Jump to content

Gifts for Teachers, Bake, Make, or Buy?


revecca

Recommended Posts

I usually buy the teachers Visa gift certificates for the holidays. It gets harder each year because I have four and as they get older the more teachers they get. I am tempted this year to make things for them, and have my two girls help. What do you do for your child/childrens teachers? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My boys are 7 and 10. We usually buy their teachers some items from Bath and Body Works....like hand sanitizes, small candles, and/or lotions. Nothing strong scented, though. Sometimes we check the Hallmark store. And usually, the boys want to get them some kind of chocolate. We have also done the cookie mixes in the jar.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just know that if you give them a homemade food item, it might not be eaten. People have so many food allergies and phobias, I stopped doing homemade food gifts a long time ago.

I work in a school and agree! We are inundated with food items all month long. Soaps, lotions and candles are another tough one with allergies and preferences.

 

Homemade cards are treasured! While gift cards seem impersonal, even one for $5 is appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bake!

I give yummy hand made old fashioned yeast based bread loaves.  Sometimes I do braids, but usually just loaf pan loaves.

I can get a huge bag of flour at Costco for less than $8 and I always have a big container of yeast on hand.  With that and just a couple other items I can make 30 or more loaves!! 

 

Nothing beats fresh homemade bread.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I work in a school and agree! We are inundated with food items all month long. Soaps, lotions and candles are another tough one with allergies and preferences.

 

Homemade cards are treasured! While gift cards seem impersonal, even one for $5 is appreciated.

 

I agree!  My favorite gift is the $5.00 gift card I receive from the same family every year.  It is from Dairy Queen and I save it until the last day of school.  Then I treat myself!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife is a teacher and I can tell you she really enjoys the gift cards and hand made cards they usually come with. She says every time she uses a gift card it makes her think of the child. She used one not too long ago and still remembered what child gave it to her last year. I think last year she got some from Dunkin Donuts, Target, Starbucks. One of her families also got her some of the holiday scented things from Bath and Body Works that she loved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have an elementary and middle schooler.  For elementary we do a bigger gift but because my middle schooler has alot of teachers we do Christmas candy in a cute chinese takeout container and then tuck a $5 gc to like coldstones or starbucks inside.  Middle school teachers are often forgot about so they really appreciate our gifts! I do the same for the bus drivers because they are deserving too! :trampolin

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bake!

I give yummy hand made old fashioned yeast based bread loaves.  Sometimes I do braids, but usually just loaf pan loaves.

I can get a huge bag of flour at Costco for less than $8 and I always have a big container of yeast on hand.  With that and just a couple other items I can make 30 or more loaves!! 

 

Nothing beats fresh homemade bread.

 

 

What a brilliant idea! I would love to try this one year

http://www.handimania.com/uploads/Santa-head-hat-fb.jpg

Edited by revecca
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our bus driver is from Montenegro, and the parents are not too kind with him. Last year I got him a nice bottle of wine, my youngest son who was having a hard time adjusting to going to school (Kindergarten, never went to Pre-K), the bus driver was really good with him. I was waiting all year for him to kick him off the bus. Lol! 

 

What about Christmas ornaments, or is that too blah? Our neighborhood TJ Maxx always has these really beautiful keepsake ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

we stopped getting gifts for teachers when they stopped writing thank you notes.  Kid made gifts are the best... after that we fell back on school supplies (which we stocked up on in August) as they are starting to run out by December... and then gift cards.  We have stayed away from baked goods...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mom got me started making Christmas ornaments when I was 5 years old.  The sequined kind, where you load the push pin and dip it in glue and place it in styrofoam.   I made them every year for both sets of grandparents, my mother (of course), my godmother and my teacher.  Did it every year since  (And I am now 53.) 

 

Of course each year the ornaments became more complicated as I grew.   I gave them to my teachers all the way through High School too.   I had many teachers, who I saw years later, tell me they still had my ornament hanging on their tree. 

 

I think the handmade card(s) or ornament(s) is the way to go.  It's thoughtful, it's sparkle-ly.  It'll keep the kid busy for a while at home, and it is something they can be proud of when they give the gift.

 

Simple stryofoam ornaments can be made by 5 or 6 years old (and even children with disabilities) with items from the craft store.  Pick up a styrofoam ball.   Pick out either a package of multicolored 10mm sequins or pick 3 colors of 10mm sequins. (Such as green, red and gold).  Pick out a bead to go on top of the sequin and then start pinning them into the ball.  (Put the bead on the pin, then a sequin and then dip the end of the pin in glue before inserting it into the ball.)  Cover the ball.  Pin a piece of ribbon on top of the styrofoam ball as a hanger when the ball is full.  (Note: You can use 8mm sequins as the child gets older.  10mm is easier for those tiny fingers.)

 

When the child is older, you can get them an ornament kit for something more challenging.

 

Cheap but sturdy ornaments can also be made from plastic beads.  Icicles, angels, candlesticks etc.  Directions can be found online, or holler and I can post the directions for which ever one you want.  I have had kids as young as 3 make these.  And they are very proud when they are done..  And the ornaments last many years too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mom got me started making Christmas ornaments when I was 5 years old.  The sequined kind, where you load the push pin and dip it in glue and place it in styrofoam.   I made them every year for both sets of grandparents, my mother (of course), my godmother and my teacher.  Did it every year since  (And I am now 53.) 

 

Of course each year the ornaments became more complicated as I grew.   I gave them to my teachers all the way through High School too.   I had many teachers, who I saw years later, tell me they still had my ornament hanging on their tree. 

 

I think the handmade card(s) or ornament(s) is the way to go.  It's thoughtful, it's sparkle-ly.  It'll keep the kid busy for a while at home, and it is something they can be proud of when they give the gift.

 

Simple stryofoam ornaments can be made by 5 or 6 years old (and even children with disabilities) with items from the craft store.  Pick up a styrofoam ball.   Pick out either a package of multicolored 10mm sequins or pick 3 colors of 10mm sequins. (Such as green, red and gold).  Pick out a bead to go on top of the sequin and then start pinning them into the ball.  (Put the bead on the pin, then a sequin and then dip the end of the pin in glue before inserting it into the ball.)  Cover the ball.  Pin a piece of ribbon on top of the styrofoam ball as a hanger when the ball is full.  (Note: You can use 8mm sequins as the child gets older.  10mm is easier for those tiny fingers.)

 

When the child is older, you can get them an ornament kit for something more challenging.

 

Cheap but sturdy ornaments can also be made from plastic beads.  Icicles, angels, candlesticks etc.  Directions can be found online, or holler and I can post the directions for which ever one you want.  I have had kids as young as 3 make these.  And they are very proud when they are done..  And the ornaments last many years too.

 

I remember those!!!! My friend made several so when she had her first Christmas with her husband to be, that they had ornaments for their first Christmas together. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not a teacher and have no kids but my mother taught high school math for 40 years so she received many Christmas gift over those years. Her favorite ones were homemade cards. She also really enjoyed (and by default me, my sister and my dad) the holiday boxes/tins/sacks filled with candy, homemade or Hershey's. :)

 

She enjoyed getting notepad gift sets or sets put together yourself.....nice pretty pad and nice pens. She enjoyed gift cards.

 

I always steer clear of scented candles and bath/body products. She got more of that stuff than you can count and rarely used it. She doesn't like heavy scents and so much of what she was given was never used. My sister and I took what we wanted but we are picky as well.

 

I love the homemade ornament idea.

 

Pinterest is full of holiday craft ideas. I'm making peppermint sugar scrub and snowflake shaped hand soap for my friends at work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We used to do an ornament with a small gift card. Thinking back, they probably had more ornaments then they needed though.

 

I try to always stay away from all food purchased or homemade. I'm allergic to protein in milk, so I think it makes me extra sensitive that many people have food allergies and most don't know that about them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...