Christmas for Teachers

I think my kids are going to make chocolate covered pretzels and little homemade gifts. There are so many cute little bags you can buy from the dollar store. Make the candy cookies etc and maybe a little yankee candle or something small under $3.00. No one says it has to be expensive. It is the thought that counts. www.livegreeneasy.com (budget help)

I was a K and 1st grade teacher before having my little ones...We don't expect anything extravagant, but it is always heartwarming to be thought of. Some homemade cookies or candies is always a wonderful treat to nibbe on during the day to keep up with the energy that all of the children have during that time of year. Have your child make a handmade card which shares lots of love since that requires your child to spend a little time away from play to make something special. If you wanted to get more involved, you could make an ornament or bookmark to go with the treat. That would definitely be a special gift for a teacher.

I asked my daughter some questions about her teacher and wrote down the answers on a piece of paper. She then decorated the other side. The teacher loved it and said how appreciated she felt and that it was the best gift.(Teachers get lots of $1-$5 stuff from a ton of kids) I asked: Why is "Mrs. Teacher's name" special? What do you like best about her? What does she do that is funny? What is the most important thing she has taught you? Why is she nice? What makes her pretty? What is your favorite memory of her? What makes her a good teacher? If you could ask Mrs. X one question, what would it be?

Some of the answers are funny and we all like compliments.

Here is an idea you might like.....If you can get hold of a Feb, 2007 Family Fun magazine, they have a project that you can do with crayons. Go around and collect all the broken crayons you have and peel the paper off. You put different color pieces in cooking tins (they used heart shaped ones for Valentine's Day) and then you put them in the oven to melt together. Once they are cooled off they become fun shaped/colored craysons. You could make round ones in a stack with wax paper in between then wrap them in tissue paper like a candy roll and give them to ther for the class to use later one! Have fun!

If you can spare some time (LOL) you could volunteer to assist the teacher either in the classroom (help with a craft project, decorate a bulletin board) or at home (prepare materials for a project, collate papers). You could decide if it is a one time deal or one hour a week or one day a month, etc. Your daughter could make a card or "coupons" giving the details of you assistance.

Your daughter could make a pencil cup or trinket holder out of an empty glass jar and glue beads, gems, buttons or ribbon to it.

Your daughter could use items you might have around the house to make holiday ornaments - old greeting cards, paint, ribbon, beads, gems, popsicle sticks, pompoms, chenille stems, etc.

If you are making baked good for the holidays you could give the teacher some.

If you do have a little money to spend you could go to a dollar store, buy a container or and fill it with stickers, markers, pens, stationery, etc that she can use in the classroom.

You could decorate christmas ornaments. Michael's and Pat Catan's have the ceramic and wooden ones for less than a dollar each, and you can get the paint for them pretty inexpensively as well.

If you are up for baking or making food, kraftfoods.com has a ton of easy, kid friendly ideas for candies and cookies. You could have your daughter help make them, and it would be a nice gift that isn't over the top in price.

Oh, Michael's and Pat Catan's also have those soap and candle making kits. You could make something like that, again having your daughter help you.

Hope these ideas help!

M.

Hi C.,
I think something handmade or homemade would do the trick! How about some handmade chocolate covered pretzels or cookies? Very inexpensive and so delicious. It doesn't have to be anything costly at all - just something that shows you care.

I don't know if this would be in your budget but I have a couple websites where I make a lot of products perfect for teachers. The proceeds of http://cherryberry.etsy.com all go to charity, and my other website is http://thepurplepear.com.

Best of luck to you whatever you decide! I'm sure the teacher will LOVE whatever you give her. :) I used to be a Kindergarten teacher too.

my sons and I always make gifts for the people in our lives that we want to give a gift to but just don't know what to give. We have in the past done cookies and caramel popcorn. This year we are trying to do something that won't contribute to the holiday weight gain. We are making soap shaped into letters. It is so easy to do and your child can do it too. Especially if they like to get messy. First you get a 3 pack of ivory soap (.79-.99) then you grate it on your kitchen grater into "flakes" I can't find ivory flakes anywhere. You put it into a bowl and add some water and then you can shape it into any thing. You can make candlesticks, make a ball and place a candle in the center before it dries. You can make shapes and you can make initials. the best part is that if you don't give them all away they don't go to waste you can use them on your family. You can make approx. 6 soaps from a 3 pack. Six small gifts for .99, not bad huh? I also just remembered my favorite gift for everyone from your kids, salt dough ornaments. These are SUPER CHEAP to make and they are really a labor of love. I have given them for years and they are always a big hit. The kids also make a new one every year for our tree at home. You can find the recipe online.

As a teacher I will tell you what we like that won't cost a lot of money. A homemade gift. Have her draw her a picture and include a nice handwriting note from you about how much you have impacted your daughters life. That will mean more than any store bought gift.

Serioulsy, in those times, and Ive been there before, you can get cute coffee cups at the dollar store with some candy in it. They appriciate the thought and no one really knows how much you spent anyway.

I totally understand your problem. Often a little trinket from a store like Dollar Tree (where everything is literally a dollar) can look like it cost more than a dollar. It's a great place to get little toys, presents and stocking stuffers. Also teachers like to know that they are doing a good lob. So just a nice card often makes them feel great. If you bake, cookies are a great way to say thank you. You can make a variety of cookies and keep a few out for the teacher. Have your daughter help decorate a few and it will really make them special. Put them on a cute paper plate and you're done. Good Luck!