It's that time of year again, and I am ISO some ideas for teacher gifts. I like to give things that are useful, but don't break the bank.

Thanks.

__________________
Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I know that I personally appreciate gift cards. What is your budget for each person? That might help me more.

__________________
This space for rent

I bought a gift certificate to a 'teacher store' for DS#1's first grade teacher.

For DS#2's preschool teachers (he has 4 teachers), I will be hand stamping greeting cards for each of them and probably making a donation to the preschool program in their name. If I don't make the donation, I will be getting them $5 or $10 Target gift cards.

Sarah.....mom to Jason & Devin

ETA -- In addition to whatever gift we give, I always write a personal note of thanks to each teacher (even if they weren't our favorite).

$20 per teacher, and we are talking about 10 teachers.

thanks.

__________________
Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Wow! You have a lot to cover... Do you have a lot of kids!?

Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, movie theater... gift cards.

I personally bought a bunch of really nice Neutrogena box sets (with sugar scrub and some other skin cleansers) at Walmart's after Christmas sale and will throw in a $5 Starbucks card for each.

I always do this at every year's after Christmas sales and they always love...

For men teachers, I always do movie tix.

I only buy for their main/homeroom teachers and not for all of the aides and middle school extra teachers... I think I'm on my last year giving to my 6th grade son's teachers as next year, he will not have a 'main' teacher.

That's where I am, they each have 5 teachers, could actually be 6 a piece, no "home room". DS wouldn't care if we didn't give humpty squat to his teachers, but, we really do appreciate them, and think it's important to recognize them.

__________________
Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

WOW! You are very generous!

Like I said before, I know that I and the other teachers LOVE gift cards. Like some of the other posters suggested, Barnes & Noble, the local "teacher" store, Starbucks, Target, Bath & Body Works etc are always hits.

__________________
This space for rent

As a former teacher, what always meant THE most to me was a heartfelt thank you note from the parent or child at the end of the year. Two stand out to me and both times, I came into the classroom and a wonderful card with an amazing personalized thank you note had been secretly placed on my desk. No gift, just the card.

Teachers actually don't expect anything -- but do WANT to be appreciated. Maybe I'm speaking for myself??? But, I've done this with my kids as a parent and I can tell that the teachers are very appreciative of my appreciation!!!

That is my take on it -- for what it's worth!!!

My aunt was a Kindergarten teacher for 25 years. Every Christmas we would get to pick something for ourselves from a pile of gifts she had received. Not to say she didn't appreciate them but how many lotions, soaps and apple things can one person have. Even a $5 gift card to a coffee shop is appreciated. I know my aunt saved every hand made card she received from the kids, they meant a lot. Her favorites were when they wrote her in later grades, some even at graduation.

__________________
Mom to Miss C & Mr. E
Former SAHM now working full time
feboll@neo.rr.com

I thought I'd be off the hook when DD went to jr. high. She doesn't like all her teachers well enough to give teacher appreciation gifts to all and quite frankly I couldn't afford it. We also give small gifts at Christmas and Valentine's. Between those two holidays DD has given something to all her teachers except one. And, that one teacher will not get anything for teacher appreciation either.
DS has given gifts to all his teachers at either Christmas or Valentine's. That also includes a teacher from last year that he just loved.
I normally attend PTA convention and come back with enough candles, books and small stuff to use for teacher gifts. The schedule didn't appeal to me this year so I didn't go. Wal-Greens had small Hershey Kisses (not in the bags or the big ones, I'd never seen this size before) on Easter clearance that's at least a start.
Not sure what else I'll come up with.

This is what I do every year. I give each teacher a potted plant of Gift Cards. In your case you give each teacher four $5.00 GC. You need a cheap pot at Micheal's I think they are less than $1.00. Some styrofoam to go into the bottom of the planter, some craft or popcicle sticks and some colored paper. Cut out flowers on the colored paper. Glue the craft sticks to the bottom of the flower, for the stem. Glue the GC onto the flower. Place the strofoam in the bottom of the pot. Stick the flowers into the styrofoam. That's it. Easy & you will get many compliments.

Good Post! We need ideas and remember that Teacher Appreciation week starts on May 7th. I ususally get a small gift that week and something at the end of the year.

I want my 5th grader to do a power point thanking for her teacher. We could email it to her! My dd is always on the computer playing with pp anyway.

Need ideas!! Do you do all the teachers? Even the gym teacher?

I love the letters from the students and parents the most. I keep them and usually frame them. Currently I have some on the counter near me.

__________________
All we are and all we see is but a dream in a dream, All that you see or seem, is but a dream within a dream--Edgar Allan Poe

Gym teachers need love too! LOL!

__________________
This space for rent

With three kids, all of our teachers have always loved gift cards...even $5 ones to Blockbuster or Starbucks. ~Lisa

I agree w/ gift cards too. They are my favorite (besides a nice note)
I would love items for my class next year too...

I agree with AirBorne. I like GCs (even $5 to Starbucks, Target...) and nice notes. Hanging plants are good...candles. Don't spend much at all...we just like to know that your child had a good year and maybe even learned something!!!

__________________
If you're not living on the edge, you're wasting space.

This might sound cheap, but I did put some thought into it.

Last year (2006), my son's teacher had an I Love Lucy calendar in her room.

While at a yard sale, I found an older I Love Lucy book with an episode guide, a thick book, and an I Love Lucy bell.

I picked up both of them for $4.50 (I never would pay $3 for a book at a yard sale otherwise) with the intention of wrapping them and giving them to her at the end of the year.

Does this sound too cheap?? The book does not have a lot of wear, and I am guessing it is probably worth something (I have not looked it up) as it is an older book.

I can't do the bookstore gift certificate thing because our only book store went out of business, so now the only places to get books in town are Walmart and the thrift store.

I pick up things thru out the year at Target so I can have a nice basket of things to give the teachers at end of year. This year is notecards, thank you cards, stationary, post its etc. I give to his teacher and I also do a basket for his speech teacher.

No, this does not sound "too cheap" to me. Would you feel the same if you went to an antique's store, and paid $25 for the SAME thing??? I think that is great shopping on your part, and I bet she will love it.

I appreciate all the great ideas, and am working a few different angles. THANKS!!!

__________________
Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

my mom has been a teacher for 30 years. She has tons of gifts from students and it gets overwhelming now that she & dad sold their house of 30 years and has to pack all that "stuff" up. Anyway, I know that she has always appreciated gift cards to fast food places as she is constantly missing dinner because she stays late at the school, she appreciates baked goods (especially the ones that include the recipes if she likes them!!), the store gift cards (she got a ton of kohl's gift cards one year and was able to buy the red kitchen aid mixer she has been eying for over five years!!) the teacher stores are always one of her favorites. She shops there and spends $20 on pencils! pencils, can you believe it?? $20 on a piece of wood and graphite!! This is because they are "special" pencils that have happy birthday, merry christmas, etc...
Anyway, my point is when spending money on things as gifts for teachers, remember even the little gift cards add up to a dinner out, a kitchenaid mixer, etc...
She even loves free car washes! We have tons of mikes in the city and she loves to take my 2-year-old through the car wash and hear him squeal with excitement!

__________________

We have teacher appreciation week this week...For the first day I made my DD's teacher some personalized notecards. I left the insides blank so she could use them for whatever she wants. I also made a box to match to put the cards in. According to my DD, her teacher loved it and word got around and a lot of other teachers wanted to see them. LOL These were very inexpensive in that all I had to purchase was the paper & cards (you can get a value pkg of blank white cards pretty cheap) and a letter stamp (m for her first initial), which I already had.

Yesterday I sent homemade chocolate chip cookies in a Pringles can that I recovered (cheap - already had the ingredients for cookies, a Pringles can I had saved and only cost $1 in the first place, and paper & ribbon I already had for decorations)....today she just got a homemade thank you card w/a Starbucks gift card in it (I was strapped for time). Tomorrow she's getting a gift pack from Bath Junkie (she can take the empty containers in and choose her own scents/colors to fill them with - this one wasn't too cheap, though - darn my procrastination). Tomorrow she's getting "Movie Night in a Can". I purchased a paint can type tin from Michael's for $4.99 and will decorate it and fill it with "movie" candy (less than $1 each at Walmart or dollar stores), Peanut M&M's (her favorite candy), 2 microwavable popcorn bags and a movie rental card.

Our room mother is also giving her something from the whole class...a charm bracelet and scrapbook with letters from the kids. We wanted to make this a truly memorable year for her because it's her first year teaching (she just turned 24yo) and she's already a pro!

Fortunately, our school has the teachers fill out a list of favorite things...made it a lot easier to choose colors and items to use.

peapie

My daughter is in 4th grade with a male teacher. Our room mom asked each kid to make a letter, poem, picutre, whatever they wanted and get them to her. She's putting them all together in a scrapbook for him. I thought it was a neat idea.

Lisa

__________________
"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

Wow! Some of you are such thoughtful parents!

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at our school, too, and today I got a bright pink broom for the classroom that has tiny, colorful flowers on it! The broom is great, but what was priceless was Nicole's face when she gave it to me! "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, smiling. Wow...it sure it!

__________________
If you're not living on the edge, you're wasting space.

Very nice...

One year, I got a teeshirt with all of the kids' handprints labeled with their names. They had used fabric paint. A parent came in on a day that I was absent.

I still have that shirt. I wore it to their graduation (I was their FIRST grade teacher!)! Wow, that ages me.

my grandmother was a teacher and when we were kids i remember she used to pile up all the lotions, soaps, candles etc and let us take anything we wanted b/c she had so many. the mugs and kitcheny stuff and all the food went to my mom and aunts. it wasnt that she didnt appreciate it, it is just how much soap, candy and coffee mugs did one woman and her husband need.

she always appreciated GCs,cards, bradburns (local school supply) GCs, etc. i remember she liked a tablecloth that all the kids put their handprints on in paint and signed their hands (she hung it in the classroom as a "gift" from the last years class.) One lady also put together a package of school supplies which she loved b/c teachers end up paying out of hand for a lot of things. It had markers, construction paper, stickers, pencils, etc.

__________________
rhapsody112@gmail.com

Oh, another thing that I got that I LOVE was a quilt.

Each child drew a picture on a piece of paper and then went over it with fabric crayons... any words have to be written backward so that they come out forward when they are ironed on the fabric -- each child put their name on the picture that they drew; backwards of course! A mother ironed onto white fabric squares and then assembled into a really cute quilt with colored strips between and a colorful back with yarn tying it together at each corner of each block.

This was when I had my first baby... a baby quilt. But it seems like it could be used for end-of-the year as well.

We still have that quilt! LOVE it.