The Joy of Giving

Tomorrow marks Cael's last day of preschool before Christmas break, and he is anxious as ever.

"Mommy, will I ever go back to school ever, ever again?"

"Yes, Cael.  We just have some time off together.  It will be fun!  But you'll have to make sure to say thank you to your teachers before you leave."

"And Merry Christmas?"

"Yep, you can say that, too."

"And Happy Birthday!!"

"No, not happy birthday.  Unless it's actually someone's birthday."

"Okay.  I will tell them that."

 Yikes.

Instead of Cael's rough-around-the-edges Christmas well-wishes, I decided to make a little something for his teachers.  I know that they already receive an abundance of poor-tasting homemade treats, but I'm fairly confident that none of their other holiday gifts will possess the same unique combination of love, appreciation and heartfelt sarcasm.  Just like Cael.

As a candy/dessert maker (have I ever mentioned that?) I was confident I could make something tasty and seasonal, but I wanted a bright, festive way of presenting it.

Enter Pinterest.  Or don't, if you ever plan to eat or sleep again.

As soon as I came across this clever "tin-can-treat" idea for teacher gifts, (view it here) I knew it was just right.  I bought two of the largest tab-top cans of pineapple I could find so that the cans wouldn't smell like artichokes or bakes beans, and got to work cooking.

After much laziness debate, I finally settled on gourmet peppermint bark and english toffee for the tins.  Neither is my specialty, but both travel well and appeal to a large range of people, so I felt that they would be a good choice.

Oh, and I already had the ingredients, which counts for a lot.  The workers at Walmart know me by name, people.

I made all of the candy and broke it apart and prepared to assemble the tin can treats when a crazy thing happened.


I fell asleep.

You ever fall asleep?  Well, it happened to me.  And because of that, while much needed, the cans and paper and homemade goodies sat unmanned in my kitchen, waiting for a bright, sunny day such as today for me to test my multitasking skills.

Pray for me.

While you read this, I am wrapping treats, decorating cans and labels as the kids play with the train set and I break up toddler tiffs and wipe greasy bottoms.  I'm washing my hands a lot, too.

If I can stay awake, I'll show you the finished product.  I hope they turn out nicely, or at least good enough to counterbalance my son's holiday spirit. 

"Mrs. Teachers, it's NOT your birthday.  Merry Christmas!" 

Maybe I should put some rum in this candy...