Working in a school - I see all the "Teacher" stuff the teachers drop off at good will on their way home the last day of school -- So if I am doing gift certificates - and have 18 teachers to buy for -- what is too cheap????

I'm not buying gifts this year. I already bought Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, and teacher appreciation gifts for all the teachers. That's plenty, in my opinion. I did get them both nice cards expressing our appreciation.

Holly

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Forgiveness is love in its most noble form. -Anonymous

I'm going with $10 (but I am trying to make a sharpie bouquet type thing too).

OK the sharpie thing worked! I put sharpies in a small planter. Put spanish moss in it to help them stand up. Took foam flowers and attached them to the caps. So it looks kind of like a pot of flowers and will have the GC in the middle.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

I will get DD's teacher and the class aid GC's to Starbucks and/or a teacher supply store.

For my son's teachers, I will get a 'team' gift of a pizza lunch with drinks, delivered to the school for the first day they have no students while they are there working in the classrooms. There are 4 teachers, so I'm think a couple 2 liters, a large pizza and breadsticks. I thought this would be cheaper than buying presents for each teacher. This is the first year he's changed classes (2nd grade) and he's only with his homeroom teacher in the morning, after lunch and at the end of the day.

18 gifts? Maybe it's me, but isn't this teacher gift for EVERY occasion going a little too overboard? Most parents are having trouble just buying gas and groceries, much less giving a gift to a teacher who has already received a gift for teacher appreciation day and Christmas and who knows what else -- birthday?

Maybe write a personal note thanking them and leave it at that. If you buy a card, then that's going to cost you $$ too, especially 18 of them!

I would not buy big gifts for 18 teachers, that is just too many. I would give each one a card and if you wanted you could buy a bunch of flowers and give each teacher a flower with the card attached to it. For Christmas I give small gifts to the staff of the school because they are usually forgotten. Some years I have bought at Bath and Body works the liquid hand soaps for 5 for $10 and used coupons so they end up being less then $2 each. I put them in a cute gift bag with some candy and attach a note thanking them for what they do. I give to around 18 people and hopefully it is something they will use, and lets them know I appreciate what they do. You could also do something like that for the teachers. Even a $5 gift card for 18 people would be a lot of money. For end of the year I only have two teachers to buy for. I will spend $15 on a gift card for each of them. I also have to go out today a pick up $10 gift cards for teacher appreciation week which is this week for us.

For the first time...I love love my DD teacher....she's by far the best one..(3rd grade) so i got her $60 in different GC...borders, blockbuster and Nestle Tollhouse, along with a movie pack...bucket of popcorn, candy, and Crackerjacks. She's the only one I bought for...

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Jenn
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
Winston Churchill

I don't ever remember "end of year" teacher gifts when I was in school. I'm not crazy about the teacher this year, so I won't be getting him a gift. If there was a teacher I really felt deserved extra recognition and extra thanks, I'd get something, but haven't encountered one this year. Am I a scrooge?!?

I normally do a $25 GC to a restaurant for the teachers. I only have 2 teachers to buy for though. And then we'll usually do something small for the art, music, PE teachers and librarian, etc. By small, I mean a small box of candy or cookies, a plant or fresh flowers and a card, something along those lines. I try to not buy knick knack type items or coffee mugs as it seems most teachers and school staff have plenty of these things.
Sometimes we'll even get a large cookie tray and take into the teachers lounge for all to enjoy. Not too expensive and we'll include a thank you card for the entire staff to read.

Wow. I suddenly feel like a slacker.
I have no plans on doing anything for end of year. My son will have all these teachers again next year since 7th and 8th grade teachers combine and teach both grades, maybe next year I will do a nice thank you gift towards the end of the year because my son will then be going to high school.

Darlene

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Sell crazy some place else, we are all stocked up here.

Any gift would be appreciate but not expected. In my school, teachers usually get a Christmas and end of the year gift.

Thank you cards for all... It really means a lot to teachers to have it in writing.

we just had teacher appreciation week so teachers wont' be getting a lot from me since we already *gave*. I would NOT buy for 18 teachers! Yikes. I buy for my child's main teacher only but mine are in elementary school. Even in middle and high school, I only had 6 classes but I guess if you have multiple kids...yeah, that could add up. I would just do a card. I got our teachers personalized sticky notes from vistaprint for appreciation week(they were free...only shipping costs). They liked them

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Dollar tree has teacher appreciation cards 2/$1.00. Just an FYI.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

I was just going to do $10 GC for 4 maybe 5 of my kids' teachers.

I like the sharpie pot idea...may try that with my DD's K teachers

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" Even though life can be a very long, hard, stressful and never-ending journey, never lose hope in what you want the most."

Since it was youngest dd's first year in school and her teacher was awesome, I'm going to give her a gift.
I'm planning to go in and take a "class photo" with my digital camera and then get it blown up to an 8X10. I'm going to frame it with the school year under it so she will always have a picture of this year's class.
I've already asked her for permission to take the picture. She thinks it's for dd's scrapbook page...lol I'm using it for that too but want to surprise her with the group photo

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Amy mommy to Ash,Zach&Alexis


MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

A personal note letting them know they made a difference has always been the most appreciated here.....

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

I found an "I Love Lucy" book with episode summary/guide and a bell at a yard sale for my son's teacher. I will also buy her a package of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies.

I have 3 other teachers to buy small things for : the special ed teacher, speech teacher, and para educator who helps my son the most. I will buy them all a pack of cookies also (this is what I did last year and they LOVED them!!)

Can you pare this down to the teachers that the children actually spent the most time with?

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Raising my baby RIGHT!!!!!!

All the cool babies are wearing cloth!

I have become frustrated with all the "gifts" one is "expected to buy" also..Our teacher's appreciation was this week and a note came home requesting $2 per child.. Doesn't sound like a lot but when you have 600 + kids that's a decent amount of money..then on the bottom of the note it requests donations for breakfast items each morning too..then I read in the PTO minutes they have 32,000 dollars to use to buy new playground equipment..Thought they could have offered up money for teacher appreciation instead of requesting it from parents...Living in MI there are so many without jobs or fear of losing them..I'm a nurse and do my job because it's expected of me..I work with kids too, but don't expect gifts..I really wish this would end as I feel "guilty" not participating and worry it will look "bad" on my kids..

At my school we do not "expect" gifts at all. As I have stated earlier, for me personally, a personal note letting me know that I was of help and benefit to your child is honestly the best gift I could ever get. But, then again, I am the Mom who truly only requests something homemade from my two kiddoes on Mother's Day.

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

When my oldest son was finsihing his last year at the elementary school we decided to honor all of the teachers he had in the six years he was there. We bought a single flower for each of them and he hand wrote letters. For his KDG teacher, he told her that she made his first year of school very happy. For his 1st grade teacher he made reference that he would never forget her because she was the person who taught him how to read. For his fourth grade teacher he told her that she was the one who inspired him to believe in himself.

The letters were straight from his heart because he loved them all. He remembered in detail how each teacher helped him succeed. The teachers were so very touched that most of them cried and hugged him.

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#3 Gone To Race In A Better Place...

My son is graduating this year, and most of his teachers are still there. I bought an edible arrangement ( Edible Arrangements® Gourmet Gift Baskets and Floral Fruit Bouquets) for the teachers lounge. Had it delivered for lunchtime. It was beautiful and fed them all. Lots cheaper than 18-$10.00 GC. I made each one of them a card from Americangreetings.com. They said they loved it.

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Freedom Stands...Because HEROS Serve

Mary

Thank you for your idea...My son is in fifth grade and finishing up elementary school...I have three kids and I've been at this school for eleven straight years...I know alot of the teachers...I'd like to see if I can get him to do this for them...What a wonderful and thoughtful thing to do... ~Lisa