I have this friend. She gives the most gorgeous gifts. I mean they are themed, thoughtful, beautiful, and wrapped gorgeously, too! More than once I have gotten a gift from her and thought it was so beautiful, I didn’t even want to unpackage it.

And as much as I love giving gifts, I do not have the same talent as my friend. My intention is there, but my skills are definitely lacking.

So I reached out to this super-talented friend and asked her if she would like to share some of her gift-giving expertise with us on a regular basis.

And guess what–she said yes!

So this is the first of a fun series we will run on Fridays–I hope you find it as helpful as I will!

This week I read a meme that went something like,

“It’s July, so it’s time to start preparing for back to school, and Halloween costumes and candy, and Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas. Basically Happy New Year!”

I giggled for a second before I thought about how often I feel like I blink and it’s Christmas again. Time moves so quickly. I have our kids’ baby pictures hanging across one wall in our bedroom. So often I look at them and feel as if those moments were recent. I can still remember the achy sleepless exhaustion of those early years so vividly!

But my babies aren’t babies anymore! Yes, there was a time when I had three in diapers at the same time, but now I have five who can take themselves to the bathroom. Don’t get me wrong: in the midst of potty training I wondered if it would ever end. But now, here I am wondering how we got to this point so quickly.

I recently lamented this with a dear friend who wisely said, “It goes so fast! Before you know it, they are 25 and you wonder how they ever got so old!” A stranger confirmed the same sentiment to me last night. Her two living kids were in college and she kept looking at me with my five littles and saying, “I miss those years!”

Which brings us to our first gift-giving theme. Jenn is such a gift-giving genius, she came up with this brilliant idea right away to call these gift ideas “The Freshman 15.” The 15 ideas below are fantastic ideas, but you could even feel inspired just from Jenn’s theme and come up with any 15 things and package them up for your freshman! You can find inspiration even from the way she words her descriptions–many of these could be on the accompanying tag or card.

I’m going to hand things over to Jenn now:

THE FRESHMAN 15

1-So it seems just like yesterday you were reading “Goodnight Moon” now the pages have turned to

2-It’s that time of year when little birds are leaving the nest. Maybe we know a few or maybe it is our own little bird who is soaring to new places.

How can we show them support and love as their journey begins?

A first necessity for any explorer is food and water!

Keep them hydrated with personalized Yeti mugs that stay insulated.

3-Send some munchies to your student for those long study nights with snack kits!

They also offer healthy snacks, more snacks, or fewer snacks!

4-And don’t forget the college staple….Ramen!!

This lovely little microwaveable pan makes it easier and faster to cook ramen and macaroni & cheese (the cheap stuff) in your microwave! I wish I had one of these when I was in school. It would have saved so much drama with my roommates! This would be cute bundled with a few boxes of macaroni & cheese or ramen packets.

5-This is a great all-inclusive survival kit for a first year in the dorms:

6-And we want them to stay in touch, right?

A backup charger means they have no excuse!

Or go solar in case they forget to charge the backup, too…

7-Dorms can be tricky with space so it’s great to have that super long charging cord.

For iPhone or for Android

8-For showering them with love, try a bath caddy. It will help them have everything they need handy. For something really unique, check out this Shower Squid!

I like this one because mesh breathes better.

9-And while we’re thinking about dorm showers, water shoes are great for that wet commute to the bathroom! They sell them for all different NCAA teams, but I’m partial to these:

10-That laundry is going to pile up and guess who will be knocking soon with their heaping hamper.

11-Laundry isn’t the only reason they will visit. We all know in their hearts they will get a little homesick. This is especially great if your child is going to school in a different state.

12-A personalized pillowcase will bring the warm fuzzies as they crawl into bed. Add a funny nickname, some encouragement, or even an inside joke with these:

13-Whether they need it because of cold weather or for times when the roommate turns down the thermostat, it is always handy to have a good fleece hoodie.

14-When dropping your baby off be sure to get the address and stop by the nearest pizza delivery. Pizza Hut is known to make heart-shaped pizzas and with a simple online order, your hungry student will appreciate a nice hot delivery of crusted love!❤️

15-And once you are home, you can download Ink Cards to send you reminders or deliver a card. It’s so easy to upload photos from your camera roll and send a heartfelt message to let them know you are thinking of them.

Texts are wonderful but a card can be a visual hug or pick me up they need at any time!

So those are my Freshman 15! Happy gift giving!!

–Jenn Duarte

Giveaway

Who’s ready for today’s giveaway?

I am!

Today I want to share a package that includes all THREE of my books! One winner will receive signed and personalized copies of A Nace’s Adventure, Oggie the Otter (plus a pair of orange glasses), and Joy On: Ten Ways to Add More Joy to Your Life!

And since we’re talking about gifts today, wouldn’t this make a great baby shower gift? I mean, I’m no Jenn, but I love to give a little something for the mother when I give a baby shower gift. Add some cute onesies, a package of diapers, and/or some wipes, and you’ve got an amazing gift that any mom would love.

**This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to G.W.!***

AND

I almost forgot!

The Kindle versions of A Nace’s Adventure and Joy On! Ten Ways to Add More Joy to Your Life are both free downloads on Amazon for the rest of the week! Get your copies today!

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