Christmas presents for teachers

[Creole]

What do you give them?

Good idea sprucey - I might get her an amaryllis. I hate them

Lindt chocolate reindeers

Wine every time unless I know they really don't drink, and a card with a handwritten message in it from me.

The boys usually make a card and some cookies or something as well.

I am a TA and we always appreciate chocs! Usually go in staff room or class cupboard for staff to share or we sometimes get individual presents to take home.I always get a tin for my dds schools as they have lots of staff working in their classes.

Slug and Roisin, I was once given hand made cookies by a pupil and whilst she was telling me how she made them herself, her mum was behind her saying how wonderful they were whilst simultaneously shaking her head and miming 'DON'T EAT THEM!'

I have got whatever ds thought they would like. I'm not sure the flowers he chose for his reception teachers went down too well though - they looked a bit shocked! Not sure what we will go fo this year. We are doing a candle making session, so I expect that the children would like to decorate one for their teachers, and will add some of the very lavishly decorated cards they made a few weeks ago.

dies anyone do this for secondary teachers? There are a lot of them and I wondered if people bought for the form teacher or didn't bother?

For an unusual present how about 100 school lunches here, only £6 and you can gift aid it

www.oxfamunwrapped.com/ProductItem.aspx?ProductID=OU2541&CategoryID=3&CategoryName=&BrowseType=price&CategorySelector1:BrowseByPrice=3

When I taught I would say it was normal for about half the children to bring in presents. I liked receiving all of them, but the best presents were consumable things so that if I didn;t exactly like the thing I was given, I could at least use it up. I never threw anything away or donated it to charities etc - considerate is my middle name!

Oh and BTW, I don't drink but had no problem using bottles given to me - eg wine was opened when I had people to dinner, some odd chinese rice wine was fantastic when I cooked stir fries.

I like giving wine because people can keep it for ages or take it round to someone's house for dinner or even give it away without too much of a worry about it beding 'in date'.

When we have Blue Peter Bring and Buy at school there is always a huge number of candle sets/scented candles/pot pourri/oil burners donated but they also sell very quickly. I think they're a love 'em or hate 'em item.

I used to be a Year 7 form tutor before dd came along and was always lucky enough to get pressies. Now I am part time so it's not the same. I used to love food and drink gifts; wine, chocs,infused cooking oils, teas, coffes and of course baby clothes! Was once given a big piece of cheddar cheese ....delish! Also tea towels, a magnetic shopping list for the fridge and of course pens cos I am always losing mine!
Hope this gives you some ideas!

Buy something for the classroom if you really must. I am a teacher and am embarassed at the whole gift thing. The joy of teaching them is really enough.. as for £120 on crystal bowls.. well that is another world from mine!

my first time for things like this but, having been a teacher, I was going to just get DS1's teacher a bottle of wine in a nice gift bag - that's what I would want

The twin boys I look after have made some sweets for their teachers (may have to do the same as homemama's pupil's mother and say don't eat them!!) they have made chocolate truffles, coconut ice, peppermint creams and chocolate biscuit cake squares. They ate far more than they made and didn't eat any tea!

In previous years I have either offered home-made truffles (but they need eating quickly) or a boring old box of Celebrations.
Teachers on this thread are saying they like chocs! but I suddenly thought, what if they get 30 boxes.
Anyway have gone a bit mad in Lush and bought their £5-6 gift boxes for everyone.
DD teacher is pg anyway so wine wdf not be great.
Have remembered the TAs for the first time not to have thought of them before....

30 boxes of chocs...who's gonna argue with that?

Do teachers remember which children/parents gave them presents and who didn't? (and do they hold it against them??)!!!

Excellent question choxanwine (allbeit a little revealing of your insecurities )

oooo yes please and if any of my pupils or their parents are on here - after our Xmas concert i would like some lovely choccies/smellies and a bottle of Tia Maria please!

Dodgy home made cards and/or tree decorations, which the teachers are free to cherish forever or bin as soon as they get home, whichever takes their fancy.

Although the goalposts have moved slightly this year, as DD1 has a teacher and TA who are both friends of mine through church. So I may actually get feedback

We are combining and doing John Lewis gift vouchers.

DD is Year 9 now. Since Upper School, she takes a bottle of wine for her form teacher and chocolate for the school secretary. The chocolate for the secretary is much appreciated and seems to ensure good will for the rest of the academic year.

My sister is a teacher and loves consumables most: chocolate, biscuits, wine, bubble bath etc

Club together and get vouchers.

As a teacher, I used to get some nice chocolates and things like that, and one year a got a bottle of champagne from a pupil I had helped a lot. This was brilliant!

Now I buy stylish but cheap little packets of Christmas biscuits from John Lewis for the TAs, with a hand-drawn label made by the kids, and usually give a bottle to teachers, or a decent plant that they could use in the classroom or take home. If they have really put themselves out for my child I might give champagne - for example one year the SENCO and ds1's form teacher (same person) bent over backwards to help him to get a statement of SEN, which made a big difference to us all, and I felt this had actually had had to go beyond the call of duty at some points. Hence I wanted to make a big gesture.

One year ds2 had a frankly incompetent, grumpy teacher who made no effort at all with him, or indeed his classmate who had cancer and got no support from her at all, and I blanked her that year. Not a single card or present out of this family. I still blank her when I see her! Cow!