Christmas is the time of year when you want to let the special people in your life know how much you appreciate them. There are few people more special than teachers. BUT, what does your teacher really want? After twelve years of being a homeroom parent and in charge of organizing the class Christmas gift, I have given this a lot of thought…
DO give a thoughtful gift that can be used. The #1 gift that teachers want, and use is GIFT CARDS. Most preferred gift cards are: Restaurants. Chipotle, Panera, Starbucks, Darden (Olive Garden, Longhorn and others), Cheesecake Factory. Retailers. Target, TJ Maxx, Kohl’s, Gap Options, Amazon.
CREATIVE TIP: Schedule a digital gift card to come to your teacher at the beginning of the month for 3 months straight. A $10 lunch can go a long way.
DON’T give little knick-knacks and mugs. Surveys have shown they appreciate the thoughtful gift, but don’t have room for on their desk.
DO pair a gift card with a little something. One of my favorite ideas is giving a miniature Christmas tree and use gift cards as the ornaments, cash (there was leftover from the class collection) and felt tip pens. Just for fun I bought an actual Christmas ornament and put all the kid’s names on it from the class. You can easily scale this down to be from a single-family/student, with one or two small denomination gift cards and pens. Be sure to include a personal note from you or your child to let your teacher know how much you appreciate them.
DON’T forget to wish your teacher Merry Christmas! No matter how you choose to show it, your teacher will appreciate anything that you do.
