After seeing a question posed on our online support group regarding teacher gifts, I thought I would share something I like to make for Jessica’s teacher, aides, therapists and bus driver/attendants.

Trying to come up with something to fit the budget as well as being compact and lightweight (must fit in a backpack!)…I thought creating custom candy bar wrappers fit the bill.  And they have the added bonus of raising awareness!  Bundle one custom wrapped candy bar with a few other items such as a bag of microwave popcorn, packs of hot cocoa mix or herbal teas then add a candy cane and tie them all together with a festive ribbon -and viola!- a great little gift!

Here is the candy bar wrapper I created last year (this is a full wrapper, before being folded):

Click on image to see full-size view

For the front I use a photo of Jess along with a holiday greeting, for the back I replace the “Nutrition Facts” section with “CdLS Facts”, add my own “Ingredients” and add a link to the CdLS Foundation website.

I make these to wrap around the ~1.33 oz. size Hershey chocolate bars…though you can use any type of candy bar you like.   You can use any graphics program (I use Paint Shop Pro) to create these.  I’ve also seen instructions online for creating them in Microsoft Word.  The size for each wrapper is approx. 5 1/2″ W x 5 3/4 H, so (turned sideways) you can print two wrappers on an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper.  I prefer using glossy photo paper – makes the wrappers look more like the “real thing”   After wrapping the candy bar, you can either glue or tape the wrapper together at the back (I use clear tape).

Here is a photo of a wrapped candy bar from a few years back: