Teacher presents. End of term.

[rackhampearl]

Aibu to ask you teachers what your best and worst present experiences have been from --parents students. Also has anyone got any ideas? I'm thinking of miniature bottles of Hendricks gin and a small can of fever tree in a gift bag for the teachers heavily involved in my DDs school life and some loaf cakes for the staff room. Is that abit naff?

We have always done a collection from all parents . There is a general amount of £5 but if you want to give a different amount nobody cares . We get a big card and the kids write a message on a sticker and tne teacher gets some flowers a card and a voucher as does the TA. Super easy and I feel the teacher can get something they want . They also get the personal messages from
the kids

After 3 incredibly stressful years made so much easier by my dcs nursery i will be getting them some more reading books. For the reception teacher and her ta, they are fighting over a battery operated pencil sharpener! (i used to be a primary school ta) Oh and handwritten notes.

I've bought DD10s teacher a tin which says Teachers Tin & filled it with some essential school supplies...pens, print stick etc...plus hand gel, tissues...and mints, dark chocolate, coffee sachets & a can of gin. He's leaving to go to another school..so thought he might need supplies!
I am a teacher and one of my most memorable gifts was given to me a couple of weeks before the end of term...it said Teachers Survival kit on the bag & the mum had filled it with a bar of chocolate, some relaxing bubble bath, a bath bomb, a magazine & a mini bottle of wine, it was really appreciated.
I have been teaching 21 years & still have some gifts. I also still have some cards with wonderful words written by parents and children. I taught Reception for 20 years & when children, who didnt know a single letter in September, wrote me a thank you note in July it was magical.

I know quite a few teachers and almost all have said they do it because it's easy or it fits in with having a family

ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!

You really do know some strange teachers!!!

Is it easy? Not in my experience. If it was so easy why do we have a massive shortage crisis going on, with teachers leaving in droves?

Fits in with having a family? Hmm, not sure Id go with that one either and most teachers become teachers way before they have a family of their own anyway. But, yes you get the school holidays off. BUT - those may not match the school your child is at, likewise INSET days,. You can't easily take time off at other times to go to sports day, assemblies, plays, etc. Some holidays you need to work through them. You will need to use childcare as you also need to be at school earlier than their school starts and finish after than their school ends; sometimes before their unschool childcare is available too. Etc, etc.

But yes, thats exactly why people become teachers. Ok

I hate this gift giving thing. It’s all too much, buying gifts twice a year for people you don’t actually know (what do they like, are there sensitive issues in their lives eg alcohol, how much to spend on a professional earning several times my salary etc etc). Dd is in y4 now, and I tried homemade biscuits for Christmas and thank you cards for class teacher and head teacher ( with letter, not just a generic card) for end of year. But after countless MN threads where many people are clearly queasy about home baked goods from the kids, and a lack of inspiration about what to say in my letters ( dd has had a great year, enjoyed herself, learned a lot, felt supported with her problem) I’m out of ideas. Plus I hate her being the only child going in without a big gift sack.

i bought cheap mugs and filled them with pens, pencils, coffee sachet, sugar sachets and a small pack of biscuits. they seemed to go down well, and cost no more than £6 for 4. my children chose the mugs with slogans on that reminded them of that teacher or ta.

Sara my thoughts exactly. I work many more hours for much less money then read about them all not liking this and not liking that. Couldn't give a shit. I get nothing from my vulnerable clients as I'm not allowed to accept gifts and don't expect it either, neither should they.

It’s shocking that some teachers are saying they throw cake in the bin, don’t like receiving flowers etc. Very rude and ungrateful behaviour.

In my class about half the class bring gifts and I honestly can’t remember who gave what by lunchtime so please don’t think your children are being judged or left out in anyway. As I said before I feel embarrassed by gifts but love a card or picture drawn by the child. I keep them all.

I taught at a state school and was delighted if the class bought a card and signed it.

However, my kids were at prep school and the end of term presents were imperial in their scope.

I remember sitting in the the car park having dropped my youngest and watching two over privileged class mums struggling with a TREE in a terracotta pot they had bought the teacher. I sat and laughed until the tears ran.

When the music teacher left they bought her a Rolex.

Aw, don't be put out

DH loves all gifts and cards and it is all about the thought behind it. He got some hairbands from 2 girls for his long scruffy hair and that really made him laugh

Any home made stuff gets eaten too

t’s shocking that some teachers are saying they throw cake in the bin, don’t like receiving flowers etc. Very rude and ungrateful behaviour.

How is it ungrateful? You can be grateful for a gift you don't like and won't use. I wasn't a teacher but I did a volunteer role in which I would regularly receive gifts. I much much preferred to get a thoughtful card but was grateful for the thought behind the gifts. I actually almost always donated the gifts (mainly chocolates and bath stuff usually) to a local homeless charity.I didn't like the chocolates and only really use particular bath stuff. I don't have much of a sweet tooth and nor do DH or DC so no idea what I'd do with an entire cake if I had guests I'd offer it to them if not yes it probably would go off.

It’s shocking that some teachers are saying they throw cake in the bin, don’t like receiving flowers etc.

I would generally eat cake, but I know some people don't like home made cake from people they don't know well. In our staff room any such offerings may well be left there for those who don't mind to eat it.

I have had to pass flowers on before, as I often go away straight after term ends. I haven't thrown them away with, but I have given them to someone else so they don't just sit and die at home.

We get a big card and the kids write a message

Do you allow the children who's parents haven't contributed to write in the card? Please do - as a teacher, I'd be sad to think some child was left out because their mum or dad hadn't handed over money.

I hadn't thought about this really until this thread, but there is also now an expectation of gifts for the children from the teachers too. (I'm primary so that might not be the case in secondary..)

I don't mind but I'm not sure where this expectation came from exactly...

A child in a class a few years ago even asked me 'Miss, so what are we getting for our end of year present?'

And a cheap pencil & rubber combo doesn't cut it now. Personalised name key rings and bookmarks are all the rage on Instagram

It's all gone a bit bonkers...

But for what it's worth, the loveliest gifts I've ever had were a jar of homemade strawberry jam from a child who'd told me all year about how much he loved gardening on his granddad's allotment.

And a beautiful hand drawn card from a very talented artist parent.

I always say thank you and genuinely appreciate every gift, card and message.

To be clear as a teacher I appreciate ANY gift that I receive and expect nothing. Many teachers (including me) have responded with suggestions because the OP asked for ideas and would otherwise never be anything but gracious and grateful for any gift/card received. If you don't want to send in a gift that in no way reflects badly on your child or you. (However I did once receive a tin of half eater biscuits that had a cigarette butt inside and that did make me shudder).

I am a teacher (retired early) and I always send in a £10 Amazon voucher. It seems to go down well. That way they can put it towards whatever they want. The best present I ever got was a bottle of champagne and a fabulous cheeseboard which A Level students had put together and bought me. I got loads of flowers which I loved but often got given them and then I went on holiday two days later so had to give them to a friend. I got loads of chocolates some I ate and some I gave to a friend as some years got 7 boxes at once. I had a few boxes of Malterers and ate them all myself as those are my favourite. I sometimes noticed the naughtier the child the better present the parents sent me in lower school. I had lovely cards and I have kept every one. When I was having a bad week at school and drowning in paperwork I used to look at them to remember why I was teaching.

There is nothing shocking about throwing cake in the bin. As i said in my post sbout doing it, the state of some of the kids lunchboxes and uniforms coming to school id not eat a thing from their house!

RED You come across as very rude and blunt. it is shocking to throw cake in the bin. It's wasteful for a start. someone has gone to th trouble of baking you something fgs.
Parents, most teachers are not this rude and demanding of 'acceptable' gifts.

Excuse my typos and caps fails!

I’m a teacher, and I don’t drink. Usually because I’m asleep on the sofa at 9:15! I’d love a little teacher kit-glue stick, nice gel pens, blue tac etc. Teachers love a bit of stationary!

redspider

You don’t know the kids. You dont know the state of the lunchboxes. You dont know the families. We dont eat them so i really dont care what you think

As a teacher you are not coming across well. Many children live in poor and/or unkempt homes.Many parents will be reading this thread It's very insensitive of you. I do care that you will have alienated them.

Where does it say I'm a teacher?

Ive NEVER said I'm one. Stop making assumptions.

I assumed you are a teacher, TA or school staff as you are responding to a thread asking what teachers like to receive as gifts.