Help me spend £70 on teacher’s Easter present

[SoGladofYou]

Class Rep here. One of my jobs is to buy the teacher a present from the class kitty on behalf of the parents at the end of each term. I would like to choose something Springlike but I’m cr*p at choosing presents, so would welcome suggestions from Mumsnetters. The budget is £70. It doesn’t have to be just one item, but a maximum of three. Thanks so much ☺️

John Lewis vouchers and an Easter egg. X

It doesn't seem a huge amount per family although I've never worked in a school where Easter presents are a thing (I usually give a few mini chocolates to each child).

I would much rather have a £50 voucher than 25 boxes of £2 chocolates - it always feels like such a waste when I get this at Christmas but hopefully the food bank makes use of them.

At my DC's state school the parents give about £10 each at Christmas and summer so they get a big voucher to enjoy.

I'm a class rep and usually organise the class teacher gift at Xmas. ALWAYS a voucher for the bulk of the contributions - and this is always checked with another teacher who knows them well as to where is best (restaurant / massage place / shop) then usually the excess is spent on a bottle of bubbly and some chocolate / a nice pot plant. Never ever ever anything with kids pics on it and NEVER a mug! The staff room is full of 'favourite teacher' mugs!

Easter presents 😳

Id Spend it all on a one 4 all voucher !

If 30 children in a class all got a £2 box of chocolate biscuits, that would be a ridiculous amount of biscuits. And come to £60 collectively, which is hardly different from £70 for one combined present.

Please tell me this is a joke

It’s not that ridiculous, I was a state school primary teacher 20 years ago and at Easter I was given something by pretty much every child I had taught - as well as at Christmas. Very generous kids annd their families indeed. And it was not a prosperous area at all. A class kitty just bundles this all up as one gift.

FFS I can't believe some of the judgey comments on here. It seems some people simply cannot handle the fact that others do things differently.

First of all OP asked for gift suggestions, not judgemental opinions criticising the fact the teacher gets an end of term gift. She has also said she is in a foreign country and end of term gifts are simply the 'done thing' there. Perhaps the 'cost of living crisis' isn't as hard hitting there as it is in the U.K. Also considering the school is a private school, I'm sure a few extra £ isn't going to break the bank for most families, and purchasing the gift certainly isn't going to negatively effect those MN'ers who are more hardly hit by the cost of living crisis in the U.K.

I don't understand why so many posters are getting their knickers in a twist about this.

Most private schools have smaller class sizes. Less than 20 children. Let's say in OP's case the class size is 20. A £15 donation from parents at the beginning of the school year into the class kitty for teachers gifts would result in a gift value of £100 each term assuming there was 3 terms and no teaching assistant gifts or anything else having to be taken from that. A £15 donation per child upfront into the kitty is hardly a no breaking for most families, whether or not they go to private school. It also removes the need for parents to be worrying about sorting out money and gifts each term or individually on their own. My children's schools collect the donations this way as well. It ends up saving us money in the long run. I would much rather have one lovely nice higher value gift I could enjoy such as a voucher and some nice chocolates instead of a bunch of smaller similar gifts at the end of each term. Who really needs twenty £5 crappy boxes of chocolates each? They won't be all that nice anyways.

For what it's worth my vote would also be for some nice chocolates and a voucher to a store smilies to John Lewis.

£70. As OP just said.

Easter present?
Please stop the utter madness - its completely unneccessary
Spend it on Easter Eggs for the food bank

No that's the allocated budget for this present out of the kitty

If overseas, a spa, restaurant, theatre or voucher for a cocktail bar.

When I lived overseas, the gifts were crazy: Flight vouchers, jewellery, perfume, US Open tickets.

all very welcomed as a young teacher without much spare cash after student loans.

I agree with a previous poster that flowers often have to go elsewhere as so many people head off on holiday or to visit family and friends.

My most recent gift was eye cream and anti wrinkle cream. 🤣🤣I was pretty offended but I’m loving it really.

How will she use a photo of the kids at work? (did anyone say it was a she?)

If the chocolate is home made- in the bin
If shop bought then eaten or given away
(how does that link to my comment that no teacher wants a photo of the kids?)

@SoGladofYou if the kitty thing is sort of an established school tradition can I suggest starting a tradition of getting the teachers to do some sort of likes list? My cousin is a teacher in the US where teacher presents are just a thing. Her class parents get the teachers to do a checklist thing so they don't end up buying alcohol for teachers who don't drink or scented candles for someone who loathes them.

I can see the point of a gift if it is a token for the individual child to hand over to learn to say thank you/goodbye.

Class kitty from parents is nothing to do with the kids, it devalues the original intentions of teachers gifts you had 20 years ago and teaches the kids nothing, to "tip" a professional is parents being materialistic and cringy. As a professional I'd be mortified if people I provide a service to felt, due to peer pressure, they had to chip in to give me a voucher just because that is what they are now expected, by other parents, do each year.

Easter egg, flowers and John Lewis vouchers.

Send it to your local food bank or donate to your local woman’s aid. A much more worthy recipient than a teacher doing their every day job which they are paid for. Completely unacceptable behaviour accepting gifts like this in today’s society.

I once received a bouquet of flowers and it had £10 notes rolled up on stems to look like flowers! Maybe a local business does something like that?

I have a friend in the US (state primary school) who receives a lot of generous gifts for Christmas and the end of year. They don't do the class kitty system at her schools so it's all up to the individual parents, but she regularly receives gift cards to her local shopping mall, Amazon gift cards, she even received a Victoria Secret gift card one year which I think is a tad creepy

With respect, I appreciate it’s a different world to state school, but I think it’s ridiculous. However if it must be done, then I’d make a £70 donation to an appropriate charity.

Oh Victoria's Secret is a bit "eek". Still, new bras are expensive.

@WheresMyRemoteControl the OP didn't say she was in a foreign country.

Tesco gift card. They can soe d on clothes, food wine

Jesus it's changed since my kids were at school ! Teachers presents 0 . Give it to charity .