This post was written in partnership with Cuties
I’m in love with year three – my big boy is kind hearted, talks my ear off and is a sponge for all things. He is building friendships, learning to navigate group dynamics in his class and repeats every single thing that he hears. When I drop him off at school in the mornings, the very last thing I say to him is “be a kind friend!”. Last week, after I shouted that to him as he shimmied out of the car, he waved and said “you too Mommy, remember to be a kind friend…to Georgia!”.  
With all that Gray is learning, I really wanted this to be the year that we started talking about, thinking of and doing for others over the holiday season. Seeing as he’s still so little, I really wanted to think of age appropriate things we could do together to show him that holidays really are about giving and not about receiving. I know many of you saw the Santa Sacks that I purchased to start our new Christmas Eve tradition and I can’t wait to help him fill his sack with toys for other good little girls and boys.
Over the weekend, I told Gray that we would be working on something special for his teachers. I told him that he and I would get to spend time together making something that would show his teachers just how much he loves them and how lucky he is to learn all that they have to teach. He was so excited to do a special one on one activity with me and I soaked up every single second. While we got to work, we talked about some of his favorite things from this school year, what each of his teachers does to make him laugh and how they give the very best hugs.
He was so proud of his finished product and he absolutely cannot wait to give them to his teachers at their class party. 
Wanna see what we were up to? 
How cute are these stove top potpourri kits, packed with Cuties, cinnamon, cranberries and rosemary?? I am so in love with them and, oh man, do they make your house smell unreal – like the perfect mix of citrus and sweet!
Here’s how we did it
Ingredients:
4 Cuties 
1 bag of fresh cranberries
Sprigs of fresh rosemary
cinamon sticks
Plastic gift bags
Ribbon

Method:
1. Preheat oven to the lowest possible setting (mine was 170 degrees)
2. Pass a Cutie to your helper and have them peel one. They are super easy for little hands to peel and eat, plus the peel itself has all of the yummy flavoring. Keep the peels for yourself and make your own batch of stove top potpourri with it! 
3. Slice the clementines approximately 1/4″ thick – too thick and they won’t dry out, too thin and they’ll get crunchy and break
4. Place the Cuties slices on a rack placed over a baking sheet 
“cook” in the oven for 2-3 hours, until the slices are dry
Once the Cuties are cooled, let your helper grab a handful of each of the ingredients and drop them in the bag (yes, the recipe really is this easy!): 
A handful of dried Cuties
A handful of cinnamon sticks
A handful of cranberries
A few sprigs of rosemary 

I chose the plastic bags that had a sticky strip to seal them up, then tied them with a ribbon and attached one of Gray’s little gift cards. 
On the back of the gift tag I wrote the following instructions:
“Dump in pot filled with H2O
Enough to cover the potpourri and you’re good to go.
Add a dash of vanilla if you wish
Simmer on the stove until it smells delish!” 

Gray will deliver his little hand made gifts during the class holiday party – and a few extras to our neighbors! I, of course, want our sweet teachers to treat themselves so we’ve contributed to the class gift, but I know my big boy will always remember how proud he felt when he gifted his very first hand made present.

P.S. Cuties are officially in season! To celebrate, Cuties is launching 100 Days of Sunshine, a time to brighten someone’s day and share the sweetness of the season. I am honored to partner with a company that strives to remind us that “no matter how big our differences, we are no match for the power of love”.  You can read more about the 100 Days of Sunshine project here