Daycare teacher gifts?

[AndreaDM]

Gotcha! I just know being a step-mom myself, it's easy to step on the other parent's toes. I have to always be aware of my boundaries.

 

[amberpi]

Gotcha! I just know being a step-mom myself, it's easy to step on the other parent's toes. I have to always be aware of my boundaries.

Yep, but this one is easy. No toes or feelings can get hurt in this endeavor. I just want to not go over or under board.

 

[Owlpost23]

No home baked items.Allergies and everything.Gift cards are great-especially to places that have happy hours.That's what teachers REALLY would like.

 

[AppleDumpling]

It’s been a while, but we always gave teachers a gift card to Barnes & Noble to get books (either for the classroom or for themselves, their choice).

 

[CarolAnn856]

I assume this isn't the first year they are in pre-school or daycare? I'd ask their father what he's done in the past and stay the same or slightly higher. You wouldn't want to do less.

 

[luvsJack]

My mother and I ran a center for 14 years. I guess us and our staff were different. We didn't "prefer" any one gift and we didn't throw away, donate or give away any of it.

I still have every thing the kids gave me over the years. Several really special Christmas ornaments or decoration. My absolute favorites were something the child made. My youngest bunch of previous students are in college now so its really special to put an ornament on the tree and think of the kid in the PTA program who gave it to me.

I did receive gift cards (the ones we like the most we usually for a nice restaurant where we would all meet up during the holidays).

Keep in mind a private center is a little different than a public school. Teachers don't usually have to buy their own supplies so those kinds of gc may not be something they particularly need.

Also, we loved the homemade candy. I still have one of the former mom's that will give me a tin of candy at church!!

 

[QueenIsabella]

It’s been a while, but we always gave teachers a gift card to Barnes & Noble to get books (either for the classroom or for themselves, their choice).

They also sell chocolate. Just sayin'... This was also my gift of choice. Although pretty much any GC is perfectly fine.

My mom was a teacher, she would up with more Avon than she could carry! That would have been back in the 70's. She never used make-up, and had a certain type of body cream that she liked (not Avon). So she never used any of it.

I wouldn't mind the concept of baked goods, but in this day and age, it's a big no-no. You have no idea of people's allergies. Giving them to family or friends where you know any dietary restrictions is fine.

 

[amberpi]

I assume this isn't the first year they are in pre-school or daycare? I'd ask their father what he's done in the past and stay the same or slightly higher. You wouldn't want to do less.

New school and last year he could just throw money at the general fund

ETA: that’s why I called the school first, he said that they took care of all the gifts year long and how easy would that have been!

 

[PollyannaMom]

I wouldn't inflict anything I'd try to make on the teachers, unless it was a baked good and I don't want to go down that path, the kids can't even bring food from home to school. A thoughtful note is a great idea. Those are the little things I'm not up on yet.

You don't have to be artsy! One year, I gave coffee shop gift cards with bookmarks that had DS's picture and the year on them. You have the kids color on a strip of heavy paper, glue the picture on, and sandwich it between clear contact paper. That's all there is to it...and I found out one of the teachers still uses it years later.

Another easy thing to do if there are multiple teachers is art supplies for the classroom. You buy a clear jar, like this:

and have the kids help pick out things at the craft store to fill it - crayons, stickers, rubber stamps, googly eyes...all the things that get used up so quickly at the art center in class.

 

[firecracker725]

What do/did you do for your kids' teachers? I asked FB and got so many ideas (I'm NOT pinteresty) my head is spinning. Trying to see if I can take those thoughts and any ya'll might have and come up with a quorum. I already asked the school and they sweetly said anything was appreciated. I was thinking $25 Target giftcards? Some of my friends suggested amounts I thought were pretty crazy like $100 per teacher.

If it helps, the kids attend a private Montessori daycare.

When I taught at a private Montessori school I received several $50 gift cards; however most of my career in public (or private childcare) schools has been more in the $5-$25 range.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I agree that gift cards to Target or Starbucks are the way to go.

 

[SaintsManiac]

My mother and I ran a center for 14 years. I guess us and our staff were different. We didn't "prefer" any one gift and we didn't throw away, donate or give away any of it.

I still have every thing the kids gave me over the years. Several really special Christmas ornaments or decoration. My absolute favorites were something the child made. My youngest bunch of previous students are in college now so its really special to put an ornament on the tree and think of the kid in the PTA program who gave it to me.

I did receive gift cards (the ones we like the most we usually for a nice restaurant where we would all meet up during the holidays).

Keep in mind a private center is a little different than a public school. Teachers don't usually have to buy their own supplies so those kinds of gc may not be something they particularly need.

Also, we loved the homemade candy. I still have one of the former mom's that will give me a tin of candy at church!!

Thank you for posting this. We’ve had so many lovely thank you notes for the thoughtful gifts we’ve given. I don’t mind just doing gift cards for teacher appreciation, but I like to give something personal for Christmas to go with the gift card.

 

[bcla]

I remember once for preschool we got a small Disney plush doll for each teacher. They weren't super expensive (got most of them via a Disney Store sale), but they were carefully chosen. They were Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Winnie the Pooh. But there were 4 classroom teachers. I specifically found a seller on Amazon that had a discontinued Disney Store José Carioca doll. Two of the teachers were from Brazil, and when they saw it they knew exactly what it was.

 

[shoney]

When my kids were In daycare it was customary to give for every occasion. December holidays. Valentines. Easter/Passover. Mother’s Day etc Give within ur budget is all I can say. Some will give $10 and some over $100.

I remember my first easter and I bought the day care girl (she was very young) a huge stuffed bunny that I got for like $10 and I was feeling good . As I was giving it to her another mother gave her a china place
Setting off of her registry Hey it’s the thought that counts. Lol.

 

[EveDallas]

I do $20 gift cards to either Target or Starbucks. I have a lot of teacher friends and they have told me pretty much unanimously, that teachers want gift cards. They don't need coffee mugs, ornaments, or any other hand crafted creations LOL

^^THIS^^ times a million. I have coffee mugs and scented candles out the wazoo. I don't drink coffee and most scents set off my allergies. I love gift cards, and usually end up spending them on stuff for my class.

 

[Ben E N]

As both a teacher and a parent of children who are in daycare, I fully encourage the Target giftcard idea. At the very least, they can buy themselves some laundry detergent with it, but will most likely use it on something more fun.
Rumor has it (Just saw their ad that confirmed it) Target gift cards are going to be 10% off this Sunday, 12/2.

And yes, I donate tons of chocolate, mugs, and lotions every December. They just don't get put to any use.

 

[luvsJack]

Thank you for posting this. We’ve had so many lovely thank you notes for the thoughtful gifts we’ve given. I don’t mind just doing gift cards for teacher appreciation, but I like to give something personal for Christmas to go with the gift card.

We were so close to the kids in our care that each gift was a treasure!

I have so many ornaments that I just love seeing every year. Especially since I still see a few of those now young adults who were “our babies”! A really pretty rag doll angel, some nice Santa candle holders, I could go on and on.

Funny several have mentioned mugs and candles because those are some things we didn’t get too often. The only mugs that I remember are the ones the families would bring me back from WDW! Love those and they are still displayed in my kitchen.

The kids were always so happy bringing in those little gifts. It just made Christmas for all of us!

 

[aprilchem]

When my kids were in daycare we would often buy lunch for all the staff as a gift from our family. I had three kids in the same daycare at once, and so it ended up being about the same cost as buying gifts for 10-15 teachers (they'd have 3-5 teachers in each class).

One year we did Domino's (I think we bought 10 large pizzas), one year we did a couple of platters from Chick-fil-a, and one year we bought Jersey Mike's giant subs. They LOVED it.

 

[Maggie Lizer]

For private pre-K, I gave the teacher a $50 gift card to Target and the assistant $35 to Starbucks, and my kids made a card for each of them. We did the same at the end of the year($50 and $35) and made coffee filter flowers for each of them then. This year, I am throwing $50 to each kid's class mom to go toward the class Christmas gift, which for one will be a restaurant GC (not sure about the other). My kids will both make cards for their teachers, too.

My sister is a teacher and while she appreciates all gifts, she gets the most mileage out of gift cards. Her students know she loves Nightmare, especially Jack, so usually at least one kid will give her a really cool Disney gift at Christmas or the end of the year.

 

[MrsDuck]

We are doing Starbucks or Dunkin' gift cards.