Teacher Gifts for around $10?
I would love any ideas for good elementary school teacher gifts priced around $10 to accompany ornaments that my daughter made for them. I'm looking for gifts for her "specials" teachers (gym, art, music, etc.). I don't know any of the teachers well enough to select anything remotely personal (she's at a new school in a new district this year).
by
glindagw
asked 2 years ago
Teachers appreciate gift cards, coffee and chocolate. Really they appreciate anything that is thoughtful.
Considering how terribly limited the budgets are for teachers, and how often they spend their own money for supplies, you might want to consider a gift card to Staples (or similar), and you might also want to offer that rarest and most precious of gifts, your time.
I helped grade and review papers for my daughter's English class (when she was a sophomore in high school, many many moons ago), at a time when the teachers were having to do without graders. I've also helped out in other areas. Before you holler about not having time, I will point out that I was working, full time and then some, during these times.
You might even ask around at local stores to see where teachers are getting discounts for their supplies (our local Office Depot provides GENEROUS discounts to teachers).
@glindagw: Hey, here's your snow shovel, and it's under $30.
@shrdlu: Thank you. I saw it and ordered it!
Gift cards are a wonderful idea. I'd avoid giving coffee mugs, etc., as I'm sure teachers get quite a few each year. I know the teachers I volunteered for received several of these each year.
If you have time and there are no diet restrictions, her teachers might be grateful for a homemade treat that they can freeze for later use. Or you might consider this relatively inexpensive gift that can sit on a pantry shelf for a bit of time:
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/christmas/gifts/index.htm
That's just one website I found with recipes/ideas for "Gifts in a Jar". You can throw together mixes for dried soups, cookies, brownies, and other goodies, add a pretty bit of fabric on the lid, tie with a ribbon & the cooking directions and you're done. If you make several of these, your costs go down. Just an idea.
@shrdlu: I agree with you about time. I tend to take on the administrative tasks that no one wants to do, but I can do at midnight (if that's the way that my day is going).
I guess that gift cards + an ornament are going to be the way to go for her "specials" teachers. I was hoping that there was something clever that I hadn't thought of...but sometimes I need to apply the KISS principle. I love lavikinga's idea, but there are 600 kids in this school so I have the feeling that they might get overwhelmed by things like that.
I know her primary teachers well (she's in a special program with 10 kids & 2 teachers). I'm giving them cash & a gift basket with cleaning supplies from: http://cleanhappens.com/products/ (awesome stuff that's locally made). I would love to give the same gift baskets to her other teachers, but I'm not sure how cleaning supplies would go over (even if they are green & nice to use).
On Dr. Phil there was a Teacher talking about how she receives so many skin care products that she started re-gifting them each year. Something to keep in mind - a nice card with a gift card in it might be best in this situation.
If this was say a biology teacher, I gave my biology teach those giant microbes. gift cards are a great useful gift, but these always incite a laugh: http://www.giantmicrobes.com/
I gave anthracite coal to my environmental science teacher one year too:
https://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16_17_69&products_id=119
Cold hard cash works. Also those visa gift cards.
Glinda - you said the teacher is at a new school in a new district this year....
If your school system has school spirit days she might appreciate a tee-shirt or a hoodie or a stadium blanket etc with the school mascot on it. Most of the High Schools sell them or some school spirit item.
If you are in the DFW area & the teacher is completely new to the area... another idea is tickets to one of the local university's (UTD, TCU, UTA, SMU- etc) basketball/or other sport games. College games are cheaper & more exciting than pro games.
@combustiblekitty: Those are great ideas. I'm sorry for making my question confusing (but thank you for reading it)...we're new to the school & district (we don't even live in the district, we're there for a specific program).
@glindagw: My mother is a "specials" teacher (elementary PhysEd), and she gets so many candles, lotions, sprays, and other ridiculousness that she never uses. The one thing she does need is work clothes ("athletic gear" for the rest of us) and tennis shoes. If there's a Dick's Sporting Goods in your area, PE teachers receive good coupons from them. A gift card to Dick's might be quite fitting.
Just throwing in my 2¢, since I basically agree with the consensus here.
A last note: she also gets more Starbucks coupons than she could ever possibly drink. I inherit quite a few of those. If you're not sure what a teacher might actually use, I'd go with the cash card (Visa Gift Card, etc), but often those have expiration dates whereas store cards do not. Check the fine print. ;)
I agree with the cash thoughts. Also, have your child make a card.
@wootvan: psst child already made some ornaments. This was in addition to that.
In my 27 years of teaching, I've received some great gifts. Some that I treasure every year are the ornaments students have given me. Make sure to put the student's name and the year on it somewhere. Popcorn is another appreciated gift. Home made cookies and fudge are always great. If they have dietary restrictions, they can share them with visitors or with other teachers. Gift cards are a wonderful gift. If you can, you might want to go in with some other parents so they might get something fun for the classroom. Any gift that can be used in a classroom is welcome - puzzles, games, books.
I have a zillion coffee mugs.
@glindagw: :-) Everyone has great ideas.... here's another one that says the teacher's time is valuable -
Get a gift card to Central Market, cut out a few pictures from the on-line chef's case specials & glue them in the card & Viola - you just "made" her dinner that night.
They have been running a blue plate special - any main item & 2 veggies for $5.99... if it's just her & her husband you could do it for 2. Or if she has a family, if you made it like $15 total the rotisserie chicken runs 6.99 & she could get sides & feed a family for that.
@combustiblekitty: Unless you already know that @glindagw is in the TX area or vicinity, I'd suggest replacing "Central Market" with grocery store. Personally, I prefer Whole Foods (and it's national).
Thank you for all of your assistance. I opted for giving teacher's the choice of a gift card & green cleaning supplies (rather give them what they want). Every teacher chose the cleaning supplies). Her primary teachers also enjoyed the cash! All set until the end of school!
@glindagw: Did you see the responses for the science project on the trebuchet?
@shrdlu: Thank you, yes I did! I think that we're going to end up building a trebuchet & a catapult. So much more fun than polluting bean sprouts! She is really excited (she wants to launch woot monkeys). The only challenge is going to be keeping it at an elementary school level while engineer friends are already discussing who gets to help her design it, what can be done on Autocad, etc.
@glindagw: Get used to it. My (now 37) daughter spent 4th grade correct the computer teacher's mistakes. He got angry at her, and I had a "discussion" with him, where I basically said "if she corrects you, she's right, and you're wrong" and told him to be VERY kind to her, or I would be back. He was very careful from then on.
Make sure that your friends understand it's her learning experience, but as long as it's help with the project where she's learning from them, she's a lucky kid. I'll admit that if I were closer, I'd probably want to be in the middle of it too.
@shrdlu: Imagine if she could have worn this shirt to school: http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/7-13-years/aba8/.
Luckily we met her computer teacher, another regular at our coffee shop, when she was 3. I would chat with the adults, she learned to play chess from a 6-year-old. I think that her teachers were forewarned. He would grin when he described her getting ahead of herself in class.
We'll see how my friends do. The engineers are so excited. I have never received a faster response to an email (titled "Siege Machines - Science Fair Project"). She's very independent so it will remain her project.
I like getting office supplies that I usually buy for myself, like post-its, pens, and Sharpies. Practical and easy ideas are Walmart or restaraunt giftcards. I have also received stationary with my initial.
Stats
- Asked
- 2 years ago
- Asked By
- glindagw
- Answered
- 24 times
- Viewed
- 2165 times
- Voted Against
- 0 times
- Voted For
- 10 times
24 Answers answer
Sort By: