Roll up, roll up to find out what MNers told us about buying end-of-year presents for teachers

When I was leaving primary school (20 years ago) I wanted to give a present to my learning support teacher because she was AMAZING and I would never have been ready for secondary school without her hard work and dedication.
So I filled a jotter with drawings, poems and short stories all relating to what we had been working on for the last 4 years. She was so moved she started crying and so did I!
I have never encountered another teacher (or person) like her and so grateful that she taught me. We bumped into each other almost a decade ago and she still had that jotter!

The best gift is something that stays with you.

I fear the gift-giving has got to the point where it ends up being an extra burden for teachers. At our school they often give the children some pencils or party bag type gift (x30!), and some of them have taken to writing thank you notes (x lots!). I do genuinely want to show my appreciation, but the last thing I want to do is pile another "job" on them for the hols.

Also everyone seems to give £10 or more for class collections, and it seems embarrassing to be handing over £200 to £300 collections.

Because I have 2 school age DC, and a tight budget, I bought tea, coffee and naice biscuits for the staffroom last year, I'll probably do the same this year.

My DD painted a nice box for her teacher and decorated it with stickers. She put a thank you card inside (also painted by herself) about how she is going to miss her.
I think those presents are much nicer than an obligatory Yankee Candle or whatever else. Her teacher got a box of gingerbread decorated by her and me for Christmas.

Our class clubbed together to get a gift at Christmas for the teachers. There was no set amount, and the money also went on cards. We bought vouchers for the teacher, and the TA's, and had enough to get some nice teas & coffees for the staff in the office who deal with all the bumps & bruises, nosebleeds & vomit at school.

Rowan MNHQ, I hope you did ask the OP permission for her thread to be used?.

Just a thank you would be nice to be honest! Rarely get that but then I bet people in most work places aren`t thanked either.

Dd decorated a t shirt for her Reception class teacher because she was sad that the teacher didn't have bright and sparkly clothes. The teacher gamely wore the abomination t shirt adorned with glitter and sequins and neon flowers all day and delighted dd. She did say she would keep it even if she never wore it again

It sounds cliched but my absolute most memorable was a card from a girl who'd turned her beviour around in year 6 and wrote "Thank you, you have made me a better person". Over 25 years I've forgotten all the chocolates and wine, but I will never forget that....

I'm a yR TA and a little girl carefully coloured in and cut out a little blue butterfly and gave it to me today.

She said it was to look after me because I've been feeling sad (I am, i'm struggling with work a bit). I was so touched it made me cry. She doesn't have the most stable homelife but she is one of the kindest, most helpful and lovely girls I've ever met. I don't expect presents, or even a thank you, but this kind of thing I'll always remember.

We do a class collection for vouchers for those that want to contribute (no pressure to anyone who doesn't) but do ask all children to contribute to a hand made card. I've written a couple of personal thank you's to some exceptional teachers who have really made the effort with my child. I teach doctors and thank you cards are few and far between but I treasure the ones i do get. One once bought me a lottery ticket in the hope that I could buy myself some time off. She clearly appreciated the hours I put in!

My class do a collection but it's already at £175 and that's only about 2/3rds of class contributing so far! I'm not joining in such an anonymous and thoughtless gift. My child will make a card and write a nice message.

Teacher here too... gifts are definitely not necessary and I would never want families to feel pressure to buy one. Agree that cards or words of thanks are the loveliest. We DO earn a salary for what we do but I can say hand on heart that almost all teachers work far, far more hours than they are paid for and give up vast amounts of time to help the brilliant young people we work with do the best they can academically, to listen to them, to help them resolve their problems and difficulties. Nobody expects a gift but words, written or spoken, to show that that time is valued and to acknowledge the difference it has made to that young person, can mean a very great deal.

The students I teach mostly live in the attached Children's home so we don't get presents- however we do occasionally get cards. I have kept all of these because the care staff don't prompt the kids to get us anything so when they do it's out of a genuine wish to send a card.

The best one I have ever received was three years ago from a 16 year old boy who came into the school as an 14 year old school refuser with SEBD/SEN who had not been in education since he was 6 and was completely illiterate. When he moved on from the school at the end of year 11 he wrote 'Thank you for teaching me to read and write. X' It was all spelled correctly. It's still on my noticeboard.

I'm secondary.

One of my gruff, tough, Y11 boys who had spent the year driving me bonkers left a box of strawberries on my desk with a card saying "cheers miss, these are because you're always going on at me to eat more fruit"

Not necessary in my opinion because when does it stop? Best postie? Best Dr or nurse? Best dentist?
They have a wage so that's enough for me apart from a thankyou of course

I'm glad to hear that vouchers from the whole class are appreciated. I often buy female teachers nice bath bubbles if there is no class collection, but I'm never sure what to buy male teachers. Especially if they don't drink!

It is so very kind of parents and children to want to give a gift to staff at the end of the year. As a teacher and a parent I do however wish that we could put a stop to it.

It's not necessary and I hate the thought that it puts pressure on parents. Class collections in particular make me uncomfortable.

If children want to celebrate the relationship they've developed with an adult over the year, that's lovely. Being absolutely honest, it is genuinely the handwritten or handmade cards that mean the most.

The most treasured note I have was from the parent of a girl in a year 6 class. Mum was illiterate, so got a friend to write out what she wanted to say, and then the Mum copied it into a card. It would have taken her ages, and I cried so much when I opened it. I'm welling up a bit just thinking of it.

Cards are the best! I love a card: hand written, badly spelled, bought or hand-drawn. I keep them all and look back at them when the non-teaching side of my job gets me down or stressed, because these little personalities are why I do what I do, even on 4 hours sleep! They are the best people in the world and I really wouldn't want to do anything else!

My son gave his teacher a Jo Malone candle and made her some biscuits.

He also wrote her card to her with a letter about how she is the best teacher he's ever had.

My favourite teacher present...

I always like to tell my class a few details about myself, and they seem to like hearing little stories about my life.

I told a year 1 class that my favourite foods are tuna and chocolate (not together!).

For my end of year present one little boy gave me a lovely gift bag containing a tin of tuna and a little box of chocolates. I cried! I then had to explain to a very concerned class that I was crying because I was so happy!

At hometime I thanked his Mum, and she told me that he had wanted to give me his leftover tuna pasta from dinner - as he said I would like it. His Mum suggested that they went to the shop and bought me a new tin instead.

It still makes me well up just thinking about it.

One year I was given a little boys favourite teddy so that I could give it to future children in my class if they were sad and my usual comfort cuddly was being used. That brought a tear to my eye. It wasbiiusly a much loved teddy and I tried to give it back but he wouldn't have it. He was an absolute gem of a kid and I still have that teddy 9 years on.

I should add - I can't bear the teacher gift stands the supermarkets wheel out at the end of June and the 'teacher tat' (Best Teacher key rings etc). This is just too cynical and puts too much expectation/pressure on the kids and parents.

Teacher here. I would say a class voucher is a nice idea, but I wouldn't want parents to feel pressured into it.

Wine always goes down well.

Oddest gift was a full on bunch of roses from a lad I taught. He'd saved up and bought them because they were the nicest flowers. He was a nice kid. Probably still is!