To wish I’d never offered to sort the class teacher gift?

[Lilmzsnowflake]

Even before I offered I told myself it was madness.
Then I thought, what’s so hard about collecting money and buying an Amazon voucher and a card to sign? Easy.

No. No it is not. There were the usual complaints about how we should shop local. What interests the teacher has that could be used. Which MLM mums are in the class group and we could support them too.
I said from the start that if Amazon vouchers were ok I would do it, but I’m not traipsing around shops. So far I’ve not responded to any of these suggestions and no one else is offering to take on the job.
I wouldn’t dream of buying clothes or toiletries for someone without knowing their size or preference. Books are great but for someone who reads a lot, chances are they have either read it or have specific genres they like. Food can be a minefield with allergies, diets, preferences.
The teacher in question is lovely and her neighbour, who I am friends with, has said she often takes in Amazon boxes for her. Vouchers seems like a good, if impersonal choice.
AIBU to think I should have just kept quiet?

Please tell me your class gift horror stories to make me feel better! I have another 4 years with dc at the school so I really don’t want to fall out with anyone.

I don’t know why people see John Lewis as the holy grail of vouchers.
Well, I do, it’s marketing - they’re “posh”.
I’ve had a £20 JL in a drawer for 4 years.
I never shop there, and I don’t go to the city centre where it is, so haven’t just wasted it on any old thing to get it spent, in passing.

Not everyone buys from John Lewis!

Good quality products broad range of products and good returns policy

@Shoppingwithmother it's ok we have Booths which is far superior

Being given an Amazon voucher is great as then you don't even have the shop local guilt as it's somebody else's fault. Much better than endless handcream and scented candles.

@lyralalala

Does no-one else just ask the teacher where they'd like the voucher for? Maybe I'm odd, but I've always said to the teacher that we're getting a voucher so where would they like it for

We do half the money on something for the class that the teacher would end up buying out her own pocket and half as a voucher.

DD's teacher is more excited about the box of glue sticks than she is the M&S voucher. DS's is getting an amazon voucher and some scissors.

Do this.

The teacher doesn’t need a surprise, they’ll be delighted you’ve appreciated them enough to organise a class present.

Seriously- why take random parents ideas into account when you can say ‘Mr X, would you like an Amazon voucher or a coffee shop/restaurant voucher/local business?’

Seriously it time to stop the madness of buying teachers gifts at Christmas and end of term. Teachers are doing a job which they are paid for and before I get totally flamed it is absolutely ok to expect that some will do their best and some will go above and beyond just the same as wee Betty in B&Q who will run about the store to find what your looking for. Bet you don’t buy her a present do you?

Get something like the one4all gift cards - there a few different ones.
Then you have covered a lot of these places mentioned.

Also be careful about how much is gifted, it might have changed but there did used to be restrictions on how much they could accept by the tax man.

Amazon gift vouchers are great, you can load them onto your Amazon account and from then the amount never expires.

If anyone brings up MLM again you could suggest that the MLM parent might want to donate one of their products in lieu of them giving cash. Steer away from any suggestions of paying for their products.

Also, don’t get parents/kids to sign the card, it’s an admin nightmare. Use Covid safety as an excuse and just write the card yourself.

I made a few suggestions to the mums in our year, we all concurred that this year a hamper type gift was best. I checked with our recipient that she likes wine and cheese as it seems futile to try and pretend she will be surprised at getting Christmas presents.
Hence she will be getting champagne, a very nice selection of cheeses & corresponding biscuits/chutneys/etc and flowers

To clarify, I'm class rep and we are doing a class present

I would get a family rule giant wooden blackboard ruler personalised with something like 'Mrs Teachers Class Rule!' And then on the back get it personalised to say 'from class 3a, Christmas 2020'

It's a cool gift she can keep for all of her teaching years and reuse with classes in future as it's blackboard option. Also quite cool for the kids to have their heights measured throughout the rest of the year

Family rule are on insta, I'm literally obsessed with them

Senora, if it's a 2m ruler that would be quite handy at the moment.

I'd go with Amazon vouchers. You've got the inside scoop that they'd be useful, they're probably the easiest to use with a huge choice and they're probably the safest vouchers to get atm. I personally wouldn't be averse to @CoronaIsWatching s F&M vouchers though!

Having worked in retail across a few brands, I'd avoid Post Office, Love to Shop vouchers etc. We'd get glitches with in house credits too but vouchers of that ilk were the worst. They invariably refuse to interact with tills/card machines and cause mayhem. Huge waste of money and basically jail for gift money, IME!

@Bubblesgun

YANBU to be annoyed especially since you have offered and no one else has.

But, YABU to give an amazon voucher. Every single teacher I know (and that is a lot) eant ‘&S or John Lewis vouchers

I'm a teacher and HATE M&S vouchers. There is nothing in M&S I like. I usually use it to buy gifts for other people's birthdays etc.

@lyralalala

Does no-one else just ask the teacher where they'd like the voucher for? Maybe I'm odd, but I've always said to the teacher that we're getting a voucher so where would they like it for

We do half the money on something for the class that the teacher would end up buying out her own pocket and half as a voucher.

DD's teacher is more excited about the box of glue sticks than she is the M&S voucher. DS's is getting an amazon voucher and some scissors.

I know it's in jest but I think it is sad how teacher gifts (basically a thank you for their hard work) has now become subsidies for their classroom, i.e. items to enable them to do their job.

This isn't aimed at you Lyralalala, your post just highlighted it to me.

I know teachers (any many on this thread) have said they'd love Amazon vouchers to buy things for their class or a box of white board markers or glue would be a lovely present. The standards in our schools are now so low basic classroom items are deed a luxury and teachers have become so ground down and removed from reality that it that it seems normal.

Would anyone get a nurse kidney dishes and gauze as a thank you? No, but then I suppose they aren't reduced to buying them out of their own pocket.

I'm not being ungrateful but if I were to be gifted I'd be happy with a cheap bottle of wine or voucher. The best gifts are nice notes from parents. For me it would be a slap in the face to get classroom stationary as a gift. I'd rather no gift and the parent donate the money to the school funds. This may sound ungrateful but it's honestly not.

I was once given a cheque towards a class gift that bounced when I deposited it. I was charged for the bounced cheque, but I didn’t say anything as I felt so bad for the parent. She must’ve realized too, but she kept quiet.

It was weird as they had/have an affluent lifestyle, but who knows what’s really going on in people’s lives. I’ve only taken cash or transfers for gifts since though!

@giggly

Seriously it time to stop the madness of buying teachers gifts at Christmas and end of term. Teachers are doing a job which they are paid for and before I get totally flamed it is absolutely ok to expect that some will do their best and some will go above and beyond just the same as wee Betty in B&Q who will run about the store to find what your looking for. Bet you don’t buy her a present do you?

No one is forced into it but at the same time, a B&Q employee doesn't spend 10 months of the year nurturing your child and helping them develop academically, socially and emotionally.

A lot of the time people who complain about teacher gifts would have no bother tipping £5 or more to a waitress after waiting their table for 90 minutes. If you don't want to gift then don't.

A prepaid credit card she can spend anywhere might be a better option.

@Saoirse7 *
Would anyone get a nurse kidney dishes and gauze as a thank you? No, but then I suppose they aren't reduced to buying them out of their own pocket.

That’s the key difference. Teachers are buying stuff out of their own money.

I started doing this when I realised pretty much every teacher that I worked with who was given vouchers used them to buy stuff for their class. Which actually meant that some teachers, the ones who didn’t get a class gift, but individual ones, were even more out of pocket than the others. Plus none of the teachers were really getting gifts that they wanted despite parents spending hundreds of pounds.

The discussion was had in that school about asking for school funds donations, but that was also going to be money that teachers didn’t get any say over and would depend on the priorities of the head.

Also, in every school that it’s been done in (two I worked in and two my kids have attended) it’s had the knock on effect of parents realising that schools are short of basics. The school my kids attend just now has a list that parents can see of things they’re short of and someone will often drop off felt pens or glue sticks.

It shouldn’t be this way, but it is and this does help. I know a good number of the teachers now spend the voucher they get on themselves. So they actually a get a thank you now rather than a voucher to spend on pens and essentials.

@Saoirse7 as I said doing their job and if that is spending their days nurturing or teaching my dc then thats what I would expect.
The teacher up thread who regifted her M&S gifts says it all really.
I get that it’s a nice thing to do but I do wonder if schools were to take accountability like ours has and made the decision of no more presents how many parents would be grateful for that extra £5/10 in their own purse and don’t be giving me the everyone can afford a fiver
And just for the record no ward/ community staff would be allowed to accept anything over £5/ tin of biscuits etc.
Come on teachers stand up for the parents and buy yourself amazon/JL/ M&S vouchers save the minimum wage families from feeling obligated by the mummy mafia.

Senora? Really? They don’t even have blackboards!

“An amazon voucher is going to go on loo roll or similar
A John Lewis Voucher (useable at Waitrose) allows for a luxury purchase.”

Yeah you can get four rolls of luxury loo roll at Waitrose rather than 12 at Amazon!

Of all the millions of things available at Amazon, you think they'd buy loo roll?

Perhaps they could buy some naice ham at Waitrose?

OP you're fine, get the Amazon vouchers!

Not sure if said already, but as a teacher I would love 'notonthehighstreet' vouchers because some very lovely stuff on there

Get the gift card!

We did John Lewis vouchers and a decent bottle of gin as we knew the teacher drinks it. 30 mums paid £10 each within a few days to the organiser, job done.

Supporting MLM mums is a crap idea and trying to support local is too. Don't virtue signal on behalf of the teacher, just give the most sensible option FGS.

I think Amazon is an excellent idea. She can buy almost anything she needs/wants that way.

[quote lyralalala]**@Saoirse7*
Would anyone get a nurse kidney dishes and gauze as a thank you? No, but then I suppose they aren't reduced to buying them out of their own pocket.

That’s the key difference. Teachers are buying stuff out of their own money.

I started doing this when I realised pretty much every teacher that I worked with who was given vouchers used them to buy stuff for their class. Which actually meant that some teachers, the ones who didn’t get a class gift, but individual ones, were even more out of pocket than the others. Plus none of the teachers were really getting gifts that they wanted despite parents spending hundreds of pounds.

The discussion was had in that school about asking for school funds donations, but that was also going to be money that teachers didn’t get any say over and would depend on the priorities of the head.

Also, in every school that it’s been done in (two I worked in and two my kids have attended) it’s had the knock on effect of parents realising that schools are short of basics. The school my kids attend just now has a list that parents can see of things they’re short of and someone will often drop off felt pens or glue sticks.

It shouldn’t be this way, but it is and this does help. I know a good number of the teachers now spend the voucher they get on themselves. So they actually a get a thank you now rather than a voucher to spend on pens and essentials.[/quote]
Don't get me wrong, I am a teacher, I completely get where you're coming from!

My main point is that however it's dressed up the system is fundamentally flawed that it has become the norm for gifts to be classroom essentials.