Everyone should know by now how much teachers work. Teachers arrive at the schools before students get there. They have morning duty. During their planning time, they are stuck in meetings, speaking to parents, collaborating with other teachers, documenting, grading papers, or completing assigned work from admin. During their 30 minute lunch, they're trying to get any little last minute thing done while they eat their lunch, warm up their coffee again, and use the bathroom. After school, they have duty, more meetings, planning time, parent conferences, and prep for the next day. When they finally make it home, they spend a few hours with their family before they get back to continuing their planning for the next week, grade papers, or enter grades in the gradebook. They go to bed late and get back up early to do it all over again. The weekends are catch up time.
There is so much that teachers do. I only mentioned a few things. I know most of us appreciate what teachers do for our children. I know I do! So, I try to thank my daughter's teachers every chance I get. I know they work hard and love my daughter so much. I want them to know that I see what they do, that I appreciate what they do, and that I am very thankful for them.
During Christmas time, I try to do something a bit more special for my daughter's teachers. I am a teacher myself, so unfortunately I can't give them the nice, expensive, and luxurious gifts that they deserve. I can put a little thought into the gift and give them something that I know they will like.
To start, the most important thing to gift a teacher, is a thank you note or card. Preferably written by the student if they are old enough to write. If not, the parent needs to write the note and the students just signs it. Every gift I give teachers always has a thank you note or card.
Now let's brainstorm some ideas of what to put in a gift bag, gift basket, or a gift box.
Food:
Chocolate
Salty Snacks
Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies
Jam or Jelly
Trail Mix
Drink
For Her/Him:
Hand Lotion
Kleenex
Hand Sanitizer
Hand Soap
Socks
Gloves
Scarf
Blanket
Stanley or Yeti Tumbler
Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug
Coffee Mug Warmer
Rechargeable Hand Warmers (for teachers that have recess duty)
Stainless Steel Thermos
Foot Cream
Hair Clips
Massage Gun
Shower Steamers
For the Classroom:
Personalized Classroom Decor
Teacher Desk Name Plate
Sharpies
PaperMate Ink Joy Pens
Dry Erase Markers
Dry Board Eraser
Thank You Cards
Personalized Stationary
Self Ink Teacher Stamp
Decorations:
A Table Decoration
A Desk Decoration
Candle
Ornaments
Nutcrackers
Gift Cards:
Amazon, Target, Restaurant, Fast Food, Movies, Starbucks
To decorate the basket or box:
Crinkle Cut Paper or Tissue Paper
Poinsetta Flowers
Small Ornaments
Candy Canes
Pine Cones
Greenery Picks
Small Glittery Foam Balls
You can choose one thing from each category, one category only, or even make it a themed gift. For themed gifts, there are so many ideas online. I love the way themed gifts look, but if the teacher doesn't like the theme, your gift won't be enjoyed as much. Also, unless it's a nice coffee mug, teachers tend to already have many teacher mugs. The longer the teacher has been teaching, the more coffee mugs they will have.
Things to consider when shopping for a teacher (or anyone else) are: the sizing of clothes, likes and dislikes of scents, and food allergies.
If you're a teacher, what did I miss that you would absolutely love to get? If you're a parent, what have you given a teacher that they loved? Did I miss anything? I would love to hear your ideas.
This is how our teacher gifts turned out.
Our gift basket included:
1 Choceur Hazelnut Chocolate Bar
1 San Pellegrino Italian Sparkling Drink
2 Organic Trail Mix Snack Packs
1 Santa’s Favorite Teacher Ornament
1 Personalized White Board EraserÂ
2 Black Expo Dry Erase Markers
1 Germ-X Hand Sanitizer (travel size)
2 Candy Canes
*Not pictured above is a personlized key chain, an individually wrapped pineapple cake, and a gift tag.
My daughter was very excited delivering gift baskets to her teachers.
I hope all teachers know how much they are appreciated. I hope that for Christmas every teacher receives something, even if it's just a nicely written thank you card. Many times those heartfelt thank you notes are the best gift that a teacher could get.
Merry Christmas!
Angie