thank you gifts for teachers

Nenen

What a lovely thought! I've been teaching 28 years and, like PPs have said, the most important thing for me is a handwritten note from a parent saying something about what they particularly appreciated and/or something made by the child (as long as I felt it really was the child's wish to do this and not a 'chore' forced on them by the parents).

If you want to get a present for a large number of people in school then a box of lovely biscuits or chocolates to share (providing you send the gift in a couple of days before the end of term) would be nice to have in the staffroom. If you want to do individual gifts then I would go for something like a Terry's chocolate orange for the TAs (with cards) and some chocs or a bottle of wine for the teacher. I love receiving wine!

Personally I'm not a fan of bath products etc for people you don't know well as they are useless if the person has allergies etc and many people have their own particular favourites, which are often not cheap. Whilst I always appreciate the thought behind any gift and would thank the child profusely, I really don't use cheap smellies and they go straight to a charity shop. Having said that, two years ago a child bought me a bottle of L'Occitane Almond Oil Shower Gel and it was the BEST thing I have ever used! I only realised how expensive it is (£14+ per bottle :eek:) when I went to replace it. Now my family all know what to get me for my birthday, Christmas etc!

Sometimes parents have made me something special and that is lovely too - so far my favourites have been a beautiful cake, a litre of home made ice cream in the flavour of my choice, a bag with my name embroidered on it and an apron. I have also had parents club together to give me vouchers (very much appreciated) and at one school, when I left the parents organised for the children to go to one of those 'Glaze-to Amaze' places and they all put their hand prints and names on a giant plate - it is a real talking piece at home! I am sure the TAs and teachers at your children's school would appreciate home made sweets, biscuits or cakes if you are a good cook!

My other personal favourite present is flowers or plants. Actually, that would be a good money saving idea - buy some seedlings or small plants now and grow them on to be in bloom just in time for the end of term! You could even get your children to decorate the pots. Good luck with whatever you decide - it is so nice to hear of someone who really appreciates what a whole team of staff have done. :T

allIcouldwishfor

Our class reps sometimes do a whip round for the teaching staff, but if they don't we normally go with something homemade or homegrown along with a letter written by the children. Previous pressies have been 4" square Xmas cakes, unusual varieties of tomato plants grown from seed , home made jam or chutney. They always seem to be gratefully received!

themaccas

Wow, that is soooo helpful! I work in the medical field and I agree it is the thank you notes and letters that mean more to me than any gifts of chocolates or wine (though they are lovely too). I need to trust my instincts a bit more as I did think about the personal aspect of handmade gifts but thought that the teachers had probably seen enough of them by the end of term to want to have much of a reminder of them lol! However we have now decided that we'll do something personal and make sure they realise how much we have appreciated all of them over the year.

Thanks once again, I'll update on here again once I have decided exactly what I am going to do. Love the plants and decorated pot idea!

Janepig

And don't forget the good old "pots of gold" which I made for DS's playgroup staff last Christmas. I got the idea from the "special occasions" board and believe me I'm the least arty/crafty person in the world, but I made four, with 60p gold glass bowls from ikea, filled with werthers originals, ferrero rocher and gold chocolate coins, wrapped in cellophane with a poem attached, which DH translated into welsh as it's a welsh playgroup. They looked mighty fine, even if I say so myself!!

Jxx

melancholly

friends of mine who are teachers tend to like something 'consumable' over something that you keep (in case they think it's ugly but have to keep it!). tbh, they'd sooner a bottle of wine or choccies..... and if you go with them, you can pick them up when they're on special offer. whatever you do, don't spend a fortune - maybe for that many people you could get one of the cases of wine from somewhere like tesco on special offer? 11 really is a lot - it's lovely that you want to do it though!

Poppy9

Janepig wrote: »

And don't forget the good old "pots of gold" which I made for DS's playgroup staff last Christmas. I got the idea from the "special occasions" board and believe me I'm the least arty/crafty person in the world, but I made four, with 60p gold glass bowls from ikea, filled with werthers originals, ferrero rocher and gold chocolate coins, wrapped in cellophane with a poem attached, which DH translated into welsh as it's a welsh playgroup. They looked mighty fine, even if I say so myself!!

Jxx

That reminds me of one year I bought mugs in M&S sale for 50p each and filled them with some of M&S wrapped choc. biscuits and a bit of cellophone and some ribbon they looked quite good. I'm sure they came in handy in the staff room. I did tell DD to paint their names on them but she said it would spoil the mugs (personally I think she couldn't be bothered:o).

Cherry1

What about the kids making up a dance or song for the teacher/s they wanted to thank? I used to work in a charity for adults and they did this for me when I left cos they know I loved songs (they adapted a stevie wonder tune with lyrics about me and what I'd done for them) and I was so touched. Kids like making up stuff don't they and they could make a little costume or something too. Doesn't have to be a full on production, as long as the kids are left to it it'd be great!

msb5262

Hello OP,
I agree with all the posters above who say it's the thought that counts - as a teacher, I know I've loved all the drawings etc done by children for me. If you are really keen to give the teaching staff something to keep, how about drawing out some bookmark outlines on heavy paper or card and getting your child to decorate each one for the person in question? You could even cut them out and laminate them so they'll last a long time (and punch a hole and add a pretty ribbon or tassel - good for keeping the right page). Equally you could do home-made fridge magnets - draw some little rectangular outlines, let your child draw or paint inside each, cut out, laminate and stick a small magnet on the back of each.
Who would have guessed I'm a primary school teacher from these ideas??

dizziblonde

If you're wanting to thank a lot of teachers/support staff - send in a tin of chocs or biccies before the end of term for the staffroom (don't send it in on the last day or they'll not have a chance to eat them) or something similar.

Smellies and the like I tend to use over the course of a year when I go on holiday and the like - find the little bottles of shower gel and body lotion etc you get from kids really helpful then, or chocolate.... mysteriously vanishes before I get a look in. Cards and things I keep for years, find them a few years down the line and can remember the kids who've given me them, and I've got a few fridge magnets on the fridge from various kids over the years. I finally had a clear out from thank you cards circa 2000 recently when I moved house and HAD to reduce things - but they raised a few smiles and memories. The one big winner, guaranteed to be used year after year is generally mugs for breaktime coffee (the politics of staffroom mugs are more treacherous than those of the middle east) - I've got a few different mugs from kids over the years that I use either at home or keep in my supply bag now I don't work full-time - they're the sort of thing that mysteriously vanish in schools for weeks at a time (generally ours always reappeared in the year 6 classroom for some STRANGE reason) and most teachers like their own mug rather than the generic staffroom tea-stained monstrosities the visitors use!

One teacher got given a super soaker by one of his pupils - with the staff member in question it was the perfect present - never seen a bloke with as big a grin on his face as when he got it - made us all laugh (and then got used to squirt year 6!).

The worst one I ever heard of came up in staffroom conversation when I was in one of the more "lively and vibrant" areas of the city. Kid came in with a present for their teacher - a vibrator... kid then chirpily commented "mum said you could have this since she doesn't need it anymore since she's got the new boyfriend."

themaccas

LOL that's funny not sure I've got the nerve to give them as a pressie though!!