Teacher year end gift

[Gingernspice]

Do you think it be fine to stick a tenner in a thank you teacher card and gift to the teacher. DD 9 prefers I buy a gift. WWYD... Gift or tenner in card?

I know you mean well but I would find it extremely weird to be given a £10 note and would put it straight into the tea fund or into a charity collection box.

Just a card with a nice message is fine and really appreciated.

Teachers work incredibly hard although gifts are not expected they are appreciated. Personalised ones are lovely but imagine giving 35 mugs.. stationery is lively. I remember receiving a painted pot for my pens. Still have it on my desk now 5 years later. If dd would like to make the effort that is lovely and says a lot about dds current teacher :)

What on earth is competitive about saying you don’t want gifts? Flowers give me hayfever, I don’t drink, I don’t like cheap/ mainstream chocolate. Much like everyone else, I had a massive lockdown clear out and don’t want more tat, homemade or otherwise.
The best gift for me would be a child telling me their parent had bought them a book. Or joined the library. Or had a sodding conversation with them.

Nicest things I’ve ever received as a teacher: a hand knitted mug warmer made by the child, a small trinket/jewellery box and a cotton shopper bag with my name on. Other things that’s I’ve also loved: a box of pick and mix, a desk planner thing with loads of sticky notes on and a purse. All would have been £5-£10 I’m guessing. All very much appreciated and very thoughtful. But we genuinely don’t expect things and a ‘thank you’ or a card is really just as lovely.

Money does seem odd. My DD teaches primary and she does appreciate home-made gifts. Though some parents give crazy things like expensive perfumes and bottles of good wine which she doesn't reject either.

A lovely card and a heartfelt message is all we need. It means the most. I treasure those for years.

If you want to spend £10, and don’t want to buy a gift, an Amazon card seems the best route. I’m lucky in that someone in the class generally organises something, parents donate and the teacher then gets a voucher and flowers from us all. Job done.

Another one chiming in with an absolute no to Best Teacher mugs/keyrings/artwork made of stones or whatever. No photos of your child or handmade things either.

Personally I'd be happy with a tenner as I can spend it on what I want!

Homemade card ..I've kept every one I've been given in the last 15 years !

Easy cheap gifts I've been given and appreciated
Pen pot made by the child
Simple bath bomb
Nice bar of chocolate.
Pretty post it notes
Nice green and pink pens ( for marking )

Just a card with a genuine message. Keep the £10.
I still have all the cards I have been given. They mean a lot.

Just because this always comes up - why /shouldn't/ teachers get gifts?

I work a volunteer job alongside teaching and, while it doesn't always happen, it's a regular occurence that customers give gifts as a thank you for excellent service. Anything from flowers to a few bottles of wine.

While teachers get paid for doing a job, so does everyone else and it's nice to receive a little thank you on top - who wouldn't appreciate it?

I don't expect gifts, but I was moved to tears at one I received from a student this year, who was excellent in working out mine and colleagues' tastes and managed to give a little perfect something to all of us. I keep all the cards, too.

OP, I have to say, better no gift than money. In some schools, all monetary gifts have to be handed in to Finance, so the teacher might not be able to keep them anyway. But also, it feels wrong. However, chocolates, biscuits, nice tea - all very much appreciated.

I'm like you @tuliplily, I don't expect but love a present 🤣

@Historytoo yes we are paid for 6.5 hours a day in term time but some parents appreciate the extras we do. But I agree that no one should feel obliged to buy a gift for a teacher at all.

I think money in a card would be weird, like someone else said I've kept every card ever and the cards mean more than anything but a lovely pen is always appreciated and if I got a Costa gift card I'd be well chuffed 😉

DH is a teacher and I think he'd feel very uncomfortable accepting money from a pupil / parent.
He really appreciates the thank you in the card and although he doesn't think he should get presents, he has received some he was very grateful for (a plant, a costa voucher, handmade Christmas decoration, a nice pen).

I think just a card, and homemade would be appropriate.

Cash is odd but a gift card is fine. You could always see if someone suggests a class gift that you all contribute towards.

I’d do an Amazon or Costa voucher rather than cash.

A card is fine - especially with a nice message. If you want to give £10 then either as an Amazon or m&s gift card - not actual money though. I have no need for classroom supplies as my school supplies them so post it notes or pens would be a huge waste of money. Likewise, handmade gifts are also odd. Do other teachers actually wear those necklaces or hang the pictures up in their house? I bin most of it - sorry! I keep the wine and chocolates though! 🤣
And don't get me started on all these 'best teacher' pens and mugs - the staff rooms are over flowing with them. I do like a nice little sign though - I hang them around my notice board. 🙂

A home made card is always appreciated

Another teacher here. As others have said, I don't expect gifts, but I always appreciate them when they are given. I don't think it's got anything to do with whether or not teachers are fairly remunerated. Different families and cultures have various norms around gifts - who am I to dictate what they should or should not do?

Cash is a bit awkward and the teacher would have to declare it to the school. If you want to give a gift, something inexpensive and consumable is always a good bet.

My favourite present was a coin purse that a boy in my Year 7 form gave me. His parents had clearly given him a budget and told him to choose the gift. It was fluffy and sequined, something I would never ever have bought for myself. I took it with me all around Europe that summer because I thought it was utterly brilliant!

DDs school was on the edge of a deprived area. Wasn’t unusual for either parent not to work. At the end of term the playground was full of parents with massive bags/baskets of gifts. Lots of it, looked like tat, lots of ‘best teacher’ gifts. I’m sure they would be better spending their money on themselves. The school made a vague effort (like everything they did) to prevent it, didn’t really work.
There’s really no need to be buying gifts. I work in a secondary and I see how much the teachers appreciate a card (and occasionally an in-joke gift) and how bad they feel getting stuff when TAs etc don’t and most things you can eat are just left in the staff room to share.

With home made gifts, I do like gifts that a child in my class has made for me and have several which I've kept for years. I also like edible home made treats but only if they're vegan (luckily I only seem to get them from families who know that I'm vegan). Homemade cards from children are also lovely.

I really dislike homemade gifts which have been bought from etsy, craft stalls local selling pages eg hanging hearts, pictures, key rings etc. They get binned or donated to charity shops.

Let your dd choose a gift, it doesn’t matter if she chooses something weird, it’s about her saying thank you to her teacher.

Don’t give money, that would be odd unless you make it a voucher.

If I were a teacher i think I'd prefer a gift voucher. I can then spend it on what I chose but would feel a little effort had been made.

... however, something simple would be nice instead, like some flowers picked from the child's garden!

Just a lovely handmade card should be enough.As they say it’s the thought that counts! Also it seems crazy for families who are struggling all year round to feel they have to buy gifts for the teacher.