clothing Stamp.  Another alternative to iron-on labels or laundry markers is the clothing stamp.  It is a self-inking fabric stamp with a permanent imprint. Perfect for labeling the bottom of white socks! The ink lasts for hundreds of washes so you don’t have to worry about fading while the kids are at camp!  

4.     Clipboard Cases.  Personalized and practical - when rest hour comes around and it’s time to write, these clipboard cases are perfect!   The case opens from the bottom and they can store stationery, pens, postage stamps and accessories.  You get to choose the case color and background image, as well as supply the name.  The background options are adorable, and kids will be encouraged to break this out and write a letter home! 

 

5.     Water bottles.  Another fun accessory to send your camper to camp with is his/her own personalized water bottle.  We love these options shown here.  A water bottle at camp is a must! Make it cute and easy for them to spot against everyone else’s water bottle. 

 

6.     Shower Caddy.  We are all about convenience and this personalized shower caddy allows your camper to organize their shower toiletries and conveniently carry them back and forth from cubby in their bunk to the shower house!  

 

 

There you have a few of our favorite camp products for the Summer of 2021.   Your camper will be organized and ready to go in-style.  We can’t wait for this summer and to make it great.  What about you? 

 

Share your favorite products for camp on our Facebook page or leave a comment here on our blog. Is there anything that we are missing that you find helpful when sending your kids to camp?  Have you bought something before that you would recommend? We’d love to hear from you!

 

 

Teaching Children to Write Thank You Notes

Even with text messages, email, social media and near-instantaneous communication in the 21^st century, the art and etiquette of writing a thank you note is not lost. 

At More Than Paper, writing a handwritten note and sending it in the good old fashioned mail is important to us and, therefore, we’ve been teaching our kids how to write thank you notes since they were young.  Is it something that you value?  Here are some tips to teach your children how to write thank you notes.  

Around age 2-4

It’s never too early to start – and yes, children this young can help in creating a thank you note!  Most children this age love using stickers or rubber stamps.  How about the grown-up writes the words “THANK YOU” and the child’s name on a piece of paper or cardstock – and have the child decorate with stickers, stampers or crayons! Explain the activity and why your child should write a thank you note (“Remember the teddy bear that Aunt Diane got you? Let’s write her a thank you note!”).  The child will begin to learn about the concept of why one writes a thank you note and will also have fun doing the task.

  

Around age 4-6 

By age 4, children can get more involved in the “writing” part of thank you notes. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children are in the beginning stages of learning to form letters and words, and many children at this age have the dexterity and attention span to copy letters.   When our children were young, we wrote the words “thank you” and their names using dots and simply asked them to connect the dots.  This was a delight to grandparents, aunts and uncles, and family friends who had been kind and generous enough to give our children a gift or gesture.  They absolutely loved seeing our little ones write their names and the words thank you.  That is all it took. 

Around ages 5-8

As children being reading and writing, this is a good age to have them start writing their own “Dear ___, Thank you for my gift.”  We typically wrote this message out on a piece of paper and let them copy it while studying the paper.   This helps speed up the process.  Another idea is to let them phonetically spell and compose the message all on their own.  Likely you’ll get a ton of misspellings, but you are not striving for perfection here! Plus, the free-form phonetic spelling can be quite funny and will make a great keepsake for the future! Plus you’re allowing the child a lot of independence and creativity.  Just be sure to give them enough direction or assistance so they don’t feel overwhelmed by the blank card. 

Ages 8-11 

Here’s where children can begin composing their own letters.  Teach them the salutation, punctuation, and value of good penmanship.  It is also a good time to remind them to be specific about the gift they’ve received and why they like it or how they will use it.  Rather than “Thank you for the gift,” your child might write “Thank you for the doll that I wanted. I am so excited to play with her.” 

Ages 12+ 

If you have been encouraging your children to write thank you notes since they were little, hopefully you don’t get a lot of pushback from your preteen or teen on writing their notes.  After every birthday or holiday, have them sit down with their personalized stationery and list of people to thank and write several a day.  If they have received a lot of presents, encourage them to break the task of writing notes into chunks – just a few at a time. Then it is not so overwhelming.   At this point, they should be writing several sentences being specific about what they are thanking the person for, how they intend to use the gift, and what they like about it.  We also encourage something personal to the recipient.  This can be done with ideas like, “I hope your holidays were fun, and we missed celebrating with you this year. Can’t wait until we can get together in the summer!” or “Hope you are feeling better after your knee surgery! I was thinking of you.”  A little personal touch or extra sentence or two can make the letter feel more personal and less curt. 

Quite honestly, there is no wrong way to write a thank you note, especially thank you notes written by children. They are so unexpected these days and a treat for people to receive that your recipient will just be glad that they have written one. 

Here are two other unique thank you note ideas that we have seen from children. 

1)     Draw a picture instead of writing a note. Especially good for really little ones, a picture (of rainbows, the dog, anything!) can be a nice thank you! 

2)     Use your Instapix camera! Take a picture of the child holding the gift and smiling. Sign the bottom, “Thank you!! Love, ____”.  Send the picture in an envelope! 

What ideas do you have? 

Shop our personalized stationery for children and adults at More Than Paper and find your perfect correspondence for thank you notes, everyday letters & anything else you need!  

Options for Valentines on Valentine's Day

As you carefully put away decorations for one holiday, do you start thinking about pulling out your decorations for the next?  We can’t get enough of the holidays and so we just let one roll right into another!  Valentine’s Day is, of course, February 14^th which at the rate things are going will be here shortly. 

In an effort to be really organized in 2021, it’s never too early to start thinking about options for Valentine’s Day.   Want to do something beyond the drug store selections? There are some really cute ideas, and with a little advanced planning, you can get your kiddos adorable Valentines that will wow the classroom and their friends.  Here are 6 ideas for Valentine’s Day in 2021.  

 

1.     Exchange Cards are smaller than greeting cards.  Typically, they are about 3.5 x 5”, though we have some options that are 2 x 3.5” (like a business card size!)  We have dozens of styles from which to choose – from hearts, princesses, castles, and cupcakes to alligators, baseball, trains, and dinosaurs – your child will surely find one they can get excited about giving.  Each can be personalized with your child’s name.  They are an affordable option for a personalized printed valentine! 

 

2.     Valentine’s Day Stickers are perfect for the do-it-yourself types.  Order clear plastic treat bags (find on Amazon or your local craft store) and get some wrapped candy in bulk.  Insert the candy, tie, and finish with a personalized sticker.  We have round and square shaped stickers in so many designs!  Will it be mermaids, hearts, or stripes? Or one of our other hundreds of options? 

3.     Treat Bag & Topper Cards are sold as sets – they include both the clear treat bag and the personalized printed card that goes on top.  Insert candy, pencils, or items from the dollar store in these clear bags. The printed front and back cards arrive scored, and you simply fill the bag, fold and staple the card to seal it all up!  It’s easy to distribute in the classroom and kids love it. This is definitely a great choice for those that are looking for something a little extra. 

 

4.     Gift Tags are a great option if you are doing larger-sized gifts for Valentine’s Day.  These tie well to gift bags and look polished.  We have dozens of design styles and they can be personalized with your last name to give as family gifts or your children for individual gifts. The choice is yours! 

5.     Photo Greetings are a great way to send Valentines! Did you skip sending your annual holiday card in 2020?  If you missed it this year and wished you had sent one, consider sending your friends and family a Valentine’s Day photo greeting card instead.  We have a bunch of options with various styles, colors, die cut shapes, and ways to make it yours.  Even if you did send holiday cards in 2020, consider getting a few photo greeting cards to send to a select group of relatives.  Especially for those who haven’t been able to see their friends and family, these Valentine’s Day photo greetings might really brighten someone’s day!  

6.     Non-Photo Greetings. Not everyone loves a photo greeting so if you are looking for a simple card or greeting for Valentine’s Day, we have options for you, too.  

With a little planning and ordering in advance, you can really make some cute Valentines in 2021.  What option will you choose this year? What is your favorite? Are there any ideas that we missed? We would love to hear from you on our Facebook page or in the comments below.  

Getting Organized in 2021

The holidays are nearly behind us and with that in mind, our focus tends to shift to what lies ahead.  January is always a great opportunity to start fresh and prioritize.  Whether it is a commitment to a healthier lifestyle, stronger financial planning, getting organized, or anything else, we love taking a few minutes to think about our goals and write them down. What are your goals for 2021?

 

More Than Paper has a few products to help kick off your new year and get you organized. We are loving our new collection of desktop calendars which are pretty and functional.  Not an agenda or planner, a pretty desktop calendar helps you quickly identify the date and day of the week while planning. It’s the perfect accessory on your desk.  Here are some of the new ones in store. Which is your favorite?

 

If you are anything like us, you also find it helpful to write out your to-do’s and make lists to stay organized.  Why do that on boring paper when you can have a fun notepad?  We have many from which to choose.  See some of our favorite notepads and list pads here.

 

Sticky Notes can also be helpful in getting organized and there’s no reason they can’t be fun or personal, even.   At More Than Paper, we have a huge collection of sticky note cubes that come in a variety of colors, designs, and personalization options.  They look great on your desk and are the perfect complement to your other desk accessories.  With some of the cubes having as many as 675 sheets, you can almost use 2 per day!  How many sticky notes will you use?

 

Another great tool for achieving your organizational goals in 2021 are journals and notebooks.  We see two great uses for either here.   For one -- choose a pretty journal that you can use to write notes and reflect upon things each night or once a week.   Take note of how you are feeling, what is giving you strength, what is draining your energy, and other observations you might have.  Use this space to be reflective.  This isn’t a space to jot down your to-do list but check in with yourself regularly about your overall thoughts and feelings.  This will encourage mindfulness and allows your head to remain clear . In turn, it makes it easier to focus and accomplish what needs to be done.   Here are some of our favorite journals at More Than Paper.

 

The second idea is a notebook that you will want to carry around with you in your purse, workbag, or have lying on your desk.  In this notebook, use it daily or whenever needed to take notes, make lists, and keep track of just about anything.

Some of our most popular products for getting organized are our weekly planners. These are personalized with your family members names and can get you organized for the week!

These are just a few tools to help make organizing in the new year a little bit easier.  What tools do you have that you love?  Share ideas with us here or on Facebook!  Wishing you a Happy New Year and all the best for 2021.