Activity Awards

If you can't go to Ireland, celebrating St. Patrick's Day is the next best thing!

Monday is St. Patrick’s Day, the luckiest day of the year!  Get your Irish on with games and laughter with friends, family or co-workers!

Tunes

Start things up with your favorite Irish songs.  While I was in college, my favorite hang out was an Irish pub called Kell’s.  Live music was a staple at Kells with lively sing-along drinking songs.  My favorites are The Rattlin’ Bog and Molly Malone (Cockles & Mussels) . Check out the renditions above to get in a Celtic mood!  You just gotta smile and tap a toe while listening to these sappy songs!

Awards

Host a "wear green to work"contest at the office or get the green beer flowing with an after hours game of beer pong!  Recognize your friends for being lucky to know you with these awesome awards!

Pot of Gold Award – It's at the end of the rainbow, guarded by a greedy Leprechaun!

Lucky Horseshoe – Forget 4-leaf clovers, horseshoes are the best symbols for good luck!

Flora Leaf Block -   Perfect for spring! Lovely crystal green leaves decorate the side of this clear optical crystal award.

Food

A kid-approved favorite!

The traditional Irish-inspired meal for St. Patrick’s Day is Corned Beef and Cabbage.  Other ideas include shepherd’s pie, Irish stew, and Irish soda bread.  Find great recipes to try at Allrecipes.com.

My favorite St. Patrick's Day treat is an American, kid-approved classic – green shamrock-shaped sugar cookies!  Yum!

Don’t forget to wear your green and enjoy St. Patrick’s Day!

Cheers,
Jessica

Summer is the perfect time to visit relatives near and far at the annual family reunion. Spending quality time with family you don’t often see creates memories that last a lifetime.

When planning your reunion, consider including games or other contests. They are a great way to involve everyone in the event, because they break the ice by encouraging family members to interact with one another. Below are some ideas for family reunion games and contests.

Family Reunion Games

My friend Kelly's annual Pickleball and Cornhole tournament.

Bean Bag Toss:  (Also called Cornhole) This game is easy to play for both young and old. The bean bag toss boards are available for purchase at any sporting goods store, or you can build your own. Be sure to award a trophy to the winning team!

Horseshoes: This is a classic game. Many parks have horseshoe pits already built in – you just supply the shoes. The only caution with this game is horseshoes are heavy, so take care when throwing them. We make trophies for this game as well.

Bocce Balls: Another throwing game, only this one uses small balls. Bocce is a fun game for all ages that is easy to play and not too physically demanding. Older inactive adults can play, along with the youngest of kids.

Cards: If playing cards are your family’s passion, consider hosting a card tournament. My friend’s family holds a huge cribbage tournament at his family reunion each year. They really get into it, with past winners memorialized on a perpetual trophy.

Field Day Games: Any games that are at a school Field Day make great family reunion games. These include sack race, 3 legged race, egg toss, relays, tug–of-war and long jump.

Other Active Kid Games: Keep the kids entertained for hours with some recess games!  For young preschool aged kids, Duck Duck Goose is a great choice. For school aged kids, running games such as Red Light Green Light or Tag are always hits, and require no equipment. Variations on Tag include Freeze Tag or Flashlight Tag at night. Put the older kids in charge of planning and running the games; the younger ones will be sure to join in!  Here is a link to more kid game options, with instructions on how to play.

Family Reunion Contests

If active games aren’t your family’s thing, consider hosting a cooking contest. Some popular ones we’ve seen include pie baking contests, chili and barbeque cookoffs. Another idea is to have special family dishes that are brought to the event, taste tested, and judged! For ideas on how to judge a cookoff, check out my blog post, Chili Cookoff Ideas.

Another idea is to showcase your talents at a family talent show, with a variety of acts. Everyone who participates gets a prize. That would be one reunion you’d never forget!

Family Recognition

I actually found the idea to write this blog post from a customer comment. This customer uses  corporate awards to honor various family members at her annual reunion. This group recognizes high school and college graduations, new jobs, promotions, and any awards a family member has received throughout the year at their event. They also award members who have shown selfless dedication to the family. What a great way to recognize those who make a difference in your family!

Safe travels, fun times, and great memories at your next family reunion!

Cheers,
Jessica

The end of the school year is an exciting time for so many reasons.  The kindergartners are ready to move into elementary school. The middle schoolers are excited about high school in the fall. High school seniors are itching to head off to college. And college graduates are looking forward to careers or graduate school. (If you live in the Pacific Northwest like we do, the most exciting thing is that the sun is almost here.)

We see a lot of school-related recognition this time of year.  For students, faculty and staff.  Here are some fun ones:

Awards for ASB Leaders

At Skyline High School, the ASB is recognizing their leaders with these cool Steel Water Bottles that have the school logo, their name, and the leadership position held.

At Issaquah High School, they recognize students that have excelled in art, business, sports medicine, journalism and other areas with school plaques.

We see plaques for Most Achieved and Most Inspirationalawarded in the music departments at many schools.  These award winners are nominated by their peers.

At Hazen High School, the staff awards the Spirit of the Highlander Award to students who do great things every day, but who sometimes fly under the radar. For example, overcoming personal difficulties, helping out classmates, making positive life choices, and academic improvement.

At Sunny Hills Elementary, they recognize Outstanding Educators with the Apple Resin Trophy.

We update tons of plaques this time of year for Outstanding Educator and Outstanding Advocate.  And don’t forget the volunteers with the Golden Acorn Award.

For Outstanding Educators!

Ribbons, pins and Certificates of Achievement are other great ways to recognize students, faculty and staff.  Think about celebrating Perfect Attendance, Most Improved, Mathlete, Super Citizen and more.  I even read of one school that awards the Custodians’ Choice Awards for cleanest classroom. Be creative. But most importantly, celebrate the end of the school year by celebrating the successes and achievements of all.

Blessings,

Anne

Two weeks until the biggest football day of the year - SUPERBOWL SUNDAY! Want to enjoy the game, the ads, and the half-time show with friends and family? Then throw a party! One idea to heat up the day even more is to host a chili cook-off before, during, or after the game. Chili and Football go hand-in-hand, and a Superbowl party is the perfect opportunity to share yummy food with a little friendly competition.

Below are the must have’s for any Superbowl Sunday Chili Cook-off:

The Chili:  Have your guests bring their chili in a crock pot. At chili cook-offs I host, the rules are you can make any type of chili you want– beef, chicken, vegetarian, spicy, mild, with beans, without beans – pretty much anything goes, as long as it’s homemade. But other competitions have different chili categories and award a winner in each. For ideas of how to plan and judge a chili cook-off, see my previous blog posts.

Make it easy by having entries in crock pots.

Winning Chili Recipes:  Here's my tip of how to win your cookoff:  look on the ICS web site for past chili cookoff winners and their recipes.  That's how we won our cook off this fall; why reinvent the wheel?

The Chili Accompaniments:  Be sure to include the extras for the top of the chili. Shredded cheese, sour cream, diced onions, chopped tomatoes, and crushed tortilla chips are all things that can go on top of chili to enhance the flavor.

The Snacks:  Even if you do a chili cook-off, don't forget the game day snacks. Chips and salsa, guacamole, nachos, cheese or bean dip, garlic bread, and cornbread all go great with chili. Cut up veggies with ranch or even a salad balance out the other junk so at least your guests get a little something healthy. And don't forget dessert! I personally like cookies, brownies, cupcakes - things you can eat with your hands, to keep dishes at a minimum.

The Drinks:  Beer, lots of it.  Conserve fridge space and have a cooler with ice for the beer.

The Awards:  We have lots of different options for chili awards on our web site. But to add some laughs at the party, I’d recommend one of our funnier trophies. Two of my favorites are The Golden Throne  and The Bomb Trophy .

The Message:  Of course any award can be funny if you add witty engraving. Below are some ideas for engraving for your awards, some tasteful, others not so much...

1. “We Wish You Hadn’t Entered the Chili Cook-Off” Award
(this is the most popular saying for the Worst Chili Award)

2. “Was That Really Chili?” Award

3. Honorable Mention
You will be in our thoughts later…

4. Best Chili Overall
Mighty Fine Cookin’!

5. Hottest Chili Award
Whoa!! That’s quite a fire!

6. Hottest Chili Award
It hurts coming and going!

7. Hot A** Award
Wipe my butt with a snowball please!

8. Roadkill Award
Was that meat?

9. Exhaust Fume Award
Chili with the most beans

10. Wild Game Award
Best of the Beast

The Superbowl is a great excuse to get together with family and friends, and hosting a chili cook-off is sure to bring an unique twist to your party. But no matter what, Superbowl Sunday is all about hanging out with family and friends and having fun (plus the commercials)!

Cheers,
Jessica

“The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth.”Dan Rather

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." Henry Adams.

Most of us can remember a specific teacher who believed in us, pushed us, or lead us. Really, where would we be without them?  Teachers help us move in the right directions, explore new worlds in a safe environment and introduce us to what our future might look like.  When we are young, they are so special to us and we often form very strong bonds with them.  When we are older we appreciate how amazing they are.  So giving of their time, attention and knowledge for not quite enough in return.  In college we hold them in such high esteem, they are the experts.  We often look back and for the first time realize how much an elementary or high school teacher taught us.  And when we have children of our own, we trust them to do the same for those we hold most dear.

We show appreciation to our teachers in many ways.  At the elementary school that my kids attended, we had a luncheon for them every year the week before school started.  We volunteered in the classroom helping with the kids or cutting out snowmen shapes or making copies of assignments so the teachers wouldn't have to stay after school.  At holiday time, many of the kids will bring in small gifts of appreciation (including Starbucks gift cards).

We celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week the first full week of May.  This normally includes a different activity each day of the week.  One day the kids bring flowers from their gardens or make paper flowers.  One day they write personal notes.  The next might be a breakfast or lunch.  Parents are organized to bring in the food and serve the teachers.  Lattes are brought in one morning and sometimes we even offer free chair massages.  It's all crammed in one week, but they feel pampered that week.

We can do more though, throughout the year.  Encourage your kids to verbally thank their teachers often.  A teacher's highest reward is being appreciated by his or her students.  They, like all of us, need to know that what they are doing is meaningful to someone else.  That they make a difference.  I'm sure they know that they make a difference 'in general'.  But to be told 'Thank You' for a specific act of assistance really brightens their day.

I asked my middle school age daughter to help me brainstorm some great gift ideas for teachers to help them feel appreciated.  I was thinking tickets to a concert or play.  She said it would be best to make something personal for them.  A card, a picture, something to put on their desk or hang on the classroom wall.  Something that shows that you spent time thinking about all they do for you and you wanted to do something for them in return.  Smart girl.

When my daughter left elementary school, she felt nudged to do something for her principal.  (I'm pretty sure they met in his office on her first day of kindergarten, so they had quite a history.)  So she made a card, drew a lovely picture of herself for him, and from her heart wrote about how much she appreciated all he had done for her over the years.  I could tell he liked it.  Later that day when he saw me, he went to get the card out of his office and sat down with me so we could read it together.  It was obvious it touched him.

How can you thank a teacher today?  How can you tell them you appreciate all they do?  Spend some time thinking about this with your kids, then do it.  You'll be happy you did!

Nominate your favorite teacher!

Here are some ways we, here at Issaquah Trophy & Awards, like to recognize our local teachers.

Macaroni Kid Teacher of the Month.  Recognizing the dedication of teachers in the Snoqualmie Valley, Issaquah and Sammamish areas.  You can nominate your teacher here.   http://snoqualmievalley.macaronikid.com/article/366871/teacher-of-the-month-nominate-a-teacher-today

Star 101.5 Teacher of the Week.  Honors outstanding teachers for their hard work.http://www.star1015.com/contestsevents?contest=6831

Have fun recognizing the teachers that are so important in your family's life.

Blessings, Anne