Good Teacher Gift?

Gift cards. But not just to any place in general. A Visa gift card is nice so they can buy whatever they want.

Most teachers will not say "I want/need cash or a gift card" BUT THEY DO. they also won't say "please don't give me another mug filled with candy I have 200 at home and will never be able to use them all" BUT THEY DO. I know this because a daycare provider is the same. But what we can all use / need is a gas card, giftcards to the grocery store, gift cards for lunches or dinners, cards to places like Michaels and hobby lobby to get things for our class room. We get little to nothing for our classroom decorations/supplies. Art supplies are almost always out of our own pockets. Treats/rewards also out of our own pockets. While yes we like and appreciate those plates of cookies and heart felt notes the Starbucks card so I can have a cup of coffee in the morning on a busy parent teacher conference day is greatly greatly appreciated. And it doesn't matter what grade the kids are in those are always appreciated.

Teachers have enough mugs, lotions and candles to fill a department store. Please steer clear from those.

A heartfelt handwritten thank you is very much appreciated. Most especially if it is also sent to the principal so the teacher is recognized with her boss.

We did a number of things for our teachers...
money tree, gift card tree (everyone contributed what they wanted and we made a tree with the money or gift cards hanging on it)

For personal gifts, I have given movie tickets with refreshments for 2, nice restaurant gift certificates to places the teacher would rarely get to go, gift cards, supplies for the classroom.

Anytime we found a homemade crafty item we did that and it was appreciated.

In high school, my daughter had a teacher who came in with his Sonic cup everyday. So for Christmas, she got him a $20 gift card from Sonic because he was there daily, put the card in a Sonic cup and he loved it. He thought at first that she was bringing him a Sonic drink!

Many teachers love Starbucks.

Hands down, gift cards--book store, teacher store, craft store, coffee shop, bakery, Target. In our district we cannot accept a gift valued over $25.

Definitely not, scented lotions/soaps/candles. Lots of scents bother me so I don't use them and with little kids, I never use candles.

No ornaments. I would need three trees to put all of the ornaments up each year. I have half a box we did t put in the tree this year, and a box I never even opened.

No coffee mugs or apple things. Got tons of them.

No jewelry. I see jewelry as a very personal gift.

Food items are iffy. Homemade items I rarely will eat. Just don't want to take the chance that someone who came in contact with them may have been ill. I don't want to have a sick family over break. At the holidays we always have tons of extra treats around. We really don't need any more.

I'm afraid I sound really ungrateful. The reality is I don't need or expect any gift. A nice handwritten note is more than enough for me. I can probably count on one hand the number of gifts that I have kept over my 20 or so years of teaching. But, I have hundreds of cards, thank you notes, and pictures that I have gotten from students and parents over the years. That means so much more to me than a gift card or little trinket.

Gift Cards! The best thing is that they fit every budget! You can spend any amount you want.

I just sent a little note in last week to my kids' teachers. It said:

Dear Mrs. ________,

I am helping my mom with a little Christmas shopping and would like to get to know you better...
I like to shop at ___________________________
I like to eat at _____________________________
My favorite scent is _________________________
My favorite color(s) is _______________________
I don't really like ___________________________

Sincerely, (your child's name) I had them write their name

Gift cards - office supplies (where they purchase things for the classroom), craft stores, etc. The others are right that teachers just don't need mugs and frames that say "World's Best Teacher" or a ton of candy. They already have dozens of those things, and they re-gift the candy because it's what everyone does.

Most teachers have a 2nd job because they get paid so little. So very basic expenses are a big deal.

Avoid stores and restaurants that are controversial to many, lest you offend - avoid Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Starbucks, Papa John's unless you are 100% positive that the teacher loves that store and doesn't object to their politics.

Restaurants are okay BUT $25 at a restaurant buys her a dinner, but she has to shell out for her spouse or significant other. So it might actually present a hardship for her.

Most schools recognize this problem, and the room parents organize to do a collection to get one larger gift by letting parents pool their money. An amount is suggested, but our parent groups recognize that economics are an issue for parents with limited income or many kids in the school system. So no one keeps track or records who gave how much, and no one's name is left off the card. We also have an educational foundation to which parents can make cash donations in a teacher's name, and then teachers can apply for mini-grant (around $500) for projects or equipment that aren't in the budget. It's a great advantage so find out if your school has one.

Some local stores may give teachers a discount for their classrooms, so sometimes a gift card there goes a lot farther than you think.

My kids always do handwritten notes and gift cards...the value is normally $5-10 depending on our financial situation. If I had one child, the value of the card would go up.

We try to buy for places we know the teachers love...but if we aren't sure, Target is our go-to store.

Gift cards. Teachers have enough mugs/frames/candles/junk to last them a lifetime. Have your child make a nice card and give her a gift card. If you know of a favorite store, go for that. If she has a particular hobby, find a gift card related to that. I usually do Amazon, Barnest & Noble or Target. A general Visa gift card is great too. Teachers love gift cards so they can actually get something they will want and use.

I give a gift card for a Bakers Square pie to my sons teacher and I have my son make a card. I figured they probably don't get too many of these and they can use it any time. Who doesn't like pie?

At the end of the year I gave a $ 20 gift card to Target because the teacher gave out a lot of little incentive prizes during the year. I thought she could use it to buy some items for her next class.