renda460 Posted October 29, 2005 Posted October 29, 2005 a c moore a craft store here has mason jars in all sizes for 49 -1.00 or less:trampolinA word of advice - I think mason jars are a popular item at Christmas so I would buy them early. I made the cookies last year and bought the last 4 mason jars from Michaels craft store. The entire aisle of them were all sold out.
elena_398 Posted October 30, 2005 Posted October 30, 2005 Every year I go to the Wise Owl which is a teacher supply store. I buy a basket and get a bunch of supplies. Stickers, paper, etc. My dad is a teacher so I know how much they have to spend out of pocket for supplies
cpartri4 Posted October 30, 2005 Posted October 30, 2005 This is what I did last year for my daughter's daycare teachers: ~ $ 5 Blockbuster Gift card ~ 1 box Movie Theater candy (Dollar Tree) ~ 1 bag Microwave Popcorn (Dollar Tree ) ~ 2 envelopes of Hot Coco (Dollar Tree ) ~ 1 Christmas Stocking (Dollar Tree) I placed all of the items in the christmas stocking and added a gift tag. They loved it. I had about 12 people to buy for due to daughter moving classrooms, aides, cook, director, etc. It was less than $10 per person and they thought that it was the cuttest gift. I called it Movie Night!!!! This year, I will do the same thing but add $5 Chipolte Gift cards. I will call it Dinner and A Movie. I don't mind adding $5 since she has far less teachers this year LOL!!!!!
eve Posted October 30, 2005 Posted October 30, 2005 This is what I did last year for my daughter's daycare teachers: ~ $ 5 Blockbuster Gift card~ 1 box Movie Theater candy (Dollar Tree)~ 1 bag Microwave Popcorn (Dollar Tree )~ 2 envelopes of Hot Coco (Dollar Tree )~ 1 Christmas Stocking I placed all of the items in the christmas stocking and added a gift tag. They loved it. I had about 12 people to buy for due to daughter moving classrooms, aides, cook, director, etc. I less than $10 per person and they thought that it was the cuttest gift. I called it Movie Night!!!! This year, I will do the same thing but add $5 Chilpolte Gift cards. I will call it Dinner and A Movie. I don't mind adding $5 since she has far less teachers this year LOL!!!!!I've done this before, not to teachers, but still it's always a great idea. And adding the extra $5 for dinner makes it even better, i never did that;)
cyndim98 Posted October 30, 2005 Posted October 30, 2005 Last year, I bought a really nice apron for my son's teacher. It was handmade , I bought it from a craft show. I noticed her apron was very drap and old looking, so I thought something new and seasonal would be nice. She loved it!!
Guest Deals4Me Posted October 30, 2005 Posted October 30, 2005 Giftcards, gourmet foods always went over well...
Guest Deals4Me Posted October 30, 2005 Posted October 30, 2005 okay I forgot to add, teacher oriented stuff is cute, (i do sunday school so I get them too) but unless its a first year teacher, SO CLICHE! When I see them in the store and get them in sunday school, I always wanna snap and say, Okay, I'm a teacher, I get it. But thats not meso I am gracious and smile. :)
copados1993 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Posted October 30, 2005 What is a fair price to spend on the teachers? I'm on a tighter budget with my husband being in the military, but I want to do the right thing!Thanks for the help!
Gator Pam Posted October 30, 2005 Posted October 30, 2005 I shop Target clearance throughout the year, and get items that look like they'd be appreciated by teachers at 75% off. The items at that discount generally range from $5 to $9 dollars, so they retail for $20 to $36 dollars. Now that I make the bath salts, only Beorn's male teachers get the purchased gifts. One of the more popular items for them are the occasional pocket watches on clearance for $6.50.
Winterhawk Posted November 2, 2005 Posted November 2, 2005 The items I have received as a teacher that mean the most to me have not been store bought. They are poems and letters written by the children and/or their parents. They are a painting or drawing the kids have done that has been framed. These are the items I cherish more than the mugs, ornaments, and "Teachers have class"-style plaques and polished brass apples. Consider it. They are free gifts to create, but mean the world to us as educators.
drmy91 Posted November 2, 2005 Posted November 2, 2005 I usually make little baskets of treats, movie tickets or maybe a really nice ornament. My mom has a room full of goodies she buys for teachers gifts for her grandchildren.
elena_398 Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 I have two teachers to buy for this year. I actually went to a garage sale over the summer and it was held by a retiring teacher. She had TONS of teacher supplies for under $1. Brand new teacher decorations, chalk, markers, educational toys, etc. I literally bought her out. I can use a bunch for my own kids plus for gifts for my kids teachers this year.
alimfp Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 I personally plan on doing a gift card in a gift basket.
elena_398 Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 Besides the items I bought over the summer, I too usually buy a gift card.
JerseyCanadian Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 As being a teacher myself anything is appreciated so I think all the ideas are great.....when making these things have your child help you and take a picture of them helping. Include the picture in the card....knowing your student helped makes it even more special....
brynnfromtheblock Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 Does anone have a idea of a different kind of gift to give my sons teacher? They must get tired of getting the same gifts year after year!See, now that you've discovered GottaDeal you can stick around all year round and get good ideas all year long... Back in July I got these awesome candle sets, 20 pieces and very nicely packed, for $4.00 a piece shipped, I bought 8 and voila, they're ready for the teachers!!
ryka Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 I really like the dinner and a movie idea. I think I will do that this year.
sarahjlowe Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 i have been a teacher for about 7 years. i have seen all of these gifts. yes teacher love the creativity, and appreciate everything. BUT what do they really use? well i love when the kids try to find out stuff about you, and go off of that. favorite food, color, place to eat, place to shop, ect. Also being a new mom, i have been reading some past copies of parents and parenting, they recommend spending $50 per teacher for kids in daycare, and $30 for a school teacher. Remember that these teachers give up so much to be a good teacher. I can personally say as a daycare teacher, that i spend about $50 to $100 a month on classroom items.
kjunea Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 I've been a teacher for over 20 years... (yikes!) It's so funny, because since I teach middle school, we don't get the "goodies" like the elementary school teachers do. But since our kids have 5 or more teachers, it is understandable! My favorite presents are supplies for my desk -- red pens, pencils, post-its, etc., and gift certificates to restaurants, fast food, bookstores, etc. Or having lunch brought in to me one day -- that is awesome, since our cafe is not the greatest! And my kids know that I love Mickey Mouse, so I often get some wonderful things with him on it! I teach in a rural area, with over 1/2 my kids on free lunch, so I don't look for expensive things. It's the thought that counts! A pack of 10 red pens costs about $1.00 at Wallyworld. And I let the kids use them to grade papers, so they sometimes "walk" out the door. Things like that are wonderful! Hope that helps! June
Christy Garner Posted November 3, 2005 Posted November 3, 2005 I am a teacher and I must say that my favorite gifts are candles (I LOVE candles) and gift cards to Target or Walmart or even out to eat.
baraginfinder Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 Last year we gave my daughter's teacher a gift set from bath and body works. I think they were having their semi annual sale so we got a lotion, a soap, and a pretty candle with flowers around it for about $10. She loved it.
all4linkae Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 Ive done the cookie mix jars also...and plan to do them again this year. Everyone seems to like them :)
mariecdaniels Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 For my son's teachers, we are doing a yankee candle and a bath and body hand soap in a gift bag with ribbon. Right now yankee has a coupon out for $10 off a $25 purchase. Great deal. Search the forum for the coupon it should be there.
brynnfromtheblock Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 i have been a teacher for about 7 years. i have seen all of these gifts. yes teacher love the creativity, and appreciate everything. BUT what do they really use? well i love when the kids try to find out stuff about you, and go off of that. favorite food, color, place to eat, place to shop, ect. Also being a new mom, i have been reading some past copies of parents and parenting, they recommend spending $50 per teacher for kids in daycare, and $30 for a school teacher. Remember that these teachers give up so much to be a good teacher. I can personally say as a daycare teacher, that i spend about $50 to $100 a month on classroom items.Fifty dollars? That sounds a little steep to me....I appreciate all they/you do but with 3 kids in day care, 2 teachers a piece that's 300 bucks.... Honestly with having to pay for daycare for 3 kids I'm not able to spend that much a piece on half my family members (brothers sisters etc)
bluebear Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 A note on the cookie mix jars: If your child will be taking it to school themselves, you may want to consider using a plastic jar, like mayonnaise or the Dole fruit jars. I work in schools, and last year I saw a child drop one of these jars in the hallway, and it broke to pieces. So sad for the student, and it was a dangerous mess.
mrsbmb Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 anyone looking for gift jar recipes just type in gift jar recipes on google and you will get a gazillion sites some better than others.. the organized christmas site does offer a little more advice as far as how long they last etc. kathy
emidrew Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 Just a suggestion to stay away from candles, perfumes and food gifts unless you really know the recipient very well. Allergies/intolerances can move a well meaning gift straight to the re-gifting basket. As a former teacher, I think small gift cards are great. One year a parent arranged to have lunches delivered once a month to her kids' teachers. She was able to cut a deal with the catering service and it only cost her about $20 each for 3 teachers. You could even do the lunches yourself--they needn't be fancy--just find out what they like. And, my favorite gift of all...for the kids to make a small donation or do a service in the name of the teacher. Just have your child make a nice card or letter explaining what they did/how they chose it and give that to the teacher. You wouldn't believe how good it makes a teacher feel to know that a student cares enough about them to do a good deed for someone else. I'd rather know that $5 went to the food bank than to get a $5 candle (or a $15 candle, for that matter!).
susiejwp Posted November 5, 2005 Posted November 5, 2005 ...we usually either give Batha nd Bodyworks anti-bacterial assorments OR gift certs to TARGET or BARNES & NOBLE .......either one work well although I have others have had great experiences with STARBUCKS gift cards
Junebug2 Posted November 6, 2005 Posted November 6, 2005 I was a kindergarten teacher (two classes of 26 students a day). Lots of kids and lots of gifts. I was always touched by the thought of a family giving me a gift at Christmas. However, as mentioned, keep in mind that teacher get TONS of candles, lotion, ornaments, frames, etc. Every year I've had tons for a garage sale or give some of it away. Unless you know what your teacher collects/specifically likes, go with something safe like a gift card. I was always relieved to recieve a $5 gift card to anywhere!
cami_reardon Posted November 6, 2005 Posted November 6, 2005 Last year, our son was a senior, and his principal was his mentor. Anyway, he used to go there and clean her out of candy everyday...smartie pants kid huh?! So, I thought I'd play off that and bought her a candy jar...well it was kind of a candy jar..one of those big jars with the removable lid that a lot of people put on kitchen counters..only this one was a gallon size *L* She LOVED it. Oh, by the way, I filled it too. The other teachers each got BBW lotions (remember those wonderful get a lotion with any purchase coupons). I went 18 times in a four week period between two stores to get them. I bought the gift box for 1.00, got the lotion free, put the lotion in the box and that was their gift. They were very popular gifts. This year, I only have a 16 year old in school, but I'm waiting to see what kind of coupons come out for BBW that I can do something similar with. I should mention that both my kids go to a very small school. My son had 6 in his graduating class and my daughter has 4 in her class right now. The entire high school is 33 students (7 - 12) so we all kind of know what each other does for gifts. That way there's not too much repeat presents per teacher.
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