Every year my students are generally given something special from me. I do write them a pretty long note because I find that words of affirmation are incredibly important (especially for a child.) I give them a little hot cocoa mix (which I believe I stole from my mother's large bag of classroom ideas) and I also purchase a desk light for every student. 

And the purpose of the light is to be able to do work with the lights off and the colored holiday lights strung above us but the purpose is also to remember that while we are all covered in a whimsical blanket of colored lights, the individual lights that shine in our own hearts are equally as important. "Let your light shine" is the motto I use all year and every day and when the students walk in to a colored light streaming fest and tiny little lights (25 to be exact) shining from each desk, I think it really hits home the facts of the classroom: 

1. Every student has a light

2. I believe in you and your light

3. Now it's your turn to believe it too

And see it and feel it and look in awe and wonderment at a classroom that is not just a classroom, but a large mason jar of firefly dreams that are zooming around overhead, waiting to be caught and released and recognized. Light the classroom is one of my favorite days of the year because it is a visible symbol of whimsy. And as one student said it best, "This classroom is just so beautiful." It is. And the world is too.