There was a thread today about a woman who had been verbally abused by the loon who had placed herself in charge of the "class present". This thread angered and upset me on many levels. Who placed the psycho in charge? Who decreed that there must be an expensive gift? What if your kids hated this teacher or you thought they were a waste of space? How would the teacher feel when given an obviously expensive gift? What would the teacher say if they knew that there had been bullying involved?
I am a parent and a teacher. I would feel embarassed by such a gift. If I knew there was bullying involved, I would return it as part of my role is to model good behaviour for the pupils. I don't want gifts from people who don't like me, just because they think they should.
If you wish to get your kids' teachers a present, please do. But every teacher I know would be upset to receive a present where money had been obtained in this way or an expensive gift from people they knew had very little.
My kids' teachers this year were excellent. To thank them, I am making cupcake bouquets, costing about three pounds each. Previous gifts have been a chocolate pizza and homemade sweets. IMHO, these gifts show that I value the teacher but are not OTT.
Incidentally, one of the gifts that I still have and treasure is a letter written by one of my pupils, telling me I had been a great teacher. If that's what you can run to this year, send a letter, maybe with a picture drawn by your child. I guarantee the teacher will love it! Other suggestions are cookies (if you can't bake, B&M have packs of cookie dough at under a pound) or homemade paper flowers.
Please let's stop the competitive present/bullying crap.