My son attends a mommy's day out program once a week and as a former teacher I feel it is important to show my appreciation and would like to do/get something for the teachers for the holidays. The problem is there is more than one teacher in the room (3 usually). As a teacher I always LOVED gift cards, but it seems like I wouldn't be able to give much if I need to give to all 3 - Any ideas? What can I do/give to show my appreciation that wouldn't be too expensive?
I cheap yet fun gift I have used in the past is to go to the video store and buy a gift certificate for two or three free rentals. I then place this in a small basket with a couple of bags of microwave popcorn and maybe some pop cans and candy or whatever you think they will enjoy a movie night at home with. I then place a small card telling them to enjoy a movie night with their family on us.
Shona
a candle would be great, i recommend yankee candles. or get a votive and a nice holder or ring to put it in. cheaper than gift cards and still says, "I care enough to pick something cool out for you". well i think it's cool anyway, i love candles, lol. good luck. i always opt for the small gift over the gift card...you can spend less by just putting a bit of thought into it.
I don't know how old your little one is, but could he MAKE them a bracelet? There are such cool beads at craft stores and it is very easy. Otherwise, how about a movie gift card for $15.00 each? Or...how about a different craft project for each...a garden stone that he can put his hand print in and then decorate with pretty stones...at michaels, or other craft stores. Making things means so much more. I don't know how much time you have, but if you would google on the internet best teacher charm key chain...my daughter did this one year, and i actually found it at Hallmark...they have GREAT gift ideas and stuff on sale too, check them out too. Good Luck!
We make hot chocolate mix and put it in cute little burlap bags that I bought from someplace online that were a couple bucks for 2 dozen. Then we make homemade cookies. Last year we had various size stars that we made sugar cookies with. We decorated them and numbered them 1 - 12 in order from smallest to largest and put a little plastic baggie of frosting in the box with instruction to "build a tree" with the numbered cookies. Big hit!! You can pm me for the recipe for hot chocolate if you want.
J.,
Nothing says how special someone is like a homemade item. I like to give pumpkin bread or banana bread, ginger bread cookies, etc. Your son can help you make it and it is always a big hit! It will also make your son feel good to help with the gift.
D.
Have you ever gone to Restaurant.com? You can sign up and they will send you emails that tell you when their gift certificates go on super sale. And by super sale I mean you can get a certificate that is worth $25 for only $2!!! You could get several for each teacher, or get just one each and include a check to cover the extra amount they will have to spend in order to redeem the certificate. (Some of the certificates will say that you need to spend $10 more than the price of the certificate...etc).
Or you could bake something for each of them, banana nut bread, holiday cookies, something yummy.
There are lots of ways to express your appreciation without spending a lot of money.
Home made or store bought goodies in a cute container or bag. I've taught for years in both preschool (currently) and elementary and high school and always love the home made goodies. My kids are older now and we just give stuff to the dance teachers now and I buy a plain white platter and put goodies on it and wrap it with plastic wrap and heat set it on the bottom over the stove. Always a big hit. Good luck and God Bless.
The ladies in our MOMS Club group often give Nana's Apple Cake from Tastefully Simple along with an apple and the teachers love it! They are around $8 per box w/tax & shipping. I'd be happy to take care of that for you if you'd like. You can visit my website at tastefullysimple.com/web/cseever or email me directly at ____@____.com.
Another idea is rally the parents in the class to all chip in for gift cards for each teacher. I do this at my daughter's school. I just send a note to each family asking if they would like to all chip in for a gift card(s). So far, each year all parents have participated. I think this way helps everyone in that they are not having to spend a lot and the teachers are getting something nice in return.
Things I always enjoy getting and giving as gifts are magnetic shopping lists. They have some inexpensive ones at Dollar Tree and Target (dollar bins) that are really cute. You can buy about several for the teachers and it still won't break your wallet.
Good Morning J.. If it is for a Christmas gift you could get one gift card a week or when ever your pay periods are.
Then you wouldn't have a big expense at one time. Could give them cards for different restaurants or a movie card etc.. or to the teacher supply store. A Manicure or pedicure gift card.
Heck give me one I would love it.....lol
God Bless you J., lots of ideas running around up here this morning.
K. Nana of 5
My son attends preschool and occasionallly goes to extended care. There are 5 or 6 teachers that do extended care, so for the end of the year gift I brought lunch. I bought a sandwich ring from Mr. Goodcents subs, bought 2 bottles of soda, made brownies, and cut up some fruit. It cost me around $20-$25 and they were very thankful for the delicious lunch!
I think a food place gift card is appropriate so maybe the teachers can go out to lunch together. Nothing fancy, just for a burger place or something like that. I get Sonic gift cards a lot for $5 and I love it.
Between my 3 kids..we have a lot to give as well and I want to give to all of them..besides my daughters 3 teachers, and music director, my one son has his regular teacher and his speech teacher (who also has a student teacher this year) and my other son has 2 teachers in his pre K.....then the kids have the bus driver and a few other adults that are very active in the school....I get christmas tins, containers and crafty packaging and we make special cookies, fudge, choc. dipped pretzel rods with christmas sprinlkes. These homemade gifts not only show you made an effort, and taste great and make a good treat, but you can have all the gifts made for about $20. Besides, how many more coffee mugs and "generic" gifts have they gotten over the years.
The group gift is a great idea, but as someone who works in an elementary school, I can say that teachers love gifts made by their students. I have kept all of my cards and pictures in a special photo box and I love to look through them, especially if I've had a rough day.
The kids are so genuine in their thoughts and it makes my day to have them hand me something they have made and are so proud of.
Have your little guy make a card, even if all he can write is his name. Suggest that he draw a picture of his favorite thing to do at school and if you can include a recent picture of him somewhere in the card or on the back, that would make it even better.
Then you can toss a small gift card to Sonic or Starbucks inside it if you really feel like you need to (even $3-5 is enough). Put it all in a cute gift bag!
Trust me, good teachers appreciate the thought, not the amount spent. Have a wonderful holiday!
What a thoughtful person you are!!!!
As a classroom teacher, I appreciate anything that a student gives me. Since you have 3, this could get expensive.
Things to avoid: candles, tree ornaments, mugs (we have loads of those)
Good ideas:
Blockbuster gift cards in a box with some microwave popcorn is nice.
Bring in lunch for the 3.
Send in cookies.
Mix up one of those jars with the ingredients for cookies.
Small container of flavored teas or coffees.
Small giftcard for Starbucks.
I have the same problem. I can't afford gifts for 3 teaches, SP and OT therapists. How about getting with the other parents and get donations and from that purchase gifts for all the teachers. That is what I'm doing at my daughters school. I just have to put an amount of money in the pot, and someone else will purchase the gifts from us all. Now I don't have to worry about getting 5 gifts and it's also cheaper this way then giving $10 or so to each teacher.
For my girls teachers this year I bought small kitchen gadgets from Pampered Chef and am going to make a dinner in a disposable pan and freeze it. That way they can thaw it out anytime and have a ready made dinner any time. I'm thinking about chicken spaghetti. You wouldn't have to include the kitchen stuff. I think the food alone would be appreciated.
