Welcome to guest post week here at Baby Cheapskate. This guest post is by Ashley of Frugal Coupon Living.
Teachers take such great care of our kids that we want to give them gifts that say we appreciate the love and learning they provide throughout the year. However, depending on how many teachers your child or children represent, this can get very expensive. And you may feel like you’re constantly trying to come up with something else fun, new, creative and yes, inexpensive.
Seasonal Gift Ideas
Beginning of the Year Gifts
So much of classroom resources come out of the teacher’s pocket. I was always grateful of the parents who helped me out with supplies in the start of the year. These items will go on $1 sales at the office supply stores at the end of the summer – get some for the kids and a few extras for the classroom! Walmart has an adorable stationary/school line of binders, folders, dividers etc from Carolina Pad. They tend to stay below $6 in value.
Winter Holiday Gifts
December is a great time for a small gift. Just a small token of appreciation is nice, such as a holiday-smelling candle that you’ve personalized with the teacher’s vinyl initial. You may be able to find these at a local craft store or someone you know who does personalization. Or, get a Starbucks gift card – $5 buys one drink. Pair that with a mug (personalized, if possible) and some homemade goodies for a nice little thoughtful gift. For a slightly larger gift, place popcorn, hot chocolate, a warm blanket (find a $5 one at Walmart) and a small movie store gift card in a basket (from the $1 store) and call it a movie basket. Or, if you’re very crafty, make an easy apron out of some fun holiday fabric for them to wear while they’re enjoying baking during the season.
End of the Year Gifts
Most parents want to give their teachers something that really shows how much they’ve appreciated them throughout the year. But, it can get very expensive! Some ways to cut down on this expense are to go in on gifts with a close friend who also has a child in your child’s class or to organize a class gift. With everyone donating $5-$10, you can put together some nice large gifts for your teachers.
- The Big Gift: One possible idea is to create a theme that matches the teacher. For example, choose the theme of gardening. Some families might pick up a spade, flower seed packets, gardening gloves, etc. Others might not have a chance to run to the store and might donate $5 to $10 per student. The home room parent (or you) puts this money together and grabs a gift card to a home improvement store. Place all these freebies in a large tin bucket (see if you can get a vinyl letter to monogram and personalize). Perhaps even a student or two can decorate a cute flower pot. One year, my parents put together a spa package for me. I had PJs, a nice little tote, and a gift card to our local spa. That was very much appreciated.
- The Crafty Home Made Gift: A fellow teacher of mine once got a mosaic bench for her garden. Each child donated some money ($5 to $10) toward the concrete bench and each child made a square tile. A crafty parent put it all together. Other craft gifts include a pot of flowers – not any flowers but decorative flowers you would find at your craft store. Attach these flowers to pens with green flower tape and the teacher has a bouquet she can use all year around. Another student made a fellow teacher of mine a notepad. She decorated the front page and her parents took the cover to Kinkos where they created notepad for her.
- Photo Gifts: Make a fun gift with the class picture from any of the photo sites that offer freebies or deeply discounted items (Snapfish, Kodak, Shutterfly, etc). Get the whole class to go in on this one or pair it with a gift card to their favorite store (everyone loves Target!) for an added bonus.
Other Ways to Give
Utilizing your Freebies
It is perfectly fine to put free items into your gifts. I tend to add a couple additions to make the basket friendly. I have gotten free to very cheap brownie mixes at the store and made them for my child’s teachers to remind them that I appreciate them. Another time, around spring, I took some $1 tin buckets from Target and added a bunch of Easter candy freebies inside the bucket, tied it with ribbon and filled it with Easter grass from my gift closet. Don’t forget to utilize Vista Print and other free resources for personalized tote bags, note pads, business cards, stationary, etc. Teachers love these!
Pay it Forward
What you consider junk might not be to a teacher. Three pay it forward gifts I got that I simply loved were a rocking chair, label maker and a digital camera. I took pictures every week of my students to my parents could see what was going on. Also, would your teacher rather you donate to a cause in their name? Donating to local, national, or international charities has lasting effect and the charities usually provide the donor (your teacher) with updates throughout the year. All in all, consider yourself. What would a token of appreciation look like to you? What would you absolutely love to do for yourself one day or even for five minutes? What have you seen at the local specialty store that was absolutely adorable but you had no reason to buy it for? Shop year around and be creative. It really doesn’t have to be expensive!
Ashley finds and writes about deals on her website Frugal Coupon Living. A former fifth grade teacher, turned stay at home mom, she enjoys using her blog to ‘teach’ others about saving money!
Good article. As a 1st grade teacher teaching for many years I can definitely say the greatest and most used gifts are gift cards and note pads. I cannot even begin to count the number of mugs I have received thoughout the years and had either given away, donated or recycled. Candies and treats are not always consumed. Depending on the school policy, homemade treats might not be allowed.
Homemade gifts and crafts are greatly appreciated too, but truth is most aren’t kept for long. Best gifts are the personalized ones that show parents really know me or at least their child does.
I appreciate everything my students and their families give to me as gifts. However, I don’t really need 23 mugs or dozens of handcrafted popsicle sticks picture frames.
I’m a teacher. As much as I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this post, I would argue against a few suggestions for teacher gifts. First of all, every year I get about 5-10 mugs, and I really don’t need any more! I end up having to donate many of them after a while, and I think people would be better off spending the mug money on something else. With the photo gifts, keep them small. As hard as it may be to hear, I do not have place for a gallery in my house of 11×14 framed photos of every class I have taught. Also, as much as school supplies are very welcome, please don’t think of that as a gift for the teacher – those are a gift for the classroom. It’s like saying, “Thanks for the hard work you do! Here are some more work supplies for you!” Would you want your co-workers/friends to give you more things to do your job? Teachers spend so much of their money on their classroom that we often don’t buy fun things for ourselves. If you are donating school supplies, don’t bother with the gift wrap – you will still get a hearty thanks for your helpfulness!
I want to echo everything Laura said. My husband teaches elementary school and every year gets way too many mugs: observant parents might notice he doesn’t drink coffee or tea!
Yes! Laura and Heidi have it right! Additionally, all the cute hand made stuff is adorable, but after years and years of receiving that stuff….. My parents are elementary teachers – have been for 30+ years. It’s gotten to the point that at Christmas for about the past 15 years, a giant pile of things are left out for my sister and I and our friends to pick out what we want, otherwise straight to the thrift store. They feel guilty about it, but what can you do? Gift cards are the way to go. Even if it is just $5.
I only taught for two years, but I still received more mugs, candles, paperweights, doo-dads, and tchotchkes than I could use in a lifetime. If you are looking for an useful yet inexpensive gift, make it easy on everyone and do a gift card. I would rather have received a $5 gift card to a bookstore than a $5 gift from the discount store. Last Christmas Target had “giftcoins”–$25 for five $5 gift cards. Awesome idea for teachers.
Honestly what I appreciate the most are gift cards! I have a closet full of generic mugs, scented candles and body lotions from my students. The themed baskets are a good idea though. I also don’t mind supplies for the classrooms or used big ticket items like bookshelves, bean bag chairs etc.
I also agree with most of what the guest poster said. However, ditto to the others who said that teachers already get a TON of mugs and candles every year. (IMO, scented gifts are especially bad, as many people are sensitive to the smells!) I would also add picture frames, lotion, and teacher-themed decorations to the list of things that we already get way too many of. My favorite thing to get is a sincere thank you note, followed by gift cards. And even small gift cards are very much appreciated!
I also agree with the previous posters. While grateful for the thoughtfulness, I am also a teacher and have way too many mugs. Why spend money on something the teacher probably does not need? I’d rather just have a five dollar gift card to Panera or Starbucks. My students chipped in five dollars at the end of the year and purchased a zoo membership for me. It was an awesome gift!!!! Chipping in to get one big gift/ gift card is really nice and so appreciated!!!!
What about personalized stationary or “this book belongs to” stickers? With all the great Vistaprint freebies, it seems like this would be a great option?
Don’t forget high school teachers. They’re often ignored. Think about how teens act at home and multiply that by 150 different hormone-driven adolescents.
I would rethink the scented candles…they can trigger allergy attacks or migraines in over 10% of the population.
Gift cards ROCK!
You can do a variety of $5 cards from the local coffee shop to McDonald’s. If every parent chips in just $5 — that is over $100 in assorted treats for the teacher.
=)
I am usually the “class mom” and make a paper loop wreath out of school related scrapbook paper and then attach the gift cards to floral picks and tuck them in. We have two teachers in our room this year and each will get $55 in fun little treats, ranging from iTunes to Family Video.
I have the wreath “how to” on my blog: http://operation40k.blogspot.com/2010/11/our-teacher-gifts-and-how-to.html
This is a great gift idea for any elementary school aged child!
I am a primary school teacher who wanted to create a book where the kids get to be a part of the process! Each page in the story is blank for students to create their own illustrations. I think any elementary school aged child and their parents would have fun with this book. The download version is well priced so teachers can print it out….only $2.50. This would be an excellent idea for a class project, for kids who finish their work early, or a great way to test a child’s comprehension. Parents who need to keep their kids busy on a rainy day would also enjoy it!
Thank you!
LCG
Check it out:
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/pencil-monster/14261673?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/3