THE FAIRMONT FIVE playful gift ideas

The holiday season is here!  Are you feeling the pressure?  I can't help with everything on your to-do list, but I'm happy to let you in on a secret we recently pinned to our Pinterest board (the cutest holiday gift guides for kids you'll find anywhere south of the North Pole).  Whether you're shopping for a budding scientist or a ballerina-to-be, you'll get plenty of great ideas for gifts that delight this season and for many moons to come.  Here are a few themes to guide you:

1. Play
2. Read
3. Music
4. Imagine
5. Scientists and Explorers

Photo from A Lovely Lark

Contributed by Danyelle, Fairmont Private Schools

FRIDAY FOLDER december 7

Anaheim Hills Preschool Sing Along 

North Tustin Cheerleaders Take 1st Place in Regional Championship

Highlights From This Week

Congratulations North Tustin Cheerleaders! 

For the second year in a row, our North Tustin Cheerleaders have won first place in the Southern California Regional Championship! Now they will move on to the state and possibly national level to continue competing.  We are wishing them lots of L-U-C-K! 

CHOC Toy Drive 

The spirit of the holiday season is underway, and our Annual Toy Drive kicked off this week. We would appreciate if you could help us by donating a toy for a boy or a girl who is at CHOC - Children's Hospital of Orange County. These children would truly benefit from receiving a special gift on Christmas morning and all year long. You can drop your donation off at your campus now until December 14th. The toys will be picked up by the Orange Coast Harley Davidson's Chapter. They will come to all of our campuses on Friday, December 14th via motorcycles! Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity.

Winter Concerts 

The holidays are just around the corner, and our campuses are all abuzz with holiday cheer! Our annual winter concerts have begun, and they've been a great success so far! You can read re-caps of the 1st and 2nd Grade Performances at the Historic Anaheim Campus and the Preschool Sing Along at the Anaheim Hills Campus (pictured above) in this week's newsletters. 

We still have lots of performances coming up! Check out your campus' newsletter for the dates and times.  

Weekly E-Newsletters 

Anaheim Hills Campus

Historic Anaheim Campus

North Tustin Campus

December Lunch Menus 

Anaheim Hills Preschool-1st Grade

Anaheim Hills 2nd-8th Grade

Historic Anaheim Campus Preschool

Historic Anaheim Campus Kindergarten 

Historic Anaheim Campus 1st-8th Grade

North Tustin Preschool-Kindergarten

North Tustin 1st-8th Grade

Contributed by Alyssa, Fairmont Private Schools

SNACK TIME rudolph sandwiches

The holiday season is a great time to add a little fun to your child's days! Make a winter break lunch extra special by serving up these Rudolph Sandwiches. They look fancy, but don't worry you probably already have all the ingredients on hand. 

What you need:

-fixings for a sandwich

-heart shaped cookie cutter

-candy coated chocolate candy (M&M's)

-pretzels 

Steps: 

1. Make your sandwich according to your child's taste (PB&J is recommended but you could also use grilled cheese). 
2. Use your cookie cutter to cut out the heart shape.
3. Put the pretzels at the two curves of the heart partially inside the sandwich so the peanut butter or melted cheese will help them stay in place. 
4. Place the candy eyes and make sure to use a red candy for the nose so your reindeer can be Rudolph!

Serve this special lunch as a surprise or let your little one get involved.  The important part is that you are making memories! 

Image from And Everything Sweet 

Contributed by Darcy, Fairmont Private Schools 

BULLETIN BOARD: holiday cheer

'Tis the season to be jolly! Ring in the holidays with these festive crafts, decor, and treats. 

1. DIY Button Wreath 2. Resourceful Trader Joes Gift Wrap 3. Natural Christmas Tablescape 4. Creative Mitten Advent Calendar 5. Reindeer Cake Pops 6. Snowflake Gingerbread 

Contributed by Alyssa, Fairmont Private Schools

FRIDAY FOLDER november 30

Students at our Anaheim Hills Campus give thanks for their Thanksgiving Feast! 

Highlights From This Week

CHOC Toy Drive 

The spirit of the holiday season is underway, and our Annual Toy Drive kicked off this week. We would appreciate if you could help us by donating a toy for a boy or a girl who is at CHOC - Children's Hospital of Orange County. These children would truly benefit from receiving a special gift on Christmas morning and all year long. You can drop your donation off at your campus now until December 14th. The toys will be picked up by the Orange Coast Harley Davidson's Chapter. They will come to all of our campuses on Friday, December 14th via motorcycles! Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity.

Winter Concerts 

The holidays are just around the corner, and our campuses are all abuzz with holiday cheer! We are gearing up for our annual winter concerts on each campus to showcase our students' musical talents. We invite all of our parents to join us for these special shows. Please check your campus' weekly newsletter for specific times and grade levels. 

Weekly E-Newsletters 

Anaheim Hills Campus

Historic Anaheim Campus

North Tustin Campus

December Lunch Menus 

Anaheim Hills Preschool-1st Grade

Anaheim Hills 2nd-8th Grade

Historic Anaheim Campus Preschool

Historic Anaheim Campus Kindergarten 

Historic Anaheim Campus 1st-8th Grade

North Tustin Preschool-Kindergarten

North Tustin 1st-8th Grade

Contributed by Alyssa, Fairmont Private Schools

ARTS & CRAFTS creative gift wrapping

There are those for whom gift-wrapping is a tedious, time-consuming holiday chore.  For me, it's like being an elf in Santa's workshop. I love finding fun, unique ways to make even the most meager gifts seem extra special. With a few simple, inexpensive materials you can elevate your gifts to one-of-a-kind works of art. Here's some inspiration pulled from Fairmont's Pinterest boards:

• Rainbow wrap using yarn
• Paper snowflake gift wrap
• Chalkboard gift wrap (great for teacher gifts)
• Silhouette packages
• Fortune cookie package toppers
• Japanese inspired gift wrap

Photo from Pinterest 

Contributed by Danyelle, Fairmont Private Schools

FAIRMONT FIVE community service for kids

There are plenty of reasons to despair of the future, but I'm filled with hope and wonder when I spend a little time connecting with kids. They are amazing! 

Just the other night I was watching a 60 Minutes segment that featured the founder of Free the Children, Craig Kielburger, a young man who was struck by the injustice of child slavery back when he was in 7th grade and since has built a successful charity empowering kids to change the world. 

Kielburger's story is inspiring...and humbling at the same time. Saving kids from poverty and lives of servitude proved much harder in practice than in theory, but he didn't give up. He resisted the temptation to become apathetic, a pitfall that keeps many adults (myself included) from getting involved in any number of worthwhile causes.

This holiday season, I hope you will be inspired by this story, as I have been, and will give giving back another chance. You can create a home that inspires your kids to be a part of something much bigger than themselves. Here's how:

1. Make community service part of your family's mission statement--It's easy to say that giving back is important, but when you put it in writing you're more likely to stick with it.  Sit down as a family and write a "mission statement" that makes community service a priority. 
2. Incorporate charitable gift-giving into your holiday traditions--Work with your kids to clean out the closets, the pantry or the garage and donate usable goods to those in need.  You won't have to look far to find a cause eager for donations this time of year.
3. Shop for gifts that go to support important causes--Not sure what to give loved ones this holiday season?  Hop online with the kids and let them help you shop for gifts that give back.  Check out these suggestions from Harper's Bazaar.
4. Let the kids stage their own charitable event--How about a hot cocoa stand, a gift-wrapping service or a cookie party?  Children develop leadership and organizational skills and experience pride of ownership when they dream up their own way to give back.
5. Plan a volunteer vacation--If you really want to take your volunteerism to the next level, plan a service-oriented family vacation for the New Year.  Cross-cultural Solutions offers working trips to destinations around the world.

Photo from Free the Children

Contributed by Danyelle, Fairmont Private Schools