Teachers. What are you buying the kids in your class for Christmas?

[OhioOhioOhio]

Especially if you have a very good bargain basement idea?

As a dentist and parent of a primary aged child, would prefer no sweets or chocolate.
I recently got a 10 pack of Avengers and another of Disney Princess rubbers in Aldi for 99p. Do each child a card and write a twee saying about keeping trying or some such?

And absolutely don't buy a plastic gift bag and fill with party bag fillers. No parents wants the plastic whistle and bouncy ball.
Don't buy any plastic if you can avoid it.

Hobby craft do packs of stickers really cheaply as well.

I really hope no teacher would buy avengers/Disney segregated gifts for their pupils

We made bookmarks and as a surprise and a gift the teacher laminated them for us. Sounds a bit naff, but we were all over the moon. Absolute genius move The Works is probably the best place, we always got a little something going up through school, varying from the bookmarks to a pencil or something. In year 6 we got dictionaries, but I think they were donated rather than from the teacher.

Blimey, this is the done thing in my school. So many bah humbugs. Even TA’s usually get something small for kids at Christmas and end of year.
OP, this year I got a small Xmas decoration from Rex London on sale.

What age?
We are expected to buy a £5 gift per child for Christmas (from school Santa) I'm keeping with childs interest and expected that you also give an additional teacher gift at Christmas and end of year (from your own money)

My DD’s have had books, chocolates in a cup, stationary but the favourite was a pencil shaped piece of card with their name on one side and a Christmas pencil and Christmas chocolate lolly taped on the other side. Easily do that for under £10 for the whole class of you really want to get them something.

Pencils

www.theworks.co.uk/p/pencil/christmas-character-pencils---pack-of-10/5052089149564

Aldi and places like B&M do super cheap lollies or little choc Santa’s.

I generally don't now. I used to because I used to make fudge or buy chocolate lollies but our school doesn't allow us to give edible rewards or gifts any more (both allergies and health) and anything else worth having is too expensive.

I would possibly do bulk books and split but it seems risky because so many people do it and you don't know what books the children already have. It's easier just to write them a card and children get so much stuff, I don't think they need another, very cheap and relatively useless present.

It's also too difficult to avoid parent complaints:

• some complain about sugar and chemicals in treat foods
• some complain about plastic in little toys.
• some complain about the children having too much already.
• some complain about the present not being good quality/being tat.
• some complain about a gift being gender oriented.
• some complain that a gift isn't really suited to their child.

So just not worth the hassle.

Or a roll of cellophane from the £1 shop, cut it up and pop some celebrations type sets in and a little Xmas ribbon.

One year one of daughters teachers gave them each a bauble with their name hand written on one side and the year on the other. Literally just bought a box of cheap plain baubles and gold pen. The kids loved it and my daughter couldn't wait to put it on the tree. It was her first year teaching though so don't know if she still does it

you can find a token gift for 30 kids without spending much more than a fiver.

Yay Mumsnet, where £150 is a "token"!

You can see by the many snooty posts on here it wouldn't be appreciated- no plastic tat or sugar for little Tarquin please if you must the entire encyclopaedia Britannia would be greatly appreciated

I stopped about 6 years ago. Every Christmas I gave every child 2 large chocolate tree baubles tied to a candy cane with gold thread, I was covering 2 classes so roughly x60. I was scunnered when a child said "not this again, is that all we're getting?" so I stopped from then on. The school was in a deprived area and we had long said parents shouldn't buy anything for us, the nasty entitlement of some children crosses the board and spoils it for the nicer ones.

So in summary, nothing.

Messolini, I think they meant £5 in total!

Depends on age really. I'm a TA and at Christmas I normally just do cards and a chocolate coin.

One year, we asked our rep to bring it up at a Governors' meeting on our behalf; just asked for a tenner budget for each teacher if presents were expected from us. We were firmly told where to go - this was part of our job (not in our contracts though). They said that we should want to buy all the kids in our classes presents and if we didn't, well, we were pretty cruel, uncaring teachers.

Nothing at all to do with governors as operational not strategic. I can't imagine taking this to be discussed by governors.

Yet another reason to feel grateful that I no longer teach in the UK. What a waste of a teacher’s time.

I’m looking at doing my teacher training... didn’t count on buying gifts for classes of 30!

My DD was at a school on practice where it was made clear that staff gave presents last year. She gave 30 lego mini figures which cost me £45.

Some chocolate coins. I used to be able to get massive ones from Hamley’s but sadly they’ve been discontinued.

My DC teachers do this & TBH I wish they didn't. We buy the teachers wine or give a gift voucher but honestly we are just so thrilled with them we are happy to. I def don't want them spending their £££ on the kids.

The school I work at doesn't allow staff to give gifts and also make it clear that parents shouldn't feel the need to buy for teachers. It's mad that some schools expect staff to do this at their own expense.

Teachers should definitely not be giving gifts to pupils, or cards for that matter. What a waste. NOr do I agree with giving gifts to teachers. Also a waste. If a teacher has gone above and beyond for my children in the past I send them an email thanking them and copy the head and governors into it.

My mum retired from teaching 20 years ago and never bought gifts for her classes. I went to a different school to where she taught and every pupil received a pencil with the schools name and merry Xmas written on it, I remember being thrilled to receive one each year and never wished for anything more (the upcoming holiday was exciting enough). They came out of the school budget too, not from the teachers wages.