But it IS a token gift. Most parents are buying for multiple family members and any gift to a teacher or anyone at school is purely ‘token’ and a small sign of appreciation. Who has the budget to spend large sums on school staff? If you’re starting to talk about spending on a teacher (or two) and several TAs, you’re looking at much more than most want to spend, even if it’s a couple of quid each.
Some people are happy to allocate £10 to school staff gifts. Lots more really want to spend a couple of quid or nothing. It’s an expensive time and a small, cheap gift isnt expected and it’s not an insult. And it’s not an insult to give nothing or to choose 1 person or two to give to and not to give to all the other adults a child might come into contact with.
Or are you giving to all of your postman, bin collection team, doctors surgery, all the club leaders who are volunteers not paid workers at things like Scouts/Brownies? What about the dinner ladies at school, the cleaners - both of which work hard and are poorly paid? What about the maintenance people or the school office workers? Loads of people have an input and we don’t think they should all get gifts. There is t a wrong or right about it. Give or don’t give to whoever you want to and whatever you like.
The box of biscuits or tin of quality Street works well - it’s affordable, easily shared and means everyone in the workplace can have a Small sign of appreciation.
I think it’s often actually self indulgent on the part of parents to feel they need to give, or the teacher or TA ‘needs’ their kindness and gifts.
I think of a couple of private schools I’ve had connections with, where a class rep organised a collection of £25 per child and then spent weeks organising complicated gifts for all the teachers and TAs. Then a morning registtratiin slot had to be given to the parents all coming in to deliver the gifts and the teacher showing huge gratitude for the bounty. Yes, there were fabulous gifts. But it was an activity for the parent organising g it to enjoy in all honesty. Other parents often felt pressured to join, and the size if the gifts was embarrassing for the staff and also the bowing and scraping to say ‘thank you’ at the awkward session when the parents all came in, had reminisces of the domestic staff in a Victorian stately home having to bow and curtsy to say ‘thank you m’Lord’ for the small bounty from the estate owner and feudal Lord on one day a year after pitiful pay for long hours over the whole year. Honestly, don’t start going there.
If you want to spend a fiver on a box of chics to share, do it. If you want to give a teacher or TA you’ve personally valued for their input a small gift, do it. If you barely know their names or what they do, don’t bother and if you don’t want to, don’t bother. After the event, although some will write thank you notes for their gifts, most honestly won’t remember who gave what or care. The £2.50 box of choc or candle isn’t going to make or break their Christmas, regardless of if it’s the same or different to anything you gave anyone else. So don’t over-think it and just do what you want to.