Teacher Christmas Gifts - Palatine,IL

I am a teacher, I agree with most of the posts. I would follow a no food rule. The teachers lounge is INUNDATED with treats, cakes, food, candy and other things to eat. We appreciate it, but no one really needs it. I feel fat just going into the lounge. A bowl of fruit would be better, anything healthy.

My son, aged three, has a total of 9 teachers. Three in his daycare, three in his pre-school, and three in his language school. My plan was to buy two bars of chocolate for each (total 18 bars), wrap them nicely, and include a photo card on the back.

My mom as a school teacher, and her teacher gifts, would often get re-gifted, or collect dust. Our cupboard was full of #1 teacher mugs.

Our's is a token thanks, it is consumable, and it can easily be re-gifted.

Best,
F. B.

My response comes from being a former classroom teacher and currently a "specialist teacher." No matter what role I have played, I have never expected a gift of any kind. I appreciate them, but I don't expect them.

We give to classroom teacher only at school. See my previous responses to others' questions about what to give. I've done 3-4 responses on this topic in the last two weeks.

If we start giving to specialist teachers (art, music, PE, media) then it gets sticky because there are also media paras who help check out books, and recess paras, and lunch room paras, and office staff, and the principal, and the custodians. I wouldn't want to forget anyone and I could easily end up giving 20 gifts just at school and that isn't in my budget. Our specialist teachers see kids once or twice in a six day period and work in 2-3 different schools. I know some of them see several hundred students in a week. My daughter loves her specialist teachers, but she sees them so infrequently that she hasn't built a strong bond with any of them. Personally I wouldn't want to get several hundred gifts (especially if it were knickknack type things or food items).

Having said that, if my kids did see a specialist every day (spec ed teacher, speech therapist, occupational therapist, reading teacher, etc.) then I probably would give to that teacher.

An easy way to thank everyone who comes in contact with your kids would be a treat to be shared in the teachers' lounge. I know we all appreciate having those treats. Instead of a $5 gift card for each of the kids' specialist teachers, use that money to buy a nice fruit basket or meat and cheese tray, a big crockpot of soup, etc. to put in the lounge with a nice thank you note to the entire staff.

Or, make a donation to a local charity in honor of those teachers. Tie it into something they are passionate about--the local arts league, a fund for athletic equipment for underprivileged kids, books for your school's media center, etc.

Always for the Classroom teacher. Once they get into the older grades they have more than one teacher, because they switch classes for different subjects. So we gave gifts to each that were her core subject teachers.

Depended on the teachers as to what we gave. Movie passes, Herb garden, Bottle of wine or sparkling wine. Once made a breakfast baskets with mixes for pancakes, biscuits, syrup, jams,Coffee, hot chocolate mix.

The librarian we also gave a good bottle of wine.

Principal, always a bottle of sparkling wine for New Years..

Never had a complaint.

We gave to the Librarians, because our daughter is crazy about books, so we always knew them really well. I was PTA President at each school, So we were also really close to the Principals and their families..

We have our kids make a card for their teacher and write something heartfelt in it. I include some homemade cookies or a small bought goodie like chocolate. No, we don't give gifts to the specials teachers. Reading some of the other responses makes me feel like a cheapskate! But that is what is in our budget.

My kids have been in daycare up until now so I always gave gifts to the main teachers in the room, usually 1 or 2. I buy glass mugs, etch their name in them, then add a $5 Starbucks gift card and some chocolates. I have had several teachers tell me how much they love them and especially when they have unique names! So now that we have 1 in school now, I made 1 for the classroom teacher and put $20 for Barnes and Noble. (Figured she could get coffee or supplies) I found these small bags of fancy popcorn/pretzels that I think I am going to give the specialists with a card. I know they don't expect it but I feel like they should still be aknowledged during the Holidays!

1. Yes, I buy gifts for my children's main teachers (one for my son in first grade, two for my daughter in preschool). I usually do a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble plus some homemade cookies. This year, my daughter's preschool decided to do a group gift. We were asked to give $20 per family, but since there are two teachers, I chose to give $40. I will still bring them homemade cookies.

2. I don't usually buy gifts for the support staff, unless it is someone that specifically helps my child - not the whole class like a librarian - on a daily or weekly basis. So, I won't give anything to the computer teacher and the librarian, but I will give something to the crossing guard, who helps us cross the street twice a day every day, is friendly, and makes a point to remember things about him and talk to him. She will get cookies and possibly a $10 Starbucks gift card (haven't decided yet). If my kids needed daily or weekly therapy (speech, physical, whatever), then I would give something small to the therapist.

I like the idea on another thread of bringing a big tray of cookies to put in the teachers lounge.

I give to classroom teachers, daycare teachers (after school program) and Sunday School teachers. My younger son is in speech, and he is a handful ... and making wonderful progress. She gets a gift, too.

I give them all gift cards to Barnes and Noble. It's kind of my goto place because of most of the people we're talking about love books, but they also have a great cafe.

I just want to get them a treat. I understand people wanting to get teachers something they can use in their classroom or a giftcard to a teacher supply store, as teachers do often spend their own money. I think that's great. I also think they deserve a treat, so I hope I can help in that department.

We give a card with a $20 in it for the teacher, buy a couple dozen donuts one morning for the staff in the office with a thank you card and a Christmas card with a big candy bar for the principal.

We organized the parents in each classroom and pooled our money (with recommended amounts but allowing for people to give what they could afford), then a small committee bought a big gift from everyone. If there is an aide in the classroom working with just one or a few students, that person is included as well.

There was also a school-wide pool to help with those who work just as hard but for so many classes: music, art, library, computer, physical education, secretary, custodian, etc. Sometimes that was a day with coffee/bagels or lunch brought in for everyone to enjoy in the teachers' lounge.

I can tell you, as a former teacher, that as much as we appreciate the gifts from families, we just can't display or use all of the decor objects that come in ("world's best teacher" figurines, coffee mugs or office supplies, for example). Rather than hurt the feelings of some kids by displaying only some, we wind up displaying none. And after 5-10 years of teaching, there's just a huge amount of stuff ready for the yard sale, you know? Doesn't mean we weren't grateful - just means it's impractical.

So it's really great - for teachers and for parents - when the Room Parent organizes something. If the school-wide parent group organizes something for the support and auxiliary staff, that's even better. We teachers rely on those professionals and their work is no less important than ours. We know that parents can't chip in $20 for every professional who touches their child's life, and none of us expect that. But it's hard on the music teacher who handles 300 kids a week to see those of us with 20 kids heading out the door every day with shopping bags and gift cards.

We also have an educational foundation to which parents can donate in a teacher's name (and for which parents organize fundraising events like trivia bees and spelling bees and auctions - all for adults). Donations can be in any amount, $5 and up. Teachers and paraprofessionals in ANY area can apply for mini grants to fund particular projects in their classrooms or subject areas. Even a grant of $200 to bring in a musical group or to buy some equipment means that teachers don't have to take even more money out of their own pockets to buy supplies or provide an enrichment project not covered in the budget. I know this isn't something you're going to set up between now and December 25th, but it's something for all parents to look at as a way to assist all teachers.

One other thing: not all teachers celebrate Christmas, so it's nice if the gift, wrapping and message card are not specifically Christian. It's a good time of year to be INCLUSIVE and not otherwise.

Typically when my kids were in elementary school, and in the classes I've worked in, the class mom/dad would take up a collection and buy a gift for the teacher from the class, usually a gift card. Gift cards are definitely appreciated, or a book for the classroom - there's only so many mugs and bottles of lotion that a teacher needs. I did not buy gifts for special area teachers, but if there's a teaching assistant or an aide in the room, even if they are someone else's 1:1, it's nice to include them because they DO help everyone, even the non-special ed children. They're the one who is tying your first grader's shoe :)

My Mom taught school for 30 years.
You have no idea how much of this stuff she had to throw away every year.
It gets to be too much.
Pick something useable that won't collect dust or can be easily re-gifted.
Stick with candles, gift cards and flashlights.

We buy every teacher that the child has had in the past a caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. It's the toffee chocolate covered one, no nuts, those just ruin it. I have had teachers request my kids for this reason alone, lol. The gym teachers, music, art, library people, etc. plus vice principal and principal also got these. Then we would get the main teacher a gift card to someplace or if we had seen a perfect something we would get that instead.
All the janitors, secretaries and lunch ladies would get a smaller something from there - a handful of chocolates, a few fancy pretzels,etc.
So basically everyone in the school who worked there got something from us. My kids are in Jr. high and high school now though. The high schooler has said not giving anything, the jr. high one will give the apple to her teachers she has THIS SEMESTER only. So no past teachers, no principal, etc. I had to do that because of how many teachers they have each semester, cause we do the same at the end of the year. And in Jr. High the girls didn't really know any of the other staff so we don't get them anything.