To not buy the teachers Christmas gifts?

[Applescruffle]

AIBU to not buy the teachers Cheistmas gifts?
I mean, I know it's not unreasonable but is it the norm to buy them?

I appreciate the teachers very much and they are all absolutely lovely and I could afford to do it but the reality is... I just cba.
I have a million other people to buy for and I can't even think what to buy for half of them never mind another four people (two kids with a teacher and TA each).

Do the teachers even want 30 Christmas gifts from kids?

Is "I can't be bothered with it" a valid reason to not do it?

I must add I do make an effort at the end of the year. I handmake them beautiful gifts and get the kids to write cards and I always include the TA too and often some baked goods for the staffroom.

Ooh actually I could bake them some mince pies for the staffroom!

Anyway... AIBU and do you do it?

I always reserved my budget for
these thank you gifts for volunteers like the scout/brownie leaders & many helpers, including the older kids as they give so much time to put on entertainment for my lot. There are many of them & I'd rather give something decent to them all.
Teachers get paid to do a job, if my kids wanted to make a card or gift when primary aged I helped them do this, otherwise not. Likewise I never gave gifts to the dance teachers, music tutors for same reasons.

Please don't feel the need to take part in a class collection, from a teacher. Sorry previous poster but class collections make me uncomfortable worrying about families feeling pressure to contribute (whether expressed by other parents or self).
Absolutely the best things to receive are handmade cards and notes.

Oh yes, good point. Please, please thank volunteers who enrich your children's lives. We teachers get paid pretty well - our TAs don't, so please thank them too.

I agree we don't expect gifts and I personally feel a bit awkward when I get gifts but I adore a handwritten card/letter.

That said, I disagree that "most teachers get 2-4 gifts a year". I've taught for 14 years and always get around 20 gifts at Christmas. Parents are very thoughtful and generous. It's absolutely the norm. So much so that the last few years I made a point of telling children I'm asking santa to give food bank donations, this normally works its way back to parents and gifts go there instead of to me.

We just transfer it all to one parent who offers and she sorts the gifts

We did last year as we were able to afford it (we did a coffee/tea/biscuit/chocolate hamper between both the teacher and TA), this year things are much tighter and I've had to be careful with spending in order to get my kids and family gifts, so we won't be doing teacher presents this year 🤷

A lovely message in a card is the best gift of all. I’m a secondary school teacher and I’ve got stacks of cards and notes from students with beautiful messages- some so thoughtful and personal they’ve made me cry. I get wine/chocs etc at Christmas/end of year. The best gifts I’ve ever been given all relate to my subject and a particular hero of mine.

This was a decade ago.

YANBU- Best present I have ever had was an email to the headteacher stating how amazing I was and how grateful they were to have me teach their children. I have never felt so appreciated 😊 I printed it off and kept it.

Echoing others, please don’t buy us stuff. We love cards with personal messages in them, or even just a little post it note of thanks or a email passed along.

I’ve got a scrapbook of cards/emails from parents and children over the years, and it’s honestly one of the things I’d save first from a fire.

Yes, I did read the OP. 🙄 I interpreted I have a million other people to buy for as implying "and that really costs money".

I'm not going to say more than this about what I think of frenchfancies directly quoting me then banging on about the millions of expensive gifts she's given every year for her gajillion years in teaching, implying she obviously must be a more loveable and experienced teacher with better kids and by extension from the way it was written as a direct refutal of what I said, it was clear she was implying that I was the opposite and so were my kids. My kids were just grand, thanks.

Bully for her, but bigging yourself up at someone else's expense in extremely poor taste. If she had reflected on why it might be that she received lots of presents, and maybe thought that through for half a second, it would have been an "everyone's different" comment, but she just left it at that so it was obvious how it was intended. And it was me who subsequently worked out she was in primary, she never stated it as a primary/secondary comparison.

I bought those costa gift cards a decade ago.

I always do as I think they work a lot of hours for not great wages and it's not an easy job. I just like to show my appreciation for what they do for my children

I don't know a single teacher who minds if they don't get a present.

No worries 🙂 And for what it’s worth, I don’t touch costa with a barge pole now due to that awful marketing campaign.

I buy our teachers Visa cards- it’s as good as cash and they don’t have to deal with junk

The current teacher retention crisis suggests most teachers disagree with this statement.
I work 14 hour days 5 days a week, one day a weekend at least and half of every holiday. This works out at below minimum wage (especially when you add in the books and resources i have to buy for my class because my school has no money).
So yes, as a teacher I love presents at Christmas, it always means a lot. But I don't expect them at all. In my school the staff club together to buy the children of struggling families presents too, as we know they won't get many/any at Christmas.

And as a mum, yes, I always give my children's teachers a Christmas present because I know how hard they work and I think it's a good opportunity to recognise that.

I get my children's teachers and HRTAs a posh cheese, posh crackers and sweet chilli jam every year plus a nice card. Always goes down well.
Wine is always nice, I don't drink it but it is great to have a stash for when ppl come over

We have a contributions pot that we all put money in something like £5-10 to cover the teachers and the TAs etc. cheaper than buying them individual gifts etc… works really well and the whole group finds it affordable.

Please don't buy teachers gifts. It's not a 'healthy' thing to do. It creates problems. Some parents appear to think buying a gift gives them 'leverage' and an expensive gift gives them more 'leverage'. Some parents can't afford to buy gifts and feel bad about it- they shouldn't. Some teachers 'show-off' about the gifts they have been bought and that causes tension and competition or other teachers feel like crap because no one bothered.

A card or an email saying thank you or an email to the Head is much more appropriate and always appreciated.

If you must do something, don't go overboard, make it edible and do it at a random time and make it something to be shared eg cup cakes as a treat in the staffroom in the dark, cold days of December or January.

It really is never appropriate to give alcohol .

Do you realise how badly you come across in your post, especially this bit?:

I have been given such generous gift vouchers from my form groups over the years, I bought dd's baby car seat with them and other big ticket items. But thinking about it, it'll have been about a fiver per kid.

On top of the wages you get paid for doing your job you expect to receive enough money from parents to purchase a baby car seat?

When and why did all this gift giving to teachers at Christmas and end of year start, it was never done when I was at school nor when my children were a simple card was all that was given if that.

I think it high time that Head Teachers stop this nonsense, no gifts for teachers just cards.

It all begs the question if the teachers expect to receive gifts from their pupils why are they not reciprocating?

I love a gift - a bottle of wine or chocolates alongside a nice message are tokens of appreciation for me. Tbh I've been in schools which massively overdo it and it's awkward but it seems my love language is gifts so when parents say and do nothing I assume they think the worst! Times in school are tough at the moment and I'm on cusp of leaving the career as a result of the impossible expectations and pressure on us and the children so the little things mean an awful awful lot these days.