Here's a question we received from a reader.

I'm looking for free or deeply discounted teacher appreciation ideas.  Thoughts??

-Krista

There seem to be several occasions throughout the year that can call for a teachers gift: first day of school, Christmas, Valentines Day, last day of school. So, here are a few of my favorite ideas..

Water Bottles

Water bottle and single serve drink packets (be sure to check out the original post for printables)

Cup and Starbursts (be sure to check out the original post for printables)

Water bottle and single serve drinks (be sure to check out the original post for printables)

Gift Card Ideas

Starbucks cup (of their favorite coffee shop) and gift card

Gift Card Snow Globe

Flower Gifts

Flower Pot Gift

Pencil Flowers

Be sure to check out my board on Pinterest for several more ideas.

ele Cake Co is celebrating 15 years! Today Wednesday, January 25 from 5:30-7:30pm they are having a celebration and all are invited. There will be free birthday cake, tasty treats, face painting, balloons, animals and more! Please note that this is only at their West Carrollton location.

I am bummed because we already have plans tonight.. otherwise I'd be there!

PLUS if you love ele Cake Co too, be sure to sign up for their birthday club- you will get a coupon for a free cupcake on your birthday. Yay!

Now you probably don't know this about me but, I'm not the biggest fan of exercise. It isn't that I don't see the value of exercise or that I don't enjoy the results of the work and effort that you put in.. it's just that I am not good at  taking the time to do it. But this year things are a little different. See I turned 30 (shhh) last year and it's our 10 year wedding anniversary this September. So between my age catching up with me and the fact that my sweetie is taking me to a tropical beach for our anniversary I've come to grips that I PROBABLY should try and make a little effort this year.

Well, thanks to Purex and Jockey I recently received a bottle of the new Purex Crystals Tropical Splash Fabric Softener and a new Sports Bra from Jockey! I have never tried the Crystals fabric softener before and the thrifty part of me was thrilled to get a new sports bra too. Since I workout so little I had no idea about how to or how not to wash special moisture wicking fabrics correctly. Did you know that liquid fabric softeners contain softing oils, which prevent moisture wicking fabrics from working. Purex Crystals is an innovative freshening product that doesn't use oil for softening.

So with my new found knowledge and slightly sore exercise-lazy legs I took my workout clothes, sports bra and fabric softener to our washing machine. It was fairly simple process.

1- Insert dirty laundry

2- Add detergent to appropriate detergent place

3- Shake capful of Purex Crystals fabric softener on top of laundry

4- Wash and dry clothes

5- Smell awesome with no damage to your moisture wicking fabrics!

And my Jockey sports bra? It was really comfortable to wear and I felt like it provided very good support. I've never owned a sports bra this nice and I really liked it's great features like a Moisture-wicking fabric that helps keep you cool and dry, key pocket, breathable mesh panels and a soft elastic band for support.

So my review? Purex Crystals are a perfect fabric softener option for your workout clothes and especially for your towels (come on.. who doesn't love fresh smelling towels?!). The Jockey Sports Bra is super comfortable and breathable. You can even get one for yourself with this sweet 20% off code!

Now would you like a chance to win this awesome Jockey Sports Bra and a bottle of Purex Crystals? Or maybe you are critical about my review and want to try them for yourself... whatever your reason might be Deals For Dayton is giving away a Purex/Jockey prize pack to one lucky reader! This prize pack includes (1) Jockey Tech Terry Performance Sports Bra in your choice of size and (1) full-sized bottle of Purex Tropical Splash Crystals.

Main entry: What do use to wash your workout clothes? (Be sure to leave your comment on this post so that it gets counted)

This contest ends Monday, January 30, at midnight EST. We will use Random.org to pick our winner.

Disclosure: Jockey and Purex provided free samples of their products so I could review them. But this post and opinions are my own and not paid for or influenced by the item provided.

Kids Eat FREE Every Tuesday Night at Bob Evans with an adult entree purchase. Valid for children 12 and under.

Family Night takes place weekly from 4PM to close. Let them help you bring the whole family together this winter for a good meal and activities! Also be sure to visit them on Facebook to download your Sweet Treat Club Card to earn FREE cookies & an Ice Cream Sundae for your kids!

Want more deals like this? Be sure to check out our great list of KIDS EAT FREE for daily deals.

If the public schools are closed for a snow day bring your kids into O'Charley's for a FREE kids meal with every adult entree purchased. So when there's snow.. don't worry.. because there might be free food in your future!

Here's the fine print: Available in participating restaurants in Ohio. Offer valid in restaurant location of the local school system only. Free kids meal is valid for children ages 10 and under. Available in restaurant only.

On Tuesday December 6, my fabulous co-host Kate and I got to spend a few hours enjoying some holiday party fun with some of the amazing moms! Mom's deserve a night out just having fun and we all enjoyed several hours at Villas at the Pointe Clubhouse doing just that!  This event we tried to mix things up a bit and asked all our attendees to look at the world around them and try to find ways to perform Random Acts of Kindness to those around. We wanted everyone to have fun, but also think about how they could share a little bit kindness to others. There was even a giveaway that we had for everyone that posted a RAOK on our Facebook page that they did before the event.

We are so thankful for our great sponsors that helped us pull off our AMAZING night. Life Stages Centers, Pine Brothers and Pedi-Derm were really the real reason that our event was even possible. Life Stages Centers truly cares about helping women in every stage of life. They offer a wide range of services that focus on women and their needs from OB/GYN care to heart health. They desire to focus on a strong person-to-person contact between patient and provider, and we all want to feel comfortable when we visit the doctor no matter the reason. Pine Brothers cares about helping "make people happy" (no..really.. it says that WORD for WORD on their site! So cool!) and no one is very happy with a sore throat. So, Pine Brothers came in with a softish throat drop to help soothe throats with a unique product. Last but not least, Pedi-Derm knows how a diaper rash is NO fun for a parent of the child so they created a product to help heal the broken skin that is a part of diaper rash. Plus everyone knows that when baby isn't happy..no one is, so when they have a diaper rash you want it to heal up as quickly as possible. So thanks to these great sponsors that care about families we were able to enjoy a great night of relaxing.

There were lots of fun things going on including our photo booth with Braun Photography, Shellac manicures, Satin Hands treatments, delicious food, giveaways and more. Last but not least, everyone got to take home a swag bag literally stuffed full of swag!! Thanks to all our great giveaway, food and swag sponsors. We are so thankful to have such generous sponsors at Ultimate Mom's Night Out our evening could not have happened without them.

Primary Sponsors:

• Life Stages Centers
• Pine Brothers
• Pedi-Derm

Product Sponsors:

• Mary Kay by Patti Hollender
• Lia Sophia
• Veggie Tales
• The Organized Parent
• Buttercream Lane
• Biltmore Inspirations
• Smash Burger
• Five Rivers Metro Parks
• Beaute Box
• Jenna Claire
• CozyMelts
• Keller Bodies
• Braun Photography
• Columbus Science Center -COSI
• Teething Bling

It was so great meeting so many of our readers. We always love to meet you all! Please be sure to follow Ultimate Mom's Night Out on Facebook to be kept up to date on all the fun! Plus you can check out all the photo booth fun and lots of other great pictures from Ultimate Mom's Night Out. And while you are there please be sure to follow Deals For Dayton and my fabulous co-host Savvy Little Women.

Photo credit: Braun Photography

Michaels is having a couple different holiday craft events this Saturday, December 17.

• Duck Tape Luggage Tag: 10am-12pm
• Poinsettia Card: 12-2pm

Looking for more events? Be sure to check out our Calendar section where you can find lots of things to do every day!

Be sure to sign up early because the clinics are filling up fast! On Saturday, December 17 Lowes is having their bi-monthly Build and Grow Clinic from 10-11am. They are building a "Train Engine" this month for the clinic. This project is one of a three week train project. Online registration is required, and there is a list of stores that are participating. If a store you go to is not listed it is because all the slots have been filled. 

Each participant receives a free apron, a project themed patch, goggles and a certificate upon completion of their project. Although it does specify school age- as long as your child can follow instructions and handle hammering they will allow them to come. (We started going when our son was 4 yr old) This is always a great weekend activity.

Looking for more events? Be sure to check out our Calendar section where you can find lots of things to do every day!

Here's what's going on this week. Be sure to check out our calendar!

Saturday, December 10
Barnes & Noble: Storytime
Dayton Mall: Paintbrush Pottery Event
Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts: Free Make-It Take-It Event
Air Force Museum: Family Day

Tuesday, December 13
Books & Co: Storytime
Barnes & Noble: Storytime

If you are looking for even more deals be sure to follow us on Facebook! We often post exclusive "quick deals" that we find there!

Have a deal or event that you know about? Please feel free to share it with us!