christmas gift for teacher - cheap & cheerful

IHateDida

TC1978 wrote: »

I have several friends who are teachers. Whilst I did 12 hours of uni lectures per week, they were in all day every day.

Spare a thought for the hard work they put in on a day to day, night to night, weekend to weekend, 'holiday' to 'holiday' basis. My friends don't often make it out at weekends as they are planning and marking and are usually found in school during what we see as their 'holidays' too! They use their own money to buy resources as school budgets get cut, and can only take their hols when prices are higher. It's not just a 9- 3pm job- more like 7.45am until 5.30pm and working when they get home! Our future society will be a mess without them.
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Its really lovely to hear something like this. I am now about to sit and mark at 8pm - and I am in school early (which I don't want sympathy for but its nice when someone realises the hours we do). The things I do keep are cards which have thanked me - I've kept every one I've ever had! Its the thank you's that are valued as most of the time its a very thank-less job!

And yes we do end up spending a fortune of our own money on resources/goodies for the kids at end of terms etc....

rowens101

so after reading this I think it will wine and maybe homemade shortbread for teachers then.

i always buy gifts, usually wine, choc's, smellies or a £5 gift voucher. i do appreciate the hard work and long hours they put in and its never brought because i feel i have too

mcallister1

jacmacd wrote: »

Its such a shame that most of the teachers gif:mad:ts end up in the charity shop. Parents who can ill afford gifts with "for my teacher,etc" will find plenty of them in the chairty shop, so why buy new. It just goes to show that these gifts are not appreciated. :mad:

The problem with gifts saying ' for my teacher' etc is that whereas you may treasure things from yor own kids saying- to the best Mum in the world etc, there is not enough space in your life to accumulate nick nacks proclaiming to the world that you are great at your job. Plus- no offence- next year when you have new classes, last year's students begin to fade into a memory.
I think I see this from both sides, as a parent and a teacher- I don't really like the over sentimentalising of any job, althogh the best teachers do go above and beyond the requirements of the job to bring out the best in their students. As others do in other professions and jobs.We are not saints on the whole, but it is always nice to have a thank you.
As a parent you know how vital it is that your child has a good relationship with their teachers, especially in primary school. ANd part of me felt that if I didn't give a gift I was sending a message to my children that their teachers were not important and worth thanking. So I think a small gift/ card is nice for the sake of the children. If you want to thank them for going above and beyond the call of duty then I think wine is almost always welcome- as after all you can take it to parties and it can save you a bit of cash there. But please don't be insulted that precious though your child is...they are only in our class for a year or so and so we will never appreciate them quite as much as you do.:o
PS- sorry for the errors- my laptop has some sticky keys and I know- I'm a teacher so I should never make a typo...

nomorerack

Teachers assist parents in molding our kids so other than prayer, we can repay them by following through their good intentions of instilling good values in our children, next is by gifting them with something the can't obtain for themselves so it should be with our personal touch...Kudos to good teachers. :T

aidloz

My son is in year 2 now and had the same teacher in year 1, I will be buying a small gift for him as he is a fab teacher and I feel it is worth it for how much he has bought my son on in his learning. He likes biscuits so I guess it may be that, my daughter is in nursery and her teachers favourite colour is purple so we are getting her a personalised purple bauble for her xmas tree.

wingobins

I love the book idea OP, the kids can draw their own pics etc in it. Might have to get one off amazon.

Another idea for gifts is to make a fruit basket for all the teaching staff in the class. Or you could even buy some miniature bottles of cream, deodorant etc and make up a small hamper which doesn't cost much. My kids did this for their teachers.
I am also a teaching assistant working at a level 3 but only getting paid as a level 1 because there isn't enough funding in the school as yet. (Here's hoping!) Someone previously bought us a cookie jar for our kitchen area which was a great idea.

sexy_fufu

I make a handmade box, buy a little bottle of wine from Home Bargains 3- 4 little chocolates then wrap it.

Costs me less than £2 per gift and i give these to my daughters teachers / teaching assistant.

My daughter will also help me do them.

Please see photos here, I also sell these locally, But this is NOT a advertisement.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?fbid=444252093041&set=o.141523159229022
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nextyeartina

sorry, i didn't mean to start a debate . i always buy the teachers a gift because, apart from appreciation, children spend nearly as much time with them as they do with their parents. my middle daughter has had a real tough time at school over the past 3 years and, with the help of her teachers, she's come a long way. the gift is a way of saying thank you for everything. the books are filled out by the children so will, in a way, be personal x

pinkcandyflossprincess

I dont buy for teachers all the time however my son has severe speech delay and his nursery tracher was fantastic forming a huge bond with him-it is recommended he go to special school which i was upset about intially as although i knew it is what he needs i guess i was predudiced also and didnt want him labelled-but she said to me her greatest wish was for him to come back and be able to speak to the other teachers and children without her as his inbetween and she would jump at any extra help we can get to help him to achieve that, she had a mothers concern for my son as well as just teaching him and that meant such a lot when you know your child is getting cared for when they arent with you.

poor-but-happy

I ve a nice (simple) recipe for homemade choc truffles (add Baileys to make a little more special) which goes down a treat.