We are sharing some #ExtraGumMoments with a special person this Holiday Season because they always give extra

Each year I try to make some special teacher gifts for all the kids teacher, we all know they give extra to our kids all year long and while talking to my kids I realized that there are far more people that deserve a little extra this holiday season.

Our regular teachers are a given that we give extra to them but have you ever thought about other aids, administrators or helpers that come in contact with your kids each and every day? I talked to my son the other day, he has severe food allergies and can only eat beef products, if that wasn’t already hard enough, he also can’t eat certain vegetables like onions, lima beans and even fruit like watermelon. I know, his allergies are quite different then the common ones and that alone makes feeding him lunch a challenge each and every day.

He is a freshmen in high school this year and like most Teenagers he likes to get lunch at the cafeteria instead of brown bagging it. I can’t blame him and he has his allergies under control and is old enough to know what he can and can’t eat. The only problem our school lunch menus aren’t really allergy friendly and so one day he may enjoy spaghetti and meatballs made with 100% beef, the next time around they may make the meatballs out of pork or maybe even turkey, both are huge no no to my son and the school never discloses if there was a change made to the meal that day. He also loves certain meals that he knew he could eat and voila, one day out of the blue onions were added to the lunch. It’s always a challenge for him to stay on top ask questions and be cautious because of changes like that.

Little did I know he has a big helper during his lunch break. He loves his lunch ladies and they love him. They even save him a hamburger every afternoon so they know he has something to eat every single day. His lunch break is one of the last classes to go to lunch and at that time most of the kids favorites are gone and leaving my Teen to pick the not so favorite items, which are also the worst for him like baked chicken or turkey sandwiches, which also means he may not end up getting lunch at all. 

It melted my heart when he told me that his lunch lady makes extra meals just for him, she even brings her own ingredients from home to make him a special lunch every day. I had no idea and was super surprised and impressed by our lunch ladies that go above and beyond and give extra to feed my Teenager each and every day.

I knew I had to find something special to give extra to his lunch ladies to show them our appreciation. While on my weekly shopping trip at my local Walmart I came up with a simple yet special way to give thanks. I grabbed a gift card for each of the ladies and decided to take a few packages of the Extra Gum, everyone loves gum and working in a school cafeteria isn’t always the easiest, chewing gum would be a wonderful tool for the ladies to hopefully relax a little. I also picked up all the little wrappings along with all my regular weekly groceries and headed home to put together these simple but meaningful gift packages and hopefully I can share some #ExtraGumMoments with my son’s lunch ladies this year and bring a smile to their face.

I added one Walmart gift card along with 2 packages of Extra Gum to each of our gift packages and added a bow. I made some tags on the computer and if you like, feel free to use the free printable below. You can right click and save it, this should print nicely to a 5×7 cardstock paper and you can cut it very easily and attach to your gift package.

Wasn’t that simple? I hope the lunch ladies at my Teen’s school will enjoy our little token of appreciation. Do you have someone that isn’t the first person you think about when making a list and maybe will be overlooked this holiday season? How about your school nurse or maybe the Principal? These little Extra Gum gift ideas are affordable and can be adapted to each individual person and your pocket book. The best part, the kids won’t have any problem taking these to school in their book bag.

Extra Gum also has a Facebook page and Twitter if you like to get some Extra ideas. #CollectiveBias

Who will you surprise this Christmas Season and Give Extra?