If you are a teacher, what present would you like to receive at the end of term?

[MrsSylar]

Am totally stuck and don't know what to buy.

Toiletries and chocolate - too boring?.

Are vouchers too clinical and not personal enough? If not, from where? M and S is all I can think of.

Please help!

I think wine is good as you can take it and give it someone else if you don't want to drink it yourself .

I also got some john lewis vouchers or a book token

or flowers

not toiletries

Was thinking of getting some thorntons chocolates for my childrens teachers.

Although when I told DD she said
"Miss B*** does'nt eat chocolate as she says it is junk food"

I haven't read the rest of this thread so don't know how other teachers feel but PLEASE PLEASE no toiletries or candles or boxes of chocolates. I don't mean to sound ungrateful but they just clutter up the house. I don't want people spending money, the nicest gifts by far (and the ones I always keep) are the ones that the children make becuase they want to. Even a personal message in a card is better than a bad gift. If you're desperate to buy something wine is good as are bars of chocolate (not the boxes which cost more and where half the sweets get thrown away)

Don't mean to rant but I brought home two boxes of stuff on Friday, half of which is already in a bag to go to a charity shop which I feel really, really guilty about but there are only so many bottles of bubble bath you can get through between July and Christmas!

I have got wine x 3

teacher + 2 TAs

dd1 will do card if she is in the mood tonight (doubtful as she wasn't at weekend)

I go with the view that even if they are not a drinker, they go to places where people are so can pass on

or maybe swap chocs for wine etc with other teachers?

I have bought a gift set from The Body Shop of shower gel, shimmer lotion, body puff and perfume. It smells so yummy I want to keep it for myself.

Was also thinking about DD making some little cupcakes that can be shared out with the teachers / TA's in a pretty box.

I am organising a collection for teachers, but was buttonholed by two mums yesterday who said they wouldn't be contributing as they thought it was "much nicer" for children to give individual gifts.

Do teachers/parents really think this? Am I wasting my time trudging round with a sodding envelope?

I would say not, monkeymagic. I am a teacher and I'm sure your DCs teacher will really appreciate the effort you're going to and one lovely gift is loads better than 27 half decent ones. (IMO)

If you're doing small gifts, which can be great too, I agree with previous postings that wine is always good, or nice biscuits which you can give to a granny/ aunt if you don't want them yourself... but no toiletries or ornaments. None of us have room in our houses. Unless you're loaded and planning on spending a lot of money!

Weirdly, the most useful present I ever got was a pack of 6 tumblers. I was a bit surprised at the time, but am still using them now, 10 years later.

Homemade cards/ gifts/ specially written messages are always appreciated and the most treasured.

Just out of interest - are most people talking about Primary school? I work in an Independent Grammar School and very, very few pupils give gifts here. Only really one or two of the sixth form leavers. Presents always seem to be wine or chocs and certainly very appreciated. One of the 6th form groups took a photo of the group with their teacher and had it framed and gave it to her. She was delighted!

I've brought a book voucher and a bottle of wine for DS teacher and TAs, DD teacher has a book voucher and some cider as that is what she drinks.

Have brought the Dinner ladies some Chocs as DS has SNs and they make such a fuss of him.

Also youngest DD goes to nursery and there are 6 keyworkers there, so brought some chocs from Wollies on BOGOF, as couldn't afford 6 bottles of wine. Hope they like them after reading all these messages.

Will def be writing a letter to Head telling them how much i appreciate how they have worked hard with DS,as very thankful for it.

I got £10 book tokens for each teacher and TA (dd2 has a lovely 1 to 1 TA so she deserves a proper pressie) - is that ok? I thought just about everyone enjoys a good read...

Gonna get the children to decorate an egg box each and then give each of their teachers some fresh eggs from their chickens (and a bottle of wine each).

I get nowt.

But that's Secondary school for you - I knew there was a reason i should have trained to be a primary school teacher!

trouble is I'm not terribly keen on dd2's teacher - and she's still got a pen drive of mine from when i went in to help out - must ask her tonight.

I work in Lush and some parents go crazy and buy baskets of the stuff for teachers & helpers presents.

I was only planning to get DS1 to make cards for teacher and TA. Will they think I'm stingy then? DS1 only started school this year and I didn't know that presents were the expected norm.

I got the Teacher and TA's a "Build a bit of a classroom" gift from Oxfam. Just thought it was something a bit different.

I think this whole present thing is absolutely shocking and materialistic in the extreme. Teachers should follow the example of others professionals such as in the Health Service and return gifts that cost more than £5 or any gift really that is not edible or flowers. Everyone likes to be appreciated but what kind of example is this setting to our children? That they have to curry favour with booze and toiletries???

I had LOADS to buy for the people who help my dd2 - she goes to a special school, and there are way more staff than normal, so this always stresses me out! I just got them all a book token (I work in a bookshop, so at least it was easy), figuring that even if they aren't big readers, most people like to at least get a paperback to take on holiday

Oh, and my mum used to be a primary school teacher, and got dozens of toiletries sets every year, which I used to recycle for my own teachers! Also meant that I could never buy my mum any smellies at Christmas etc, so that cut down my options somewhat!

Poohbah - agreed.

My favourite gift is from a Y13 class I had taught almost all together since Y10. They found a group photo I had taken of them at the start of Y10 and they took one at the end of Y13 and framed them. They gave this to me with a lovely card in their last lesson before they left.

We clubbed together as class parents when DS was in reception and bought his teacher an olive tree. Since then I've bought fairly inexpensive Orefors tealight holders which connect with son's Scandinavian roots.

We don't expect or get much in secondary school - but wine is good! Sometimes if a class have been particularly good I get them an Oxfam unwrapped present. I sort of agree with poohbah and I'm going to rethink what we get for DS's teacher this year. I may well go for Oxfam unwrapped or write a letter to her and the head (I would LOVE a parent to do that for me!).

A card made by the child. Please don't buy a present. Those that can't afford always know and some feel uncomfortable. A thank you at the door is the best present if you have appreciated the work done with your child.

A card made by the child. Please don't buy a present. Those that can't afford always know and some feel uncomfortable. A thank you at the door is the best present if you have appreciated the work done with your child.

6 weeks paid leave