TAs/one to one help! Christmas pressies ideas?

[Ilovecake1]

Hi, not sure whether to post this here or in the Christmas thread, apologies if in the wrong place!!

I thought this might be a nice little thread to start and to help give us all ideas, I am running out of them! Any ideas?

I normally spend about £25-30 on my daughters full time one to one but never know if this is enough. I have bought in the past-watch, handbag, Molton brown, vouchers(boring, but I was stuck), cath kidston and DVD bundle.

[SallyBear]

You are amazing! I normally spend that on all of mine! Not quite, probably about £40 collectively. I usually do a Christmas tree decoration and recently homemade chocolates - cranberry and pistachio in white and dark chocolate. This year I'm flummoxed as DS4 has a male TA in his class! No idea what to get him as its always been women TAs through out all of my kids schooling!
When my twins finished primary I bought a beauty therapy voucher for the teacher and TA.

[Ilovecake1]

Sallybear-your homemade chocs sound delicious! I think that's a lovely personal touch. What about a travel mug for a male TA? Always handy on the yard.

[porridgelover]

OP great thread. This is on my mind at the moment. I've always bought Book Vouchers (yawn) for teachers gifts.
A good friend who's daughter is a teacher, said that this was a great gift as they get so many bottles of wine, boxes of chocs, toiletry sets. Our local book shop has a lovely cafe at the side so it's also good for a lunch out.

I'm betwixt and between as it seems impersonal. But DS's TA, CT and HT need thanking this year. And my brain wont stretch to 3 lots of imaginative, well thought out, personalised gifts.
Homemade, handwritten card from DS and a voucher???

[EllenJaneisstillnotmyname]

Hmm, you are a generous soul. As a parent I usually buy a bottle of wine for the teachers and TAs. In Y6, after his TA had been with him for 6 years i gave her £50 M & S vouchers but she was being made redundant so could do with the money. As a 1:1 TA I've received a pot plant, or a home made (and beautiful) card, or chocolate/wine/mugs/biscuits/jewellery etc. unless you know their taste very well I'd avoid anything like jewellery or ornaments. I've never worn anything I've been given. Go for something consumable, maybe homemade cake?

[StarlightMcKenzie]

Well everyone is getting skittle vodka from us, with a homemade tree decoration round the bottle neck.

Everyone except ds' escort and driver who MAY be of a non-drinking religion. I think they are also a non-Christmas religion too but will probably still get them something because I know from many stories I have heard on here that ds is lucky to have such caring, reliable and safe people taking him to school and back.

[StarlightMcKenzie]

My mum always said that as a teacher her very favourite present from a kiddie was a pink plastic handbag.

But she is a bit bonkers.

[SallyBear]

ilovecake1 if you are interested in the chocolates, please give them a try. They're so easy to make and absolutely delicious.
chocolates here

[SallyBear]

Like the travel cup idea by the way. Inspired!

[ThoughtBen10WasBadPokemonOMG]

How do you wrap these for the teachers SB?

[StarlightMcKenzie]

Wow, they look great. How DO you wrap them though?

[StarlightMcKenzie]

That'll be the non-drinking staff sorted then.

[StarlightMcKenzie]

Not this year, but next year I'll do nets and make interesting little boxes for the dcs to decorate.

[chocjunkie]

our first xmas with 1:1 TAs (dd is in reception). Dd has 2 1:1 TAs for whom I will get some wine. Do you usually also get something for the class teacher?

[TheTimeTravellersWife]

The chocolates look lovely! I am tempted to make them, although ANY type of cooking tends to end in disaster if I'm involved...
For wrapping I would use cellophane bags and ribbon, with a christmassy decoration (or a non-christmassy decoration if the receiver does not celebrate Christmas)
I usually just buy DD's TAs a box of chocolates each and send them a card; same for Class Teacher, although this year's is worse than useless & I don't really feel inclined to give her anything (not in the Christmas spirit I know) although I am so sorely tempted to get her a book on teaching children with SEN!

[StarlightMcKenzie]

'I am so sorely tempted to get her a book on teaching children with SEN!'

So do it!

[SallyBear]

Ben10 I usually buy celephane muffin bags and red sparkly gift bags from Clintons, loads of curling ribbon and a gift tag and away you go! I always put instructions to keep refrigerated on the tag too.

[coff33pot]

DS is making cake pops for everyone and small bags of home made sherbert with lolly. Its easier than forcing him to write out numerous christmas cards. But he will just about cope with writing ones for his teachers/TAs then :)

[lisad123]

We don't do Xmas but end of year we have always thought carefully about pressies. I have always managed to have fairly long chats with dd1 teachers so got to know them. So one teacher was off travelling so we filled a box full of travelling goodies like travel book, suncream, insect cream, throw away camera ect. Next was leaving to become a gardener, so brought books on plants ect. Last year teacher loved dd1 watercolour paintings so she painted him a special picture which we framed and he now tells me hangs in pride place at his new school.

So I guess think of those conversations you have had and see if something pops out.

[Shayo]

Great ideas!lots of staff as in portage group,nursery with great input in SN not to talk of the ST,OT,receptionist .we have decided to order and send through cup cake boxes with the lovely icing...sending them to the two different sites she attends.
Her key worker at the part time nursery is FAB stiil don't know what to get her though.
I must say I love this time of the year.
NT son doesn't think any of his teacher DESERVE anything this year,still trying
to convince him.

[ChristmasTreegles]

I truly hate trying to sort this type of stuff. When we were children, our mum used to make a lovely tin of homemade goodies for each of our teacher, and they were always well received.

I have recently read some horrific threads on MN about teacher gifts and seen some of the atrocious comments from teachers, about how they detest this or that gift, despise homemade treats, and generally where they sneer at almost anything but expensive gift vouchers or alcohol. It just makes me want to dismiss the idea of gifts for teachers entirely. Surely they can't all be that ungrateful?

DS2's teachers have been lovely. When he was at the MS school, we made Christmas cards at home, and he helped make laminated bookmarks with a nice ribbon on them for his teachers (they job shared), his TAs (there were a total of 3 of them) and a few other TAs that worked with him regularly. We got a lot of nice comments on them. We figured a nice bookmark was simple, inexpensive, and something he could help make.. plus most teachers read, right? We'd been looking at doing this again this year at his SS. With all the people that work with him, we'd go bankrupt trying to buy a gift for them all!

[starfishmummy]

I do home made chocs too - Just a few in a box from lakeland and wrapped in cello. DS will help decorate a parcel tag - which I have known his teachers save and use as a bookmark!

I do delia's truffles. leaving out the booze (I use vanilla instead) as they freeze and I can get them done ahead of time

[lisad123]

When I worked as a TA tbh I was grateful for any thoughtful gift. So many gifts can to the teacher but very few came for the TAs. It was quite upsetting knowing how hard you worked, but only the teacher got the pressies

[SallyBear]

lisa. I have ALWAYS given to the TAs. Knowing how much effort they put in to my DC. Christmas tree decorations are a nice idea as its a little thing to hang on their tree at home. I love the kitsch painted paste figures that John Lewis always do, and I wait until the last week of term when they're half price. Thank goodness you don't do presents in Secondary school though I will get DD's TA something as she is luffly
One of my friends (who is a teacher) said that homemade treats are only accepted by the teachers if they come from "nice, clean children".

[StarlightMcKenzie]

Do class teachers get TAs presents?

[lisad123]

Not when I was a TA no