What Does Your Child's Class Get the Teacher as a Holiday/winter Gift?

I used to give cash in a card. I really don't care for visa gift cards because they charge $5 to activate the card and IMHO that is a complete waste of $5.

I'm a former teacher, and quite a few friends are still teaching. Honestly, unless the person absolutely adores expensive coffee, I wouldn't get Starbucks. I also wouldn't get something that assumes the teacher will spend it on classroom supplies - teachers already do that too much anyway, but if parents give it, it sort of implies (even though this is usually not the intent) that you want the money to go back into your kids' lives. Mani/pedis and wine are great ONLY if you know for sure that the person loves those. I also would steer away from any stores that are controversial - for example, some people absolutely despise Walmart in general, or are avoiding stores that, say, open on Thanksgiving. So beware of stepping on a teacher's principles.

The best gifts I got were things I really HAD to enjoy myself. The gardening gift mentioned below would be great. Same with theater tickets. Again - the person has to like those things though. A friend who is a long-time kindergarten teacher really enjoyed a massage gift certificate, and a gift certificate from a boutique that had a lot of different things so she could absolutely find something she liked. A big clothing store would be nice too - teachers (particularly younger grades) are always on the floor with kids, and their pants, leggings and so on really can take a beating.

Restaurant gift certificates are good ONLY if you know for sure that the teacher enjoys that place, and if the gift certificate is enough to cover the meal of a spouse/companion plus tax and tip. So $25 is kind of pointless because she'll have to kick in her own money on top of it to even enjoy the gift.

A gift basket with a lot of fun things is also good - as long as they are things she probably wouldn't buy for herself. If there's a wide assortment, at least most of it will be applicable. Small designer coffees or teas, chocolates, lotion, a plant, a gift card or two, a neutral picture frame, and so on.

I would steer away from things that people tend to give on their own too - that includes the "#1 Teacher" key rings, mugs, picture frames or pens. After a few years, teachers are overwhelmed with those things and they just end up in yard sales where no one will buy them.

The other thing that our district does is encourage gifts to the district Educational Foundation in the teacher's name. (There are also other fundraisers during the year for this - adult trivia bees and so on.) Any teacher can then apply for a mini-grant (usually $250-750) to do something awesome in the classroom that she couldn't do otherwise - buying specialty supplies or equipment, having a guest presenter, etc. Those really stimulate the teacher's innovation and are appreciated. But if you don't have such a thing, go for the individual gift.

I'm delighted that the parents in your class have banded together - teachers appreciate this SO much!!

Find out if he/she has a favorite store. I like it when a store like Target is selected by the room mom when it is a large sum (over $100) instead of Starbucks.

edit: the visa/mastercard gift cards are super annoying. I would not give one because:
1. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/abc-news-fixer-buy-gift-car...
2. I received one and over time it started to be reduced in amount because i did not use it soon enough (sure some will say this is illegal, but it happened and i am not going to call the person who gave it to me to complain). http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/26/gift-cards-shopping-forb...
3. I received a $50 one from work and never used it because I called to access it and they wanted my social security number and driver's license. They said it was to prevent terrorist from buying them in bulk. I believe my company bought it from Walgreens. http://www.adventuresinparenting.me/7684/warning-do-not-b...
4. Also there is an activation fee as J.C.mentioned.

could you imagine your teacher going to dinner and having 20% shaved off because the restaurant didn't know how to use it so the waiter gets a 40% tip. Or if she saved it for a special item 2 years from now only to find out part (or all) has been taken by Visa. Or if she has to be interrogated from a called center half way across the world?

At my kids' school and the school where I teach, individuals decide what to give. There is no group gift.

As a teacher, I don't expect a gift. A card made by a student means so much more to me than a gift. But, hands down, gift cards are what I appreciate most. In our district we can't accept a gift over $20 (or something like that). I'm giving our kids' teachers Barnes and Noble gift cards. Then they can either buy something for their classroom, or something for themselves. I will probably also throw in some homemade bread or cookies.

If you have a significant amount of money you could do a variety of smaller gift cards ($10-$20 each)--a book store, a teacher supply store, a craft store, a coffee shop, a bakery, Target, movie theater. I often try to get gift cards from local businesses. (Our Sunday School teachers and gymnastics coaches are getting gift cards from a local bakery, local ice cream shop, and the movie theater.) If you do a larger sized gift card ($50-$100) get it to someplace like Target or a nicer restaurant. I'm not a fan of anything that has to be used online like Amazon. Personally I just don't like to shop online. I have an Amazon gift card that I've carried around for about a year that I've just never used.

VISA gift cards are OK, but I have run into problems with them. You usually have to pay an activation fee. When you buy them at Target, a $25 gift card actually costs you about $27. If you buy it other places, they don't necessarily charge it up front and the recipient gets charged the fee when they use it. The $25 gift card is actually only about $23. My parents gave us one a couple of years ago and we used it when we went to Disney World. I know there was still a little bit of money left on it--about $10--but no one will take the card anymore. It is always declined. When I told the manager at one place that I knew there was still money on it, and even showed him a receipt with the balance on it, he said that their store policy was not to accept gift cards that have less than a certain amount or that had been partially used at another location. So, I basically have $10 sitting in my wallet that I can't use. I will never buy a VISA gift card for anyone.

I've made gift card trees in the past. I bought a small decorative tree at Target and attached various gift cards to the trees. Target, Starbucks, etc. If you have enough money, the teachers loved it. My other teacher friends say if you are going to get a one place gift card, they love Amazon.

while i'm not a huge fan of gift cards in general, this is the sort of situation for which they're PERFECT. not that something like a pretty ornament would go amiss- but you don't want to weigh her down with schlocky #1 teacher tchotchkes.
all gift cards are not created equally, though. find one with either no activation fee, or a minor one that you can take care of on the front end. i'd look at either a bookstore (show me a teacher who doesn't love books!) or something wide-open like amazon.
i actually prefer to give gifts from small local stores instead of monoliths like amazon, but again, for a teacher whose preferences and needs are unknown, it's pretty perfect.
khairete
S.

I think it depends on the teacher and the situation. Maybe movie tickets or a restaurant gift certificate and cash for a babysitter for a teacher who's got kids at home and who could use a break and a night out with his/her spouse. Or if it's a classroom where the teacher needs to expend a lot of his or her own money for basic supplies, then a gift certificate to a teacher's supply store. A gift certificate for a nice store like Barnes and Noble, where the teacher could find music, movies and books (whether for pleasure reading or for the classroom) might be nice.

I agree with some of the others, don't do a Starbucks gift card unless you know she drinks it. I have $45 worth of gift cards there and I only drink water. I am only just now starting to use them to buy my daughter hot chocolate as an occasional treat, but they are going to last me forever.

My most favorite gift ever was the year my room mom managed to go behind my back and decorated a medium sized flower pot using the students fingerprints (she made them look like lady bugs and bumblebees) and then she used some of the floral arranging foam and stuck it in the pot and covered it with fake moss. She glued a flower cut out onto wooden skewers for each student and stuck those down into the Styrofoam so it looked like a pot of flowers. On the front of each flower was the student's picture and on the back a quote from the student about me. She also put a couple of $10 to $15 gift cards from a few stores in there as well using those card holders you get in the floral department as well. It was so personal and priceless I absolutely loved it. 10 years later and it still sits in my classroom.

I think Cash Is King. But make sure you give the envelopes in private. You don't want either lady opening up the envelope in front of the other one. Personally, I would give the teacher twice the amount of money as the assistant. She is the one who does all the lesson plans and works at home on her off hours to teach the children. The assistant teacher's work is nowhere near as hard as the teacher's. I can say that as a substitute teacher, too. I would be mortified if I got the same amount of thank you as the teacher I was working for...

I like Sadie's idea. Our last year's teacher was a gardener so at end of year we got her a gift certificate to this very nice garden center we knew she frequented. She was thrilled. You could always ask another teacher or someone who would know if she has a special store she likes, or a spa, restaurant, etc. :)

ETA: I also like the VISA gift card idea - I had never heard of that. Might be helpful this time of year :) We also have mall gift certificates so people can use them anywhere in the mall, that kind of thing.

Most teachers end up spending their own money for teaching supplies, so gift cards are a much welcomed relief towards that financial burden. If you feel that it is too impersonal, you consider adding a smaller gift card for something that is purely a luxury (Starbucks, or a manicure, etc).

my sons kindergarten teacher gave gift ideas. she stated that she wanted things for the class. erasers, pencils, candy, small rings, and stickers for the treat box, supplies to add to the kitchen center, the block canter, and other things that can be used in the classroom. she requested that if you do a gift card that it be for school/teacher supply stores like learning tree and staples.or a supply of the snacks that are served daily.

No, we get things individually. We don't have any room parents this year. My family will get gift cards for the teachers and a heartfelt note.

We usually get a gift card. If we know of a specific store the teacher loves (one year, it was Nordstrom), we'll do that. Othewise, it is usally something generic like Amazon or Target, which almost everyone loves. Sometimes we will also throw in a small food item, like chocolates or something, if we know what the teacher likes.

At our school, we generally send the teachers a "my favorite things" page, which asks a few questions about their likes and dislikes, to ensure that we're getting them things they both like and want. Almost every teacher says they have too many things like mugs, frames, etc.

My friend said she always gives an ornament from the class. That might be a cute add-on to a gift card.