I know that gifts are all about the thought, but I just wanted to put a little bug in your ear.

Every year, I print this out and ask my kids’ teachers to fill it out and return it to me.

Why

There seem to be certain gifts that every one thinks makes great teacher gifts.

coffee mugs

candles

body wash/lotion/etc

flowers

I cannot tell you how many coffee mugs I got during my five years of teaching.  The catch?  I don’t like coffee (neither does my husband)!  There are only so many hot chocolate mugs that I can use. I have a whole box full of candles in my storage room that I haven’t used because I don’t like to have open flame going in my house since I still have small children.  The body wash or lotion I usually used, after exchanging it for a scent that I preferred.

To keep this from happening to my children’s teachers, I ask them to fill out this form.  I then try my best to give the other parents ideas on what the teacher likes.

Gifts

I know I go a little crazy with gifts for my children’s teachers, but I guess that’s because I know how much work really goes into teaching and how unappreciated you can feel sometimes.  I like to try and make them feel special and appreciated for all of the work, love, and guidance they give to my children.

For Christmas, I try to have my child take a small present to school everyday the week prior to Christmas break.  They usually aren’t big gifts, but ones that I know they will enjoy.  For example:

Day 1: a 2 liter of their favorite drink

Day 2: their favorite candy

Day 3: their favorite snack

Day 4: a cute Christmas decoration for their classroom or a nice home decoration (I usually make this)

Day 5: a gift certificate that their entire family will like, home made treats, and usually their favorite bath stuff

I have also gotten a whole collection of their favorite bath stuff and given it to them piece by piece ( body wash on Monday, lotion on Tuesday, body spray on Wednesday, etc)

For their birthday, I like to take their favorite lunch to school for them to eat and a nice present (usually something they collect or a gift card to their favorite restaurant or store).

For Teacher Appreciation Week, I usually will do something similar to Christmas and have my child take something to school every day.  On the last day, I usually will make them Word Art with their name and include a gift card.

Rationale

I want my children’s teachers to feel appreciated and addressed for all of the work they do, because I know their paychecks don’t  reflect it!  🙂  I also want them to love their gifts and be able to use them (for other things than collecting dust 😉 )

Questions

Here are some of the things that I ask on the questionaire:

• favorite color, food, restaurant, stores, flowers, scents, sports teams, drinks, snacks, holiday
• hobbies/interests
• collections
• on a rainy/fall/spring day, what are they most likely doing?
• something they would like to do that they’ve never done
• things they like to do as a family
• things they like to do on date nights
• colors/themes in their house
• what they would like to do if they spent a day by themselves