Teachers don’t want Thank You Teacher gifts

[Graveltone]

Even though schools have 5-8 weeks of term left, the shops have various TYT gifts such as mugs, coasters, keyrings etc. Teachers do not want this crap! Charity shops near me have numerous TYT mugs and crap on sale!

My friend is a teacher and parents have been told not to give gifts. Teachers don’t want 30 mugs, boxes of chocolate, alcohol (that is embarrassing if teacher doesn’t drink for various reasons) etc. Nor want flowers - don’t have enough vases at home to house 30 bunches of flowers.

Friend’s school accepts cards and hm gifts.

Think before you spend your money on your DC’s teachers.

Teacher here, and yes, gifts are never expected but always appreciated. And wine, chocolates, biscuits and so on are lovely and very welcomed !

I'm a secondary teacher. We get nowt.

I don't think it's usual in UK schools but it's very standard in Irish primary schools to do a class collection, €5 - €10 per child so a decent sum, and teacher gets a voucher for a couple hundred plus flowers / chocs. Easy to do & one decent gift, no messing with lots of unwanted gifts.

In secondary school, I always send in boxes of chocolates & biscuits to the staff room, close to Christmas & the summer.

I'd hate the teacher to get no gift. In almost all cases they go above & beyond.

I still see the climbing rose we bought, in the garden of my DC’s teacher. Makes me, her and them smile every year when it flowers.

Again different system in Ireland but as per my last post, I send in treats for the staff room but also my DC give a gift to their tutor after the end of junior cycle (like GCSEs) & then in senior cycle they organise gifts for certain key teachers among themselves.

Receiving a £200 voucher would have made me feel so uncomfortable. Way too much!

I was with you until the alcohol and chocolate bit! Whaaaat?!?!?!

If they don't drink or eat chocolate then they can gift it.

I'm not a fan of teacher gift tat though!

What is best is a card telling me my effort has been appreciated. A heart felt message. But alcohol is always appreciated! 😁

Since there's a lot of teachers here! DS in reception and I've been thinking today actually what to get!

What do you love?

I have TA's I want to buy for also

I love cheap wine 😬

I do aswell 🤣

@SilentSilhouette the problem with alcohol is if I was given some not only do I not drink - I don't really have anyone I could easily pass it on to and I can't put it in the food bank collection.
It would literally be a waste of money.

In one school I heard that teachers were delighted with a contribution to a classroom fund, for all those things they need but can't get a budget for. To spend at school as they see fit.

Not a single friend or neighbour?

Our local Freecycle Facebook group also has people who appreciate alcohol donations!

DH left teaching but his top draw is still the thank you cards he got and he treasures them (Secondary teacher)

I also thoroughly enjoyed ANY present he got: booze, sweets, flowers, I got to enjoy too! He loved receiving things.

pipe down OP 😂

I would say the safest guidance is don’t buy anything that they wouldn’t want more than one of, unless it’s consumables. You’re very unlikely to buy them something that they don’t already have, so chances are it will be a duplicate. DP is always very pleased when he gets something specific to him as it shows the children have taken an interest in buying the gift, and have reported back to their parents that Mr Marmite really likes cheese, labradors etc

(He’s also very pleased when he gets wine, but I do understand why alcohol is not the most sensible of gifts)

I am going to get DD’s nursery teachers a Boots voucher each at the start of the summer holidays. My thinking is that most people can buy something they’d like from Boots if they are at all interested in beauty/health/skincare, and if they’re really not then they can stock up on basic toiletries and spend the money they’ve saved on toothpaste and shower gel on something they actually want!

It's not up to you whether her or her colleagues throw them away. I wouldn't eat them either.

I am a teacher. I don't expect gifts at all - but I certainly appreciate them when I do. My favourite at Christmas was a pack of 4 Kinder Bueno's because the pupil who brought them was so excited to give them to me!

If you don't want to give a gift, that's fine.

But you certainly aren't speaking for everyone. We do a collection from the class and give vouchers or cash, and who doesn't like that?

@SilentSilhouette I have some friends who drink but they don't live local enough for me to pass on a bottle of wine.
Next door are a Muslim family, the neighbours across the way are never in (I'm convinced they're vampires because I only hear them go in and out at night).
I suppose I could find someone.
I'd be a bit disappointed though that I essentially didn't get a gift 😂

We do a single collection for all the teachers and support staff. It’s then shared out with teachers getting a bit more than others. They get a bottle of something/ something else if they don’t drink (they’re asked what they want) plus a voucher which prob works out around £200. So easy for parents and cheaper as you only give one donation for everyone and hopefully good for teachers too. There’s no compulsion to give - one parent from each class just sends round their bank details and sorts it out.

If you're not a teacher why does it bother you?
I'm a teacher
I've had flowers
I've had chocolate
I've had perfume
I've hag wine
I've had smellies like hand cream.
I worked in a very tough secondary school and the ones that touched me the most were the gifts from the kids I'd found the most difficult.
You need to mind your own business!

Loved the scene in The Detectorists when the girlfriend unboxes 32 best teacher mugs at the end of term.

@Graveltone
If someone gifts you cheap wine (maybe they don't know much about wine) then use it for cooking.

My friend is a teacher and loves getting gifts. I know she regifts some of the things and she enjoys all the chocolates she gets.

Not by anyone I ever worked with.

Always very much appreciated