Teachers! AIBU to ask

[Deshasafraisy]

What has been the best end of term gift you have ever received?
What would you like to receive?
Thanks.

Just remembered another one... a framed picture by the child, related to something that we'd learned that year, a topic that they had really enjoyed. Just in a cheap Ikea type frame, but means a lot to me and is still on my desk.

Cake it is! They know the children don't help with anything I give them. What would be best? Big cake, cup cakes, flavour?

Anything given with thought.
One child made me a Christmas card from scrap A4 paper. I knew it was more than their parents would give them and I treasure it to this day.
One parent wrote a lovely note in a card and I've kept that.
One girl noticed my coffee kept going cold and asked her parents to get me a porcelain cup to avoid this. I loved it.
Just today I received a photo frame with a quote from my favourite book in it.

Not one of those presents broke the bank but they were so thoughtful and meant a lot.

Vouchers always seem to go down well. With personal messages in the cards. DC1's teacher this year has been amazing, so I'm definitely stealing the "email to the head" idea.

Wine or nice quality mugs

I buy cinema vouchers so they can gonand see a film. My Auntie is a teacher and I've seen all the stuff she gets (and gives away)

Best I got was a handmade necklace with beads made from
Modelling clay. Each bead was decorated to represent each member of the class. Must have taken ages! Year 6 child.

Booze! Vouchers are also good.

Worst things are, in my opinion, the sentimental saccharin sweet things with 'Dear Teacher' it some kind of poem/inspirational message on it.
I personally don't want key rings with the child's name/scrawl/face on them. Nor do I want a mug/chessboard/whatever that's personalised.

I want booze. It soothes me after dealing with all...those...children.

Parents self-medicate on booze after dealing with just their own children, so teachers surely deserve a crate of wine.
Or two...

(I may have digressed here...)

Bloody autocorrect.

Cheeseboard.
I don't want a personalised cheeseboard.
Or plate
Or ANY personalised stuff.

I also have seventy-million candles.
I'm sorted for any potential blackout.

So. The answer is Booze!

These were for staff to share 👌

In order
Thank you note from parents.
Post it notes
Wine or other booze
Chocolate (I love the boxes of Malteesers you can get for £1)

In the past I have been genuinely disappointed by the card from a parent that I have had a really good relationship with that just had To Mrs Bridges, from Sophie’s Mum. Just something like ‘thank you for your help” would have done the job.

One lovely parent makes up a hamper for the staff room at the end of each term. It has biscuits, cakes, sweets the bags and coffee in it. Alway appreciated.

Best gifts: something your child has helped create - some of the nicest I've had are plants grown from seed in a decorated pot, a mouse mat with designed by the child, a decorated wine glass.

Worst gifts: Best Teacher anything, candles, flowers (because, like many teachers I know, I go away as soon as term ends and would never see them at their best).

The nicest leaving gift I had was a book with a message inside from the child that it was (a copy of) the child's favourite book and to put in on the bookcase in my new classroom for my new class to enjoy.

Boden travel mug (keeps tea warm for about 4 hours)
wine
lovely big note book, w flowery covers
handwritten personal messages
expensive body lotions
vouchers for brunch

Really an email to the head. My DD'1 (9) teacher this year has been nothing short of amazing. DD has DCD and ADD, before the term started she was a nervous wreck no confidence, She spent years before cowering from teacher's.

This teacher has been so kind with great patience, DD has completely changed, and also with the help of her resource teachers. When I read how stressed teacher are on here, it worries me for the future, most should be praised.

Should I email the head, he is a very serious man, a great principal but I imagine scary to work for.

Messages of appreciation from child and/or parent.

An email about the teacher to the headteacher .

A decent staple gun and staples - these are gold dust in any school.

I would love to get a couple of dozen wooden ikea magazine racks for book storage , to replace the flimsy plastic ones that keep breaking.

I teach secondary so get a lot fewer gifts than primary. I love chocolate!! Stationery or posters for the classroom are also great.

Heartfelt cards or notes are the thing I treasure, especially from year 11/13s or students I've spent a lot of time with.

Quality shower gel - l'occitaine, c and e or Molton B. I got m brown this year. Quality wine is also good or a voucher for somewhere decent.

Lecturer here so slightly different as gifts tend to come from students rather than parents, and often my graduating class club together so the gifts can be very generous.

Vouchers for John Lewis - I used them to buy a necklace which I wear often and think of them each time
Vouchers for a local restaurant
Jewellery from a brand I really love and wear a lot, which is quite distinctive - that was so kind because I later found out that they asked a colleague which piece to pick
Flowers, wine, chocolates
At Christmas last year my class made me an amazing hamper with bits like chocolate, bath stuff, hand cream, lip balm etc, plus gin in a tin, and treats for my cat - it was so, so lovely and thoughtful!

I keep all the cards and have them pinned up by my desk. On crappy days they remind me I am bloody good at my job and really make a difference to the students I teach.

tbh I appreciate the thought behind any gift. Some parents give a present and others don't. I don't expect them, but do I like being given cards and/or presents because they make me think that the child has enjoyed being in my class and the parent is happy with the year their child has had.

My favourite ever-presents:

letters or cards with messages. I have a pile at home going back years and they're always guaranteed to lift my mood if I've had a bad day

Personalised desk calendar. The parent knew that I love travelling and had ordered one online. It has things like my name on a balloon that was flying over the Great Wall of China and my name in a vapour trail over the Eiffel Tower.

Oxfam charity donation - the kind that comes with a special card. I can't remember the detail on the card but it was something relevant like books for a school.

A couple of times parents have made me vegan cakes or biscuits. I loved that they'd taken the time to make me something and it was really nice to have something delicious that I could eat (the non-vegan cakes, sweets, chocolates and wine always gets given away).

notebooks and stationery

a poetry book. I read lots of poems to my class and the boy told his mum that he wanted to get me a book with poems because he knew that I liked them.

The gifts that I give a fake cheery smile and thank children for but inwardly groan are:
anything with "best teacher"
candles
non-vegan food or drink
smellies (I'm never sure if they are vegan and cruelty free so save them to donate to the school Christmas fair)

I've given these bags in the past and they've gone down well - they're glorified reusuable shopping bags, really strong and they have 2 big open sections as well as a zipped middle pocket if you want to keep things secure. They fold up really small into a little pouch that acts as a little pocket in the bag too. I figure that they are the sort of thing that can be left in a desk or your car for days when you suddenly realise that you have an extra armful of books or whatever to take home with you.

miatui.com/collections/sue-eco-shopper

I use them myself, especially on holiday when I don't want to carry anything heavy around with me but want something that I can throw the dcs jumpers and gubbins into when we're walking around and they decide they're too hot. Or I want a bag to carry everything down to the pool or breakfast.

They're relatively cheap (a fiver each or 3 for £12) so depending on the teacher I've sometimes supplemented with chocolate/wine/pens. And best of all - they're small, light and unbreakable for ds to take in personally - there's no way I'd let him carry a glass bottle - he just drops things or trips over so it would be chaos! This is much safer

Wine, chocolates, beauty products.

Skydiving, NHS workers are not allowed to accept present.. teachers are and personally i see it as a thank you for the extra time I put in .

A 'Notonthehighstreet' voucher, Paperchase or some such other place where you can get nice stationery! Most teachers love pens, notebooks etc and will use them a lot. More useful than booze or chocolate

@Skydiving, I don't as a teacher expect presents, but I have bought presents for the 3 wards I was on for my first birth (was in for a long time), for the midwife for my community care for my second as she was brilliant, for my grandma's 3 carers as they were amazing, for the ward my grandma was on when she was in hospital for 6 weeks, the same for my mums ward.

I have also bought a little present for my kids key workers at nursery whenever they move rooms, and at christmas - infact last year I bought something for the whole nursery staff.

So its not just teachers who get presents in my experience. I don't do elaborate presents or personalised ones but something I hope says thank you for being brilliant.

As a secondary teacher I have had probably less than 20 in the past 8 years as well.

A letter/card written by the pupil under their own steam. I've still got them all.
Or as other posters have said, wine is always welcome!