This crazy winter, it became crystal clear that our bus driver needed some special attention during Teacher Appreciation Week. Coach Kevin kept our kids safe during a marathon 3.5 hour bus “ride” during which they were stuck in Atlanta’s Snowmaggedon. Until we could figure out where the bus was, and until my husband could hike through the snow and ice to the bus, Kevin took care of scared, cold, hungry kids (who had to pee) for all that time. We sent him a gift card, but he deserved a medal.

So on Pi Day, when Baby A took a lemon meringue pie to school, Coach Kevin’s eyes got very big. “Lemon meringue pie is my favorite,” said Kevin. Well, I’m thinking that pie would be a pain for him to handle on the bus all day. But, Lemon Jell-o Cookies might be manageable. So I’m turning to I Heart Nap Time’s recipe.

Annnnnd — just for you and me — my fab sponsor Cupcake Wishes and Birthday Dreams has created Bus Driver Thank You Tags for Teacher Appreciation Week!! Thank you, Keisha!

Keisha is not only a talented printables designer: she also offers hand-crafted decorative party elements in her shop. I love her yarn pom garlands and party hats. Be sure to check her out at Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams on Etsy.

If you don’t have it on the calendar, Teacher Appreciation Week 2014 is May 5 – 9. You can see Teacher Appreciation free printables that I’ve featured in past years on my Freebies page, and I’ll feature more on Freebie Friday. But today… let’s take a moment for the bus drivers!

You can download all three bus driver appreciation tags here.

So here’s my take on Lemon Jell-o Cookies and a School Bus Driver Appreciation Gift — super easy to package.

School Bus Driver Appreciation Supplies

• 12 oz. mason jar
• Thin ribbon or baker’s twine
• Keisha’s tags
• Solid color paper
• Double-stick tape
• Scissors
• 2″ or 2.25″ circle punch
• 2.5″ circle punch
• Corner rounder punch
• Single hole punch

School Bus Driver Appreciation Instructions

1 – Stack 12 cookies in your washed and dried mason jar.

2 – Punch out a 2.5″ circle in a solid color of scrapbooking paper and adhere it to the mason jar with with double stick tape.

3 – Punch out one of Keisha’s tags with the 2″ or 2.25″ circle punch (depending on your printer settings). Add another piece of tape to your solid paper and adhere Keisha’s circle tag.

4 -Trim out one of the vertical tags, clip the corners with a corner rounder punch, and add a single hole at the top of the tag.

5 – Wrap your ribbon above and around the glass lip of the mason jar, leaving about 5″ on either end. Add your tag, knot the ribbon, and top it with the rest of the lid. Tie a bow.

And that’s it! A gift your school bus driver can pop in his cup holder and enjoy during breaks on his route. Maybe we’ll add Starbucks gift card so Kevin can have some coffee with his cookies.

I’d love to know how you’ll use these tags; let me know in the comments below.