When I was first cleared to exercise after Chase was born, I quickly realized a few of my old favorite ways to work out weren’t going to work for a while for me because of the lack of childcare offered at some of my favorite fitness studios.
Not only could I not resume teaching my regular classes at the gym (they do not offer childcare until a child can sit up), but I also had to temporarily forgo Pure Barre workouts as well. I was quite bummed about this, but sometimes when one door closes another one opens. In this case, the door lead me to my local Burn Boot Camp.
(The above banner is hanging on the wall at my local BBC. LOVE it.)
I heard wonderful things about Burn Boot Camp (BBC) from other moms in my area. The workouts sounded seriously challenging but, most importantly for me, the childcare offered at my local boot camp received rave reviews.
I visited BBC two times by myself before I felt comfortable enough to bring Chase along. I wanted to meet the woman who worked there and speak with her about bringing my baby boy there soon. She instantly made me feel at ease and the first time I arrived with Chase, Miss Lindsey held him swaddled in her arms the entire time.
As weeks went by and I fell more and more in love with my BBC workouts, I also fell more in love with Miss Lindsey and her incredible passion for caring for children. Not only does she come up with the cutest craft projects for the children, but she plays with Chase when he’s excitable, snuggles him when he’s sleepy and gives me peace of mind during the 45 minutes of the day when I’m not in full-on mommy mode.
During the holiday season, I knew I wanted to give Lindsey a holiday gift bag to say a big thank you to her for taking such great care of Chase and the other BBC kids. She truly goes above and beyond and the other mothers and I know how lucky we are to have her watching our children during our workouts.
I picked up a bunch of goodies at CVS and tried to stick with a fitness/health/holiday theme!
I filled the gift bag with hair ties, cucumber hand lotion, facial cleansing towelettes (perfect to use to freshen up post-workout!) and nail polish for a little something fun. Side note: I am in love with Essie’s Bahama Mama color. So pretty!
I also had to add some festive holiday items to the gift bag and hoped Lindsey’s adorable daughter might like the fuzzy socks I included.
And because gift bags should always include some kind of delicious treat, I added two of my favorite snacks.
I know Lindsey is fairly health-conscious so I wanted to include snacks that were tasty and a little sweet but still mostly healthy and free from artificial preservatives and flavors. We LOVE the Gold Emblem Abound Berries & Nut Clusters in our house and I think the Fuji Apple & Raspberry Clusters are a perfect healthy option to grab when your sweet tooth hits.
We also included two cards (our family Christmas card from Chase and a thank you card from me) and a VISA gift card in the gift bag. I really hope Lindsey knows just how much she means to our family. A thank you gift bag doesn’t even begin to do her justice, but hopefully it added a little bit of holiday cheer to her day last week!
Gift Card Giveaway
Now it’s giveaway time…
Today’s giveaway is for a $100 CVS gift card!
You may use the gift card toward anything at CVS, though I encourage you to use your gift card to assemble a surprise “thank you” gift basket for someone in your life who means a lot to you.
I highly recommend adding some of CVS’ tasty snacks from their Gold Emblem Abound line in your gift basket, as all of the the ingredients in CVS’ Gold Emblem Abound snacks are totally recognizable (no artificial preservatives and flavors) and they offer both sweet and savory options you can feel good about gifting.
To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment on this blog post telling me about someone in your life who you think deserves a thoughtful thank you basket from you! I’ll randomly select and email a giveaway winner tomorrow so we can get you your gift card ASAP!
Good luck!
***
Disclaimer: This blog post is part of my ongoing partnership with CVS. Though this post features some of my favorite CVS snacks, the gift bag idea was mine alone and was assembled and paid for by me as a big thank you to a woman who means a lot to our family.
I’m proud to partner with CVS/pharmacy as one of the “Gold Emblem Abound Trail Makers” this year. I am being sponsored by CVS/pharmacy for my Trail Makers posts and activities, but all opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared should be verified at CVS.com or with the appropriate manufacturers. As always, I am so appreciative of your support surrounding sponsored posts. Thank you!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
I would give a thank you gift bag to my husband. I recently graduated from the occupational therapy masters program and he has been very supportive throughout the whole process so this would be a nice way to say thank you for all of his love and encouragement!
My daycare providers, definitely! The ladies who work there are absolutely fantastic.
My friend Renee is a huge cheerleader for me and for everyone else she volunteers with at our church. She is always encouraging people and building us up. She gives so much of her talent, wisdom and time to other people and never expects anything in return, even though she works really hard at her day job and in her volunteer role. I would love to surprise her with some fun treats!
My parents…they just celebrated 30 years of marriage!
I would give it to my daughters teacher! She has gone above and beyond to help us through this school year. She is an amazing teacher!
I would make a gift basket for our childcare workers too – we actually already gave them something for the holidays, but I always feel like it’s never enough and would love to do something extra special for them. Especially now that they are working on potty training with my son!
I have several Mom friends who I would love to give some goodies to. Moms work SO hard, they all deserve a little something once in a while!
My dog groomer/boarder – she’s amazing and takes such great care of my fur child 🙂
My twin sister! We live in different cities now and I would love to remind her how much I love her with this gift basket!
I’d really love to give my parents a gift basket. I just feel like I owe them so much!
One of my coworkers deserves a thank you more than anyone. From big things to small things, he is always willing to help everyone. Yesterday we got over a foot of snow just while at work, and about 10 minutes before I left he went out and swept the snow off my car and started it. Small acts make big impressions I say. Would love to surprise them!
My mom deserves a great gift basket. She does so much for others and deserves it so much.
Thanks!
Diana C
My husband…..he’s gone above and beyond this year with Christmas decorations, shopping, and organizing. We recently relocated our family and he has made our new house actually feel like home.
one of my coworkers who always has my back no matter what!
Definitely my boss! she is one of my best friends and is wonderful to work for! I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else!
This would have been great for my son’s nursery school teachers, but would be a little belated at this point. Miss your “real time” posts.
I would definitely give a “thank you” basket to my parents because even still at my age (34) they are still constant supporters and would do anything for me! Love them!
What a great thoughtful gift! We have a dog sitter I;d love to feel more appreciated!
I would put together a gift basket for my choir director who takes so much time out of his busy schedule (he works pretty high up in the White House!) to dedicate time and energy each Monday evening. I just listened to the recording of our concert from last weekend and it brought tears to my eyes how beautiful we sound, and I know it wouldn’t be possible without his stellar leadership!
My mother-in-law definitely deserves a nice thank-you gift for watching my 1 1/2 year-old son so much!
I would give this to my sister! She has an amazing spirit and has been through a lot of hard times over the past year. This would definitely give her a great “pick me up” and enable her to “spoil” herself with a few fun pampering items from CVS.
I have a relative with 2 special needs children who are now almost middle aged adults. She has not had relief from watching out for them for a long time and has had to give up most everything she has wanted to do in this life to be there for them. She deserves a thank you basket.
This is such a great idea! I would love to put a gift basket together for my Mom. She does so much for myself & my siblings & this would show her, just a little, about how much we love & appreciate her.
My dad!!!! He runs himself ragged
For me:)
My mom, because she has ALWAYS put her family before herself. I would love to pamper her with things she would never buy for herself.
This might be lame but my husband. He works so hard for our family!
I would assemble a gift bag for my mom, she runs her own daycare and works so hard she could use a gift bag full of goodies!
My mom always! The older I get the more I need her. She does everything for everyone.
I’d make a basket for my mom. She does the huge Christmas day celebration with her big family and has been working hard on all the food and having everything ready for weeks!
Easily my neighbor. She lives alone and is constantly supporting all of her friends and family, and never leaves any time to pamper herself – I’d love to show her some extra appreciation this year!
My mother deserves a thank you gift, she is one of the most selfless people I know. She always went above and beyond for my brother and I and now does the same for her 7 grandchildren and works two jobs. She truly never stops.
Love the positivity of your blog! And definitely my son’s nursery workers at our church. They were so patient and loving with him during his period where he was scared of the nursery… And now he loves it there!
My co-worker and long time friend. He always manages to go above and beyond for the place that we work. He also will do anything to help someone out even if it means putting him behind schedule. I would love to show him how much it is really appreciated, especially since we do not get thank you’s all the time.
I’m a first grade teacher and I’d love to make a surprise Thank You gift basket for the principal at my elementary school. She is so supportive and always puts the students and staff first.
I would love to win this gift card so that I can put together a gift of health snacks and travel necessities for the couple I pet and house sit for. The wife’s mother is in very poor health so the couple is traveling 5+ hours a week to visit and help care for her. I know having some good-for-you snacks and often forgotten toiletries in the car would be a major help for them.
This is such a sweet and thoughtful gift! I would definitely have to say my mom. She would love those healthy treats from CVS!
My children’s teachers!
You are so thoughtful and that is such a sweet gesture to show someone you really appreciate them. I would have to go with my husbands cousin. Through a big move and new business adventure, she has been there with daily text messages and wisdom. She has no clue how much all she had done means to me!
Definitely would be for my mom, who is always there for a phone call or a lending ear! She’d love the surprise!
My nurses at the infertility clinic deserve something like this!
I would love to do something like this for my mom!
I would give a thank you basket to my aunt. She takes such good care of my grandfather and takes little time for herself…a gift basket would be a great way to show her my appreciation 🙂
My mother deserves this! She is the most caring, selfless person that I know and definitely needs to be treated. She would be so surprised.
I would give one to the security guard at my kids school (They go to a small co-op church VPK and Moms morning out program) He literally knows each parents face and will stop someone and check their ID if he doesn’t recognize you at pick up! If that doesn’t make you feel good about leaving your kiddos I don’t know what would!
My in laws…they’re picking us up from the airpost, hosting us, and driving us 6+ hours so they could use a treat!
My mom! As the mom to twelve children she is on of the most giving and caring women I know!
My roommate could definitely use this! She’s amazing and is always offering so much without expecting anything in return.
My mom!
You always have the best give-aways and I love the thought behind them! I’d gift it to my sister!! They host so many family events and she gives of her home and time freely. She deserves to be spoiled a bit. 🙂
First of all- I am a huge CVS shopper and am always buying the Abound snacks in all different varieties. I would love to give a gift bag to my daughter who is a cancer nurse at a cancer center. She is always giving and never doing for herself.