Xmas present to help my Dd be one of the teachers favourites

[Justlookatthatrain]

😂Joking-sort of

But seriously, what do you buy your child’s teacher at Christmas?
I worked in a school and there were 100% the mums/kids who bought the flashiest presents-good perfume, champagne, huge bouquets and it did have an effect and everyone knew who those mums were
I’m sure teachers will deny this 😅
A good, thoughtful present does make a difference

Aibu?

If you definitely want a gift, how about something that can be shared with the team? TA here and absolutely teachers deserve gifts but sometimes support staff can be forgotten and especially in the younger years we work very closely with the children too (and are often more likely to deal with toileting accidents, do first aid, do any interventions and support children individually as well as doing group work).

Hope that doesn't sound too grabby but perhaps if you think the teacher (and team behind them) are doing a great job then show it to them all.

Otherwise a handmade card is lovely (and I do keep them all).

I had a lovely picture drawn by one of my pupils of all of the class and us teachers and the support staff, it had been framed and is one of the best things I’ve ever had as a gift. I personally also love plants from my class as I think of that child when I water them, I’ve had some for years.

A box of glue sticks 😀

I adored all the individual presents, much more personal

£50, from just one parent?

100%, always give a nice gift to the classroom assistant too, they often get forgotten

Stalk her on SM to find out what her hobbies are. As an added bonus a personal comment like ‘Jason was too good for you anyway, but hope you get over him and meet someone else soon’ shows kindness and thought.

If there isn’t a collective gift, I usually go for a Starbucks or Costa voucher (there is a Costa beside the school)

Wine or chocolates dont go to land fill, and joint present buying is a pain

I am not a teacher, but from hearing from those who are, give something that is home-made and thoughtful and can be thrown away in a few months without guilt.

Do not give a mug saying the worlds best teacher and do not give chocolates.

I am surprised if teachers are allowed to accept gifts of more than nominal value.
In the various professional roles I have had it's always been prohibited, particularly in the public sector

To be fair I have no idea whether my kids have TAs in their classes 🫤 they have literally never mentioned them if they do. I’ll need to ask them

What’s wrong with chocolates?

Ditto. Or anything else that thought had gone into, e.g. a cheap little cat ornament "because you always tell us about your cat, Miss".

I even appreciated the gift from Wayne, who gave me a 50p piece with great pride (the other children told me later he’d stolen it from a shop on his way to school).

To thank class teacher and TAs (our DC has ALN, and needs some adjustements/support), we either gave each a homemade crafty gift or a Lush bath bomb that DC had chosen and a nice card - the bath bombs are easily regiftable if not it's not their thing. However, the gift that went down best (and we got hints the next year to see if they were on the cards again) were the homemade selection of Christmas biscuits! They were lovely, and we made them to gift to friends and family too, so it wasn't extra, but they are a lot of faff to make tbh. That's why it did not happen every year!

We also sent a big tin of M&S biscuits and a thank you card to the Head & SENco for all the staff to share, because we wanted to show our appreciation for them dealing with all the extra meetings, paperwork etc that the ALN side brings with it, and for running the school in such an inclusive way - they made a huge effort to make sure all the kids could take part in experiences like school shows and national competitions etc. We always did it to show we were grateful to them (we'd had such a crap experience at a previous primary), rather than to curry favour. I'm not sure how much favour there is to be curried for ALN families!🤣

As well as donating to the class collection, I used to give a jar of homemade jam. Teachers loved it and it was requested

As a former teacher, no gifts are expected and any are appreciated.

Having said that, going home on the bus staggering under the weight of 30 boxes of chocolates and biscuits which will probably never be eaten is less optimal than being handed a £50 gift card which the parents clubbed together to get you.

If you can, get on the class WhatsApp and arrange a collection.

If that's not an option, my favourite things that have been given to me as gifts:

Stationery
A small lego set
Earrings (the parent had obviously taken note of my usual style and they were spot on)
A candle in a pretty jar which I still use as a jewellery box now
A card which my TA got the children to make during my PPA with personal notes from every child
A painting of my husband and I by an extremely talented Y6 girl
Wine

Have 5 DC, eldest is 15 and I have never once bought a teacher a Christmas gift. Always buy them a nice gift and thank you card at the end of the year but never Christmas. I didn’t even know this was a thing.

I do a token gift at Christmas for the teacher and ta, usually a homemade card and a chocolate reindeer. I’m sure all the expensive gifts are lovely but I can barely afford my family Christmas presents let alone teachers! Just an acknowledgement goes a long way.

Well, as a parent who has often been told that they wish more parents would be like me, I will give you this advice. Just before my eldest started school, I talked to a friend who was training to be a teacher and asked her what i needed to do to be the kind of parent teachers don't find annoying. These were her suggestions.

Don't bring anything valuable or sentimental to school
Label everything
Keep a spare change of clothes in their pe bag in case of vomit/toiletting accidents
Pay for school trips, lunches etc on time
Don't bring a big cake into school on your child's birthday and expect the teacher to cut it into 30 pieces (although ds2's teacher said she didn't mind cutting a big cake into 30 pieces but she did mind trying to cut a cake that was supposed to serve 6 people into 30 pieces!)
Be understanding if your child's teacher needs to take time off.
Don't expect a handover like in nursery every day at pick up time
Don't forget the class TA when giving out presents to the teacher
A homemade card done by the child is much appreciated.
If you can afford to, donate uniform, spare pants, nativity/world book day costumes and Christmas jumpers back to the school when your child has outgrown them.
Don't lose the class teddy bear.

Hope that helps

Well, as a parent who has often been told that they wish more parents would be like me, I will give you this advice. Just before my eldest started school, I talked to a friend who was training to be a teacher and asked her what i needed to do to be the kind of parent teachers don't find annoying. These were her suggestions.

Don't bring anything valuable or sentimental to school
Label everything
Keep a spare change of clothes in their pe bag in case of vomit/toiletting accidents
Pay for school trips, lunches etc on time
Don't bring a big cake into school on your child's birthday and expect the teacher to cut it into 30 pieces (although ds2's teacher said she didn't mind cutting a big cake into 30 pieces but she did mind trying to cut a cake that was supposed to serve 6 people into 30 pieces!)
Be understanding if your child's teacher needs to take time off.
Don't expect a handover like in nursery every day at pick up time
Don't forget the class TA when giving out presents to the teacher
A homemade card done by the child is much appreciated.
If you can afford to, donate uniform, spare pants, nativity/world book day costumes and Christmas jumpers back to the school when your child has outgrown them.
Don't lose the class teddy bear.

Hope that helps

It's another world for many on MN! I think as a teacher I would be embarrassed if I were given expensive presents by parents, especially if I knew they were not well off.

When my late OH left a job in 1974 he was given some of the usual presents, socks, ties, after shave, bottles of beer but he was also given a letter by a mother in which she thanked him for being a great teacher and such a wonderful role model for her son who didn't have a father at home, I think it's upstairs in a box, he was so touched by it.

Well, as a parent who has often been told that they wish more parents would be like me, I will give you this advice

No please I can’t 😂😂

A handwritten card expressing genuine thanks is all that is needed.
My youngest always liked choosing a bauble for her teacher and teaching assistant. That could be kept by the teacher, put on the class tree or passed on.