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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask what makes a good teacher's gift

84 replies

Tangerineandturquoise · 30/06/2015 11:05

and TA and head of lower school
DS is moving up next year and his teacher and the head of lower school have been great for him, they have really helped him to shine. He hasn't been at the school long.
The class aren't doing a joint gift which is a shame
I don't want to be over the top or underwhelming- I know they are amazing because they love doing what they do- I just want something to say Thank You.
So what are you all doing-or what do the teachers want or not want

OP posts:

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 30/06/2015 18:04

Ds3's Y3 teacher was a fabulous australian bloke - one summer he told the children that he wanted cans of Fosters - he had enoug stacked at the end of his desk to stock his own offie!

I didn't want to add to the Fosters mountain (lake?), so I bought him a huge joke book - I did check if they were suitable for primary school children.

ShitHotAwesome · 30/06/2015 18:11

I go with proper decent chocolate and write a heartfelt note in the card.
My DD made a few gifts for her teacher in the last few weeks, the card and chocolate were from me, not her!
It hadn't occurred to me to have the thank you coming from the child, really dim

KatamariDamacy · 30/06/2015 20:05

Write them a card/letter/email and tell them exactly what they've done that was so brilliant. Great for personal development stuff. And send a copy to the head

SmileAndNod · 30/06/2015 20:31

I saw a very pretty academic diary today and nearly picked it up for dds teacher, who is utterly lovely. There is no present (that we could afford anyway) that would be enough for her. The way she is so patient and kind and takes a little four year old and makes them blossom is amazing.

For ds's teacher I'm considering gin. If I had had that class all year, I'd be on an iv gin drip. She deserves a bloody medal.

There are over 70 staff so I don't even know what I could send in.

Underbrella · 30/06/2015 20:40

We're making cards & painting rocks for teachers & TAs. At least they can legitimately chuck them in their/school garden so they don't take up house space.

I teach & find it really uncomfortable (but touching!) to receive gifts. It's really not necessary.

OldRoan · 30/06/2015 20:45

I got some beautiful ballpoint pens at Christmas - small and easy to carry home (I get public transport, I'd be in a real pickle with 30 pot plants) - and an absolute godsend because we have to mark the register in a certain colour pen.

I always keep handwritten cards for at least a year though - then if I'm having a tough time I look back at them and they perk me up. So a card above anything else.

hollieberrie · 30/06/2015 20:52

Cards and letters from the parents are always appreciated. I love to know that even though, at some point over the year, your childs water bottle / jumper / lunchbox got lost / ruined / covered in red paint and you were cross about it, actually you do appreciate us and feel (hopefully!) that we've done a good job and that your child has been happy.

Booze, plants and stationery are always appreciated. I don't have a sweet tooth so tend to give any cakes or chocolates away. I genuinely love all those Best Teacher mugs, massages my ego a little bit ;-)

Noodledoodledoo · 30/06/2015 20:58

If you do want to go down the best teacher route - only so many mugs can be used, and find something useful - I had a fab notebook from one student once which I used for the following year as my meeting notebook. Usable presents which have a lifespan are the best!

namech4nger · 30/06/2015 21:00

Can I ask why you would like stationery. Does the school not provide that?

Noodledoodledoo · 30/06/2015 21:01

Schools often provide cheap stuff and being secondary if its something distinctive I can tell when a student is trying to 'borrow' it!

hollieberrie · 30/06/2015 21:07

No namech4nger, they dont :( It's hard enough to get enough pens and paper for the kids, let alone stuff that makes teachers lives easier - like highlighters, coloured, pens, notebooks etc.
Agree with a PP that a bumper pack of glue sticks would be most welcome indeed! And Blu-tack!

derxa · 30/06/2015 21:48

The nicest gift I ever received was a piece of personalised silver jewellery from a parent who made jewellery. Another was a mug with the Y6s photo on it. Wine is always great. The best of all is of course thank you cards with soppy heartfelt messages.

lemonpoppyseed · 30/06/2015 21:53

Charlie, most teachers can't remember their own name at this point of the year, let alone what was gifted last summer. It sounds like a great present!

Original poster

Tangerineandturquoise · 30/06/2015 22:05

Thank you everyone some really nice ideas.
I do like the idea of something for the staff room so may do that and a gift for the teacher and TA- I will give DS some of the ideas when I have had a look around at them and he can choose and make the card

OP posts:

CalleighDoodle · 30/06/2015 22:38

I got a homemade centre piece at christmas one year. Loved that. One year i got a selection box at xmas. That was fab. Hmm cant remember much else! We dont get much in secondary!

Ive given my children's teachers a plant, with a card saying thanks for helping me
Grow. And homemade body scrub which she was very excited about when she next saw me.

coffeeisnectar · 30/06/2015 22:42

Dd has got her teacher a jar of dowe egberts (so) coffee in one of the limited edition jars so she can use it afterwards and a pack of pens which have a maze with a little ball inside. She's also made a card with a picture on the front she drew of the teachers very fat cat stuck in a cat flap and inside has written about the things she's enjoyed learning this year.

Cumbrae · 30/06/2015 22:45

I always try to get something useful or that it won't matter having too many of.

We've given plants, notebooks, stationery and pretty folding shopping bags in the past.

Look at Etsy for some cool personalised stuff.

WaltJunior · 30/06/2015 22:54

I go a bit nutty for notebooks stationary that kind of thing. Especially if the child has written a message in the notebook. Chocolates, cakes any food really - I give away. I love a sweet card!

toofytrub · 30/06/2015 23:17

One year ds1 grew some apple seeds in pots - completely randomly. By end of term the plants were about 8 inches high so he decorated the pots they were in and took them in for his teacher and ta, which went down well (probably supplemented by a bottle of wine or something similar). His TA saw him 3 years later and said it was still growing in her garden which is 3 years more than the ones that we grew at home ever did! Bit late for that now though!

At christmas time I often send in a bottle of dessert wine as it's smaller than a full sized bottle and something a bit different at some point over the festive season as you usually end up having desserts somewhere where it's nice to bring out. That's also gone down well. Umbrellas can also be good - a nice neat little one as most people use them and can have several (one in the car, one in the cupboard, one left in your locker). Bonus with a reception age child is that they are not breakable in the same way a bottle is But not so good when you're in the middle of a heatwave...

Stationery is also good - you can get personalised stickers or stamps that say things like 'Mrs Bloggs says Excellent Work' or 'Well done from Mr Smith' which some teachers like.

I do try to make the dc draw a card and write something nice in it - but occasionally it backfires - last year ds did a lovely picture and wrote long and gushing things for his teacher (he still struggles to write so it was a real labour of love) - then for his ta he did a quick scrawl of a picture and wrote her name, his name and that was it. Couldn't persuade him to write even anything bland for her

Having said all that - really not sure what to get the teachers this year...

crustsaway · 30/06/2015 23:19

Wine!

ToysRLuv · 01/07/2015 00:42

I got jars of that biscuit spread and wine. DS did cards.

ToysRLuv · 01/07/2015 00:43

For the teachers, I mean! I'm not a teacher..

MidniteScribbler · 01/07/2015 00:54

I don't expect gifts, but I really love receiving a heartfelt letter or card. Anything homemade is also lovely. A number of years ago a student brought me a little porcelain dog that they had found in the dollar store because they knew I liked dogs. The next year another student gave me a 'friend for him because he looks lonely'. This seems to have snowballed and I now have quite a collection on a shelf behind my desk, I think it's cute.

Every year, one mother at our school gets a big gift box from the store and fills it with mixed lollies, jelly beans, mints, etc, etc and drops it off about a month before school finishes. It goes on the staff room table and is very gratefully munched on for the month. We'll all be disappointed when her last child leaves the school lol.

Original poster

Tangerineandturquoise · 01/07/2015 12:02

Thank you everyone- I am thinking fruits and cookies would be nice for the staff room.
The dinner ladies especially I think always get overlooked because we the parents don't really see them. But DS has been asking them for recipes, so they are obviously doing something better than me!

OP posts:

BathshebaDarkstone · 01/07/2015 12:04

An idea I think I saw on here before I joined was a lottery ticket.

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