Christmas gifts for daycare teachers?

[kirstenb1]

I always did gift cards with a handwritten note of appreciation. When dd did in home daycare, there was only one person, so I gave her a check for a week's worth of pay.

 

[aprilgail2]

From a veteran teacher (20 years now) - -THANK YOU for putting this out there. One more item I'd like to add....CANDLES.

Even I, (and I love Bath & Body Works btw), have too much of the stuff now. I sold several bottles/tubes of the stuff at my annual yard sale in May for .50cents each.

I'd much rather receive a $5.00 gift card (Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, bookstore, gas, anything) than $10.00 worth of lotions, soaps, etc.

I always feel bad when I read about people taking time to do cute things to ornaments, bath and body work and yes--I forgot the candles because I know where most of that stuff ends up--teachers can only have so much of something! After teaching 10 years of 10 kids bringing in ornaments each year is a lot of ornaments! Plus they have their own styles going on--maybe one has a victorian tree that they sure are not going to put a mickey mouse ornament on!
Another thing that many teachers don't do is homemade things-most teachers I know thank the child and tell the parent how great the stuff was but in truth it is tossed out or just left in the break room because they don't eat homemade things that the kids bring in. My friend got a chocolate chip crumb cake that looked great from a student but she wouldn't eat it so she told the parent how great it was and asked for the recipe and she made it at home herself!

 

[alyssa810]

My DS goes to a day care center and while he has a couple of "main" teachers in his classroom, there are a number of teachers or assistants who spend time with him over the course of the day. My practice from the last 3 years has been to give his "main" teachers a small gift bag with a Dunkin Donuts gift card -they call go there- and some candy like Hershey kisses, and maybe those little gift bags they sell with a bath gel and lotion. I've spent about $10; but I've also bought the gift bags on sale, end of season etc. so it looks like I might have spent more...
Our center has a strict no-nuts policy, and they prefer that we don't bring in home baked goods just in case...otherwise I'd bake treats!

 

[mjantz]

The other thing with candles is scents. I really do not like the smell of cinnamon. Every Christmas I get a cinnamon candle. It goes straight to my mom (who loves that scent)

I love chocolate, gift cards & office supplies (sharpies & post-it notes especially) If I was given a $5 gc to Starbucks I'd be in heaven as I budget myself 1 treat from there a month & that gift card would mean an extra treat.

Forgot to add that for the past few years I've done 'Going to see Christmas Lights' bags. Fun & less than $10 per bag. Always a HUGE hit with the teachers.

 

[sherry7]

Thanks so much for all of the great suggestions!

After reading all of the replies, I think I will probably get a gift card for each teacher to somewhere like Walmart, Target, etc. Who can't use that, right? I will have to figure out the amount, but I'm thinking around $20 or $25 each? With 4 teachers, I don't know if I can afford to spend more than that. I do make awesome peanut butter fudge, so I'll take in a couple of lbs of that too.

I also like the idea of including a poem (or similar) saying how much you appreciate the care, etc.

 

[Abbeysmom]

We usually go with a gift card too....and a homemade card from DD. I also try to carry some type of special treat...if the school will allow it. I am curious though...what is a "going to see christmas lights bag"?

 

[mjantz]

Re: Going to See Christmas Lights Bag. There was an old thread about it on the boards. Mine had a fleece blanket (Big Lots $5), CD of Christmas music (found several at Dollar Tree), a box of hot chocolate mix (Target had these variety packs last year that were perfect/1 box per bag) & a 3 bag box of microwave popcorn. I put it all in a reusable bag (found some at Target last year that were holiday-themed in the Dollar Spot). I know other people put in holiday window clings or maps of good places to go to see lights, mugs for the hot chocolate & other stuff. I tried to keep mine simple & hopefully less expensive.
Hope this helps. They were very easy to put together & a HUGE hit.

 

[Abbeysmom]

Those 'going to see christmas lights bags' sound neat. I may have to borrow that idea this upcoming year. I don't remember seeing that thread...thanks for the info.

 

[DisneyDadof4]

I did not read through this entire thread, so my apologies if this was already mentioned.

At philosophy.com (today only), their holiday items are up to 30% off...and free shipping is available if you spend $50 or more. I've purchased these little cuties in the past for my co-workers and they loved them. My 13 year old daughter also gave them to her friends at school and they were a big hit. They are only $4.80 and come in three varieties....Peppermint Bark, Cinnamon Buns and Gingerbread Man.

http://www.philosophy.com/sale/peppermint-bark-gel-ornament-2010-product

Michelle (the DisneyMomof4)