Teacher Appreciation/End of the Year Gift Ideas

As a teacher for over 15 years, I have received many lovely gifts from my students. I have treasured them all. Some can still be found in a shoe box in my closet and others have gone the way of many of my children's refrigerator art....
All have been greatly appreciated, especially the homemade ones. The time and thought put into choosing just the right image to color or type of treat to bake. I have enjoyed and appreciated being thought of in such a lovely way.

Here are some of the gifts I've received over the years:
flowers (always a good stand by, who doesn't love flowers?)
candy (very sweet)
hand soap/lotion (very nice for those of us who wash our hands 5billion times as day)
a bottle of wine
tickets to a movie (LOVED this!)
cash (this felt a bit impersonal, although the card was lovely, it felt a little like a tip, I ended up buying things for the classroom with the money)
Gift certificate to a local store I love (very thoughtful!)
a beautiful silver bracelet engraved (I wear it every year on the first day of school)
a hand knitted scarf (cozy for the playgrounds of the Northeast)
Hot Chocolate (equally cozy & yummy too)
candles (the scented kind)
home made ornaments and jewelry (very sweet, anything home made is adorable)

This second list is entitled: "Cost a Pretty Penny"
These are items I think your children's teacher would enjoy receiving but you may not be able to afford depending on how many kiddos you have and how many teachers you want to give something to. (I personally could not afford to pull any of these off but would love to).

• Have LUNCH delivered to school.
• Create note cards or note pads "From the desk of..." to give to your child's teacher. Use your child's art work to create sure to be used stationary.
• Ask your child to inquire about their teacher's interests and possible collections such as tennis or gardening (gift appropriately with gift certificates to stores where they can make their own purchases to add to their collections.)
• Gift card to local teacher supply store
• Gift certificate to a local spa ("One free manicure for hands that have helped us grow and learn all year long.")
  
• Expensive chocolates (from a local candy shop)
• A flowering plant
• Have flowers delivered to school.
• Jewelry (the home made kind is most often cherished, I still have a button bracelet a little boy made for me before he left to start kindergarten)
• Donate books in the teacher's name to the school library/classroom
• I'm sure you can come up with many more...

But, let's not break the bank here...teachers also appreciate home made gifts very much.
A story or poem written by your child about their teacher with a drawing to illustrate
Photos! Once a parent came to all the events throughout the school year (Open House, Field Trips, Our Annual Auction, parent ed. nights, the Spring yard sale...etc.) and took photos. Then they compiled the photos into a small scrap book for us. This was a classroom treasure for years afterward and a wonderful tool for me as the Director at the time, to use to show enrolling families just some of the many things we do through-out the school year that they can become part of.

My favorite gift of all time:
Photos of all my students. One very sweet and talented photographer parent took photos of all the kids in my class one year and surprised me with a memory book. It was wrapped in hand print paper made by the kids in my class. I will always treasure this book and the wrapping paper. (*My classroom assistant helped the parent out a bit to make this all possible and I was leaving on maternity leave that year also).

I am sure that whatever your child and you come up with, their teacher will appreciate. Share your ideas by leaving a comment if time allows. Remember it's not how much money you paid for a gift it's the thought that matters most.
In PEACE,
Montessori Mama